Investing IdeasBrowse All StocksMarkets
Have your own idea? Try our Stock Screener
Header cover image

U.S. Food and Staples Retail Industry Analysis

UpdatedMar 02, 2026
DataAggregated Company Financials
Companies63
  • 7D3.0%
  • 3M13.8%
  • 1Y17.1%
  • YTD14.4%

The Food and Staples Retail industry is up 3.0% in the last week, with Walmart up 1.7%. This means that the industry has gained 17% over the past year. Looking forward, earnings are forecast to grow by 9.1% annually.

Industry Valuation and Performance

Has the U.S. Food and Staples Retail Industry valuation changed over the past few years?

DateMarket CapRevenueEarningsPEAbsolute PEPS
Mon, 02 Mar 2026US$1.8tUS$1.7tUS$43.3b22.5x41.4x1x
Wed, 28 Jan 2026US$1.7tUS$1.7tUS$44.2b21.8x37.7x1x
Fri, 26 Dec 2025US$1.6tUS$1.7tUS$44.4b21.8x35.3x0.9x
Sun, 23 Nov 2025US$1.5tUS$1.7tUS$45.9b20.9x33x0.9x
Tue, 21 Oct 2025US$1.6tUS$1.7tUS$44.5b20.9x35x0.9x
Thu, 18 Sep 2025US$1.5tUS$1.7tUS$44.1b20.7x34.8x0.9x
Sat, 16 Aug 2025US$1.6tUS$1.8tUS$35.5b21.7x43.7x0.9x
Mon, 14 Jul 2025US$1.5tUS$1.8tUS$35.5b21.7x42.3x0.8x
Wed, 11 Jun 2025US$1.5tUS$1.8tUS$35.8b23.1x42.6x0.8x
Fri, 09 May 2025US$1.5tUS$1.8tUS$36.0b24.6x42.7x0.9x
Sun, 06 Apr 2025US$1.4tUS$1.8tUS$33.0b22.1x41.1x0.8x
Tue, 04 Mar 2025US$1.6tUS$1.8tUS$31.4b24.6x49.5x0.9x
Thu, 30 Jan 2025US$1.5tUS$1.8tUS$31.8b26.5x47.5x0.8x
Sat, 28 Dec 2024US$1.5tUS$1.8tUS$32.0b24.9x46x0.8x
Mon, 25 Nov 2024US$1.4tUS$1.8tUS$31.8b24.3x45.5x0.8x
Wed, 23 Oct 2024US$1.3tUS$1.8tUS$25.9b22x51.7x0.8x
Fri, 20 Sep 2024US$1.3tUS$1.8tUS$28.6b22x46.2x0.7x
Sun, 18 Aug 2024US$1.3tUS$1.8tUS$27.8b21.5x46x0.7x
Tue, 16 Jul 2024US$1.2tUS$1.8tUS$31.4b21.8x39.3x0.7x
Thu, 13 Jun 2024US$1.2tUS$1.8tUS$30.8b21.6x39.4x0.7x
Sat, 11 May 2024US$1.1tUS$1.7tUS$27.5b19.3x41.7x0.7x
Mon, 08 Apr 2024US$1.1tUS$1.7tUS$27.3b19.3x41.2x0.6x
Wed, 06 Mar 2024US$1.1tUS$1.7tUS$36.0b20.7x31.4x0.6x
Fri, 02 Feb 2024US$1.1tUS$1.7tUS$36.0b20.1x29.7x0.6x
Sun, 31 Dec 2023US$1.0tUS$1.7tUS$31.9b20.4x31.9x0.6x
Tue, 28 Nov 2023US$961.9bUS$1.7tUS$30.2b19.6x31.9x0.6x
Thu, 26 Oct 2023US$943.0bUS$1.7tUS$29.3b19.2x32.2x0.5x
Sat, 23 Sep 2023US$950.4bUS$1.7tUS$30.6b19.7x31x0.6x
Mon, 21 Aug 2023US$960.3bUS$1.7tUS$31.7b20.1x30.3x0.6x
Wed, 19 Jul 2023US$958.7bUS$1.7tUS$28.0b21.1x34.3x0.6x
Fri, 16 Jun 2023US$950.2bUS$1.7tUS$28.1b18.6x33.8x0.6x
Sun, 14 May 2023US$962.4bUS$1.7tUS$28.6b19.8x33.6x0.6x
Tue, 11 Apr 2023US$959.1bUS$1.7tUS$28.5b20.5x33.6x0.6x
Thu, 09 Mar 2023US$756.0bUS$1.5tUS$22.2b20.2x34x0.5x
Price to Earnings Ratio

34x


Total Market Cap: US$756.0bTotal Earnings: US$22.2bTotal Revenue: US$1.5tTotal Market Cap vs Earnings and Revenue0%0%0%
U.S. Food and Staples Retail Industry Price to Earnings3Y Average 38.3x202420252026
Current Industry PE
  • Investors are optimistic on the American Consumer Retailing industry, and appear confident in long term growth rates.
  • The industry is trading at a PE ratio of 41.4x which is higher than its 3-year average PE of 38.3x.
  • The 3-year average PS ratio of 0.73x is lower than the industry's current PS ratio of 1.0x.
Past Earnings Growth
  • The earnings for companies in the Consumer Retailing industry have grown 25% per year over the last three years.
  • Revenues for these companies have grown 4.7% per year.
  • This means that more sales are being generated by these companies overall, and subsequently their profits are increasing too.

Industry Trends

Which industries have driven the changes within the U.S. Consumer Staples industry?

US Market-0.57%
Consumer Staples2.73%
Food and Staples Retail3.01%
Big Box Super Stores3.20%
Food Retail2.43%
Food Distributors0.39%
Drug Retail-2.03%
Industry PE
  • Investors are most optimistic about the Big Box Super Stores industry which is trading above its 3-year average PE ratio of 35.6x.
    • Analysts are expecting annual earnings growth of 8.0%, which is higher than its past year's earnings growth of 3.2% per year.
Forecasted Growth
  • Analysts are most optimistic on the Food Retail industry, expecting annual earnings growth of 19% over the next 5 years.
  • This is better than its past earnings growth rate of 11% per year.
  • In contrast, the Big Box Super Stores industry is expected to see its earnings grow by 8.0% per year over the next few years.

Top Stock Gainers and Losers

Which companies have driven the market over the last 7 days?

CompanyLast Price7D1YValuation
WMT WalmartUS$127.951.7%
+US$17.1b		31.1%PE46.6x
COST Costco WholesaleUS$1.01k2.6%
+US$11.3b		-3.6%PE54x
SYY SyscoUS$91.161.9%
+US$828.6m		20.4%PE24.3x
DG Dollar GeneralUS$156.242.2%
+US$735.2m		117.3%PE26.9x
CASY Casey's General StoresUS$685.592.1%
+US$513.0m		68.0%PE41.9x

Latest News

COST
US$1,010.79
Costco Wholesale
7D
2.6%
1Y
-3.6%

Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST): The Ultimate Membership Flywheel – Scaling 145 Million Members

Costco (COST) enters March 2026 as one of the most resilient "all-weather" stocks in the retail sector, trading at $1,011.17 following a 2.5% rally on February 27. The company has successfully navigated the high-inflation environment of the past two years, leveraging its bulk-buying power to maintain its "industry-leading pricing" advantage.
SYY
US$91.16
Sysco
7D
1.9%
1Y
20.4%
CART
US$37.51
Maplebear
7D
3.5%
1Y
-8.7%

CART: Expanding Retail Partnerships And Data Platform Will Drive Future Returns

Analysts have trimmed their price target on Maplebear by about $0.59 to reflect updated assumptions around slightly adjusted discount rates, revenue growth, profit margins and future P/E expectations. What's in the News Maplebear completed a share repurchase of 46,729,794 shares, representing 17.67% of shares, for a total of US$1.814b under the buyback announced on June 6, 2024.
WMK
US$67.76
Weis Markets
7D
-7.8%
1Y
-6.8%
WMT
US$127.95
Walmart
7D
1.7%
1Y
31.1%
BJ
US$98.79
BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings
7D
2.5%
1Y
-2.4%
TGT
US$113.79
Target
7D
0.4%
1Y
-5.8%
DLTR
US$126.48
Dollar Tree
7D
-3.0%
1Y
83.9%
GO
US$9.88
Grocery Outlet Holding
7D
-1.0%
1Y
-12.8%

GO: Virginia Food Desert Expansion And Deep Discounts Will Support Upside

Analysts have trimmed their price target for Grocery Outlet Holding from about $14.12 to around $13.65, reflecting updated assumptions on discount rate, modest revenue growth expectations, slightly adjusted profit margin forecasts, and a lower future P/E multiple. What's in the News Grocery Outlet Holding Corp.
KR
US$68.24
Kroger
7D
-0.03%
1Y
8.5%
SFM
US$73.87
Sprouts Farmers Market
7D
3.3%
1Y
-49.7%
CASY
US$685.59
Casey's General Stores
7D
2.1%
1Y
68.0%
DG
US$156.24
Dollar General
7D
2.2%
1Y
117.3%

DG: Higher EPS Guidance And Completed Buybacks Will Conceal Ongoing Multiple Risk

Analysts have lifted their price target on Dollar General from about $100.54 to roughly $103.80, citing updated assumptions around slightly higher projected revenue growth, profit margins, a modestly lower discount rate, and a small adjustment to the expected future P/E multiple. What's in the News Dollar General reported that from August 2, 2025 to November 1, 2025 it did not repurchase any shares, and that under the buyback announced on September 5, 2012 it has completed the repurchase of 123,531,571 shares, representing 45.04% of shares for a total of US$14,618.08m (Key Developments).
IMKT.A
US$85.10
Ingles Markets
7D
-2.7%
1Y
40.4%
VLGE.A
US$39.15
Village Super Market
7D
-0.9%
1Y
26.6%

Village Super Market, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:VLGE.A) Subdued P/E Might Signal An Opportunity

Feb 04
Village Super Market, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:VLGE.A) Subdued P/E Might Signal An Opportunity
WILC
US$25.24
G. Willi-Food International
7D
-5.6%
1Y
49.4%