Walmart
American big-box chain, the world’s largest company by revenue and the biggest grocery seller in the United States.
10 figures on Walmart, drawn from 3 Modern MBA case studies.
The figures
US dollars2
| Against its own chart | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual revenue in billions, 2023–24 | $648B | 1st of 9 · top $648B | Why self-checkout didn't replace cashiers |
| Average annual sales per store, 2021 | $78M | 1st of 3 · top $78M | How Dollar Tree makes money selling everything for a dollar |
Percentages8
| Against its own chart | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of merchandise as a share of revenue, ten-year average | 75% | 3rd of 10 · top 87% | Why self-checkout didn't replace cashiers |
| Cost of merchandise against labor and rent, as a share of revenue, ten-year average · Cost of merchandise | 75% | 3rd of 7 · top 87% | Why self-checkout didn't replace cashiers |
| Gross margins of technology companies against retailers, 2019 | 25% | 8th of 10 · top 82% | Why self-checkout didn't replace cashiers |
| Annual gross margin, 2021 | 24% | 3rd of 3 · top 30.5% | How Dollar Tree makes money selling everything for a dollar |
| Cost of merchandise against labor and rent, as a share of revenue, ten-year average · Labor & rent | 20% | 3rd of 7 · top 26% | Why self-checkout didn't replace cashiers |
| Operating margin of the leading data-driven Fortune 500 companies, 2013 against 2023 · 2013 | 5% | 10th of 12 · top 40% | Why AI is just big data again |
| Average operating margin over the last decade | 4.5% | 5th of 8 · top 8.9% | Why self-checkout didn't replace cashiers |
| Operating margin of the leading data-driven Fortune 500 companies, 2013 against 2023 · 2023 | 3% | 9th of 12 · top 36% | Why AI is just big data again |
Case studies covering Walmart
Case study — Retail & brandsWhy self-checkout didn't replace cashiersAmazon's cashierless store was a thousand people in India watching cameras. Every retailer copied it anyway.15 min read
Case study — TechnologyWhy AI is just big data againBig data was sold for a decade and produced nothing. The same players are running the identical playbook with AI.15 min read
Case study — Retail & brandsHow Dollar Tree makes money selling everything for a dollarA fifteenth the size of a Walmart, a better gross margin than either giant, and 700 new stores while Target opened 58.10 min read