Owner Scorecard


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An industry chapter · Food & Drug Retailing

Food & Drug Retailing

18 members, 3382 to YI, A to Z by ticker.

Gross profitability
median 45% — gross profit as a share of total assets, each member's median across its readable years; read on 12 of 18 members
Capital intensity
median 2.4% — capital expenditure as a share of revenue, each member's median across its readable years; read on 16 of 18 members
Net cash
5 of the 17 members with a readable debt line hold more cash and short-term investments than total debt

Figures describe the list as a group, from each member's own filed record; they name no member and form no rank. A member missing an input is absent from that median, never counted against the others.

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3382 Seven & i Holdings

A diversified business; where the profit really comes from, and whether it is earned or bought, is what the segment detail settles.

Owner earnings 2017–2026 ¥305.0B¥285.1B¥356.7B¥350.2B¥304.5B¥399.0B¥623.3B¥335.6B¥445.6B¥333.1B

Retained capital Retained ¥427.9B of earnings over 2017–2026; annual owner earnings grew ¥55.8B, ¥0.13 per ¥1 retained.

Balance sheet Heavy net debt, ¥3.37T · dividend paid 10 of 10 yrs, never cut

8267 Aeon

A diversified business; where the profit really comes from, and whether it is earned or bought, is what the segment detail settles.

Owner earnings not read

Retained capital not read

Balance sheet Heavy net debt, ¥1.90T

ACI Albertsons

Albertsons runs supermarkets across the United States under a collection of regional banners. It sells groceries — packaged non-perishables, fresh food, and the other staples that fill a store — to households who shop in person or order ahead for pickup and delivery, and it fills prescriptions at in-store pharmacy counters. It earns a thin slice on each item and lives on the volume that moves through the registers.

Owner earnings 2017–2026 $438M($502M)$344M$437M$2.3B$1.9B$700M$628M$749M$527M

Retained capital Retained $1.8B of earnings over 2017–2026; annual owner earnings grew $541M, $0.30 per $1 retained.

Balance sheet Heavy net debt, $9.6B · dividend paid 6 of 10 yrs, never cut

ARKO ARKO Corp.

ARKO Corp. is one of the largest operators of convenience stores and wholesalers of fuel in the United States, ranked by store count and gallons sold, respectively.

Owner earnings 2019–2025 ($15M)$129M$62M$111M$25M$108M$65M

Retained capital Paid out $7M more than it earned over 2019–2025; annual owner earnings grew $7M.

Balance sheet Heavy net debt, $601M · buybacks at an average near $6.82 · dividend paid 4 of 7 yrs, never cut

CASY Casey's General

In addition to the "Casey's" and "Casey's General Stores" brands, the Company also operates a limited number of stores under the additional brands of "GoodStop" or "CEFCO".

Owner earnings 2017–2026 $262M$199M$286M$253M$539M$462M$569M$543M$687M$928M

Retained capital Retained $2.7B of earnings over 2017–2026; annual owner earnings grew $470M, $0.18 per $1 retained.

Balance sheet Modest net debt, $1.9B · buybacks at an average near $183 · dividend paid 10 of 10 yrs, never cut

CVS CVS Health Corporation

CVS Health runs three businesses bolted together. It operates a wide network of retail drugstores, where people fill prescriptions and buy everyday goods; it runs a pharmacy benefits manager that sits between drugmakers, insurers, and employers to negotiate drug prices and pay pharmacy claims; and it owns a health insurer that covers a large membership weighted toward Medicare. The money comes from the spread on dispensing and managing drugs, from what the stores sell, and from taking in insurance premiums and paying out less than it collects.

Owner earnings 2016–2025 $7.9B$6.1B$6.8B$10.4B$13.4B$15.7B$13.4B$10.4B$6.3B$7.8B

Retained capital Retained $8.3B of earnings over 2016–2025; annual owner earnings grew $1.2B, $0.15 per $1 retained.

Balance sheet Heavy net debt, $62.0B · buybacks at an average near $85.73 · dividend paid 10 of 10 yrs, never cut

GO Grocery Outlet

Grocery Outlet is a growth-oriented extreme value retailer of quality, name-brand consumables and fresh products sold primarily through a network of independently operated stores.

Owner earnings 2017–2026 $42M$60M$85M$126M$107M$215M$4M$216M

Retained capital Paid out $132M more than it earned over 2017–2026; annual owner earnings grew $83M.

Balance sheet Net debt against an operating loss, $423M · buybacks at an average near $20.75 · dividend paid 6 of 8 yrs, cut at least once

GRDN Guardian Pharmacy Services Inc.

We are a leading, highly differentiated pharmacy services company that provides an extensive suite of technology-enabled services designed to help residents of LTCFs adhere to their appropriate drug regimen, which in turn helps reduce the cost of care and improve clinical outcomes.

Owner earnings 2024–2025 $43M$87M

Retained capital not read

Balance sheet Net cash, debt-free, +$66M

IMKTA Ingles Markets Incorporated

Ingles Markets, Incorporated is a leading supermarket chain in the southeast United States and operates a total of 194 supermarkets in North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Alabama, excluding three stores that remain temporarily closed due to damage sustained during Hurricane Helene.

Owner earnings 2017–2025 $29M$48M$99M$227M$166M$220M$150M$141M$40M

Retained capital Retained $1.1B of earnings over 2017–2025; annual owner earnings grew $52M, $0.05 per $1 retained.

Balance sheet Modest net debt, $144M · dividend paid 9 of 9 yrs

KR Kroger Company (The)

Kroger runs supermarkets across the United States, selling groceries and household goods to ordinary shoppers. It operates a stable of regional store banners, fuel centers at many locations, and in-store pharmacies, and it sells a wide range of its own private-label "Our Brands" goods alongside name brands. The money comes from the markup between what it pays suppliers and what shoppers pay at the register, a markup that is thin by the nature of selling food.

Owner earnings 2017–2026 $1.9B$604M$1.2B$1.5B$4.0B$3.6B$1.4B$2.9B$1.8B$3.5B

Retained capital Paid out $1.9B more than it earned over 2017–2026; annual owner earnings grew $1.5B.

Balance sheet Heavy net debt, $12.5B · dividend paid 10 of 10 yrs, never cut

NGVC Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Inc.

Natural Grocers is an expanding specialty retailer of natural and organic groceries and dietary supplements.

Owner earnings 2016–2025 $3M$11M$19M$7M$40M$28M$12M$36M$36M$24M

Retained capital Retained $85M of earnings over 2016–2025; annual owner earnings grew $21M, $0.24 per $1 retained.

Balance sheet Net cash, debt-free, +$18M · buybacks at an average near $8.51 · dividend paid 6 of 10 yrs, cut at least once

SFM Sprouts Farmers

Sprouts Farmers Market offers a unique specialty grocery experience featuring an open layout with fresh produce at the heart of the store.

Owner earnings 2017–2025 $213M$184M$232M$372M$262M$327M$505M$558M

Retained capital Retained $431M of earnings over 2017–2025; annual owner earnings grew $254M, $0.59 per $1 retained.

Balance sheet Net cash, +$125M · buybacks at an average near $35.58

SYY Sysco Corporation

Sysco buys food and kitchen supplies from makers and farms, warehouses them, and trucks them to restaurants, schools, hospitals, and cafeterias that cook for others. It is the middleman between the producer and the professional kitchen, earning a thin markup on each case it carries. Most of the money comes from delivering a broad line of products to a long list of customers across many routes, day after day, on its own fleet.

Owner earnings 2017–2025 $1.5B$1.5B$1.7B$898M$1.4B$1.2B$2.1B$2.2B$1.6B

Retained capital Paid out $4.2B more than it earned over 2017–2025; annual owner earnings grew $368M.

Balance sheet Meaningful net debt, $12.2B · dividend paid 9 of 9 yrs, never cut

TBBB BBB Foods Inc. Class A

Our value offer to our customers improves continuously as we introduce new private labels and continue to improve existing ones.

Owner earnings 2021–2025 MX$834MMX$1.4BMX$2.2BMX$2.5BMX$3.1B

Retained capital Paid out MX$4.2B more than it earned over 2021–2025; annual owner earnings grew MX$1.1B.

Balance sheet net position not read (debt under-captured)

USFD US Foods

The U.S. foodservice distribution industry serves different customer types of varying sizes, growth profiles, and product and service requirements, including independent restaurants, regional and national restaurant chains, healthcare customers, hospitality customers, colleges and universities, K-12 schools, and government locations.

Owner earnings 2016–2025 $385M$528M$374M$502M$224M$500M$831M$833M$959M

Retained capital Retained $699M of earnings over 2016–2025; annual owner earnings grew $445M, $0.64 per $1 retained.

Balance sheet Heavy net debt, $5.2B · buybacks at an average near $51.92

VLGEA Village Super Market Inc.

Village Super Market Inc. operates a chain of 34 supermarkets in New Jersey, New York, Maryland and Pennsylvania under the ShopRite and Fairway banners and three Gourmet Garage specialty markets in New York City.

Owner earnings 2017–2025 $18M$34M$28M$52M$27M$36M$69M$45M$57M

Retained capital Retained $168M of earnings over 2017–2025; annual owner earnings grew $30M, $0.18 per $1 retained.

Balance sheet Meaningful net debt, $285M · buybacks at an average near $95.39 · dividend paid 9 of 9 yrs, never cut

WMK Weis Markets Inc.

Weis Markets Inc. is engaged principally in the retail sale of food in Pennsylvania and surrounding states.

Owner earnings 2016–2025 $72M$63M$55M$70M$179M$125M$96M$98M$74M$82M

Retained capital Retained $489M of earnings over 2016–2025; annual owner earnings grew $21M, $0.04 per $1 retained.

Balance sheet Net cash, debt-free, +$214M · dividend paid 10 of 10 yrs, never cut

YI 111 Inc.

A retailer, earning thin margins on high volume, where inventory turns, unit economics and scale decide the outcome.

Owner earnings 2016–2025 (CN¥394M)(CN¥211M)(CN¥354M)(CN¥524M)(CN¥131M)(CN¥716M)(CN¥55M)(CN¥457M)CN¥248MCN¥115M

Retained capital not read

Balance sheet Net cash, debt-free, +CN¥511M

The same four lines for every member, in strict ticker order; a figure that could not be read renders as "not read," never as a mark against the record beside it. The header describes the list and names no member; the entries carry no ranking and form no score. What a chapter cannot carry — understanding of the business, and a price — is yours.