Walmart has once again claimed the top spot on the NRF Top 50 Global Retailers list for 2025, with Amazon and Costco also landing in the top five. The annual ranking, produced by the National Retail Federation and Kantar, highlights the retailers with the biggest international reach and strongest performance. In 2024, more people shopped in stores again, while online sales cooled off. Retailers had to stay sharp with logistics and inventory to keep up.
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Amazon, ranked second, brought in $393 billion, followed by Germany’s Schwarz Group at third with $182 billion. Aldi and Costco rounded out the top five.
To qualify, companies had to operate directly in at least three countries. Kantar’s rankings are based on both domestic and international retail sales. Revenues are tracked in each company’s local currency, then converted using IMF rates to make comparisons more accurate.
The 2025 report shows a more stable global economy. Consumer spending in the U.S. remained strong, and shipping costs, although still affected by the Red Sea conflicts and droughts in the Panama Canal, remained moderate.
Tourism also helped retailers in countries like Japan, Mexico, and the United States, while retailers tied to travel hubs saw growth thanks to new formats and automation, such as visual ID-based checkout. However, China’s economy underperformed, and its slow recovery affected both domestic and international retailers.
Labor costs were a bigger concern than labor shortages this year, and organized retail crime and cyberattacks continued to challenge the industry. One such attack disrupted systems at Ahold Delhaize, ranked sixth on the list, although the target was a third-party provider.
“Retailers had to work harder to earn their growth in 2024, but those who stayed flexible and responded to changing consumer behavior came out ahead,” added Kantar’s Brian Gildenberg.
The Top 10
Ranking
Company
Ranking Points
1
Walmart
502
2
Amazon
376
3
Schwarz Group
279
4
Aldi
252
5
Costco
218
6
Ahold Delhaize
164
7
Carrefour
142
8
Seven & I
100
9
IKEA
99
10
The Home Depot
92
Visit the NRF.com website for the full rankings.
