Tesco vs Sainsbury's, side by side
They ring up much of Britain's weekly shop between them. Tesco is the clear market leader, and scale matters enormously in groceries: bigger buying power and a large loyalty scheme (Clubcard) help it defend margins. Sainsbury's is the smaller number two, with its own grocery business plus Argos. Both fight a constant battle against the German discounters, Aldi and Lidl, on famously thin margins.
On our factor screen it looks strongest on growth and momentum, and weakest on quality.
On our factor screen it looks strongest on momentum and value, and weakest on quality.
The numbers, side by side
| Measure |  Tesco |  Sainsbury's |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £4.89 | £3.59 |
| Market cap: The company's total value on the stock market - share price times the number of shares. Big = 'large-cap', small = 'small-cap'. | £30.67B | £7.84B |
| P/E: Price-to-earnings: the share price divided by yearly profit per share. Lower can mean cheaper; higher often means investors expect fast growth. | 18.1 | 20.0 |
| Div yield: Dividend yield: the yearly dividend as a percentage of the share price - roughly the income you'd earn just from dividends. | 3.0% | 3.8% |
| Revenue growth | 7.2% | 2.6% |
| 1Y: How much the share price has moved over the past year. | +15% | +20% |
More measures
| Forward P/E: Price-to-earnings: the share price divided by yearly profit per share. Lower can mean cheaper; higher often means investors expect fast growth. | 14.6 | 13.5 |
|---|---|---|
| Net margin | 2.4% | 1.2% |
| ROE | 15.5% | 6.4% |
| Beta: How bumpy the share price is versus the whole market. Above 1 swings more than the market; below 1 is calmer. It's about the ride, not whether it goes up or down. | 0.57 | 1.00 |
The bolder figure is simply the larger of the two - higher is not automatically good (a higher P/E means more expectation in the price; a higher beta means bigger swings).
How they differ
Tesco is roughly 4x the size of Sainsbury's by market value. On our factor screen Tesco currently screens higher on growth and quality, while Sainsbury's screens higher on value. Sainsbury's's shares have historically been the bumpier of the two (beta 1.00 vs 0.57).
Descriptive only - how the two compare on today's data, never a verdict on either.
Tesco, in one line
Britain's biggest supermarket giant keeping our fridges stocked while fending off fierce competition from discounters.
Read the full Tesco explainer →Sainsbury's, in one line
Sainsbury's is a household name in the UK, operating a massive network of supermarkets and convenience stores alongside its Argos retail brand.
Read the full Sainsbury's explainer →What to weigh
If dividend income matters to you, the yields differ (3.0% Tesco vs 3.8% Sainsbury's); and if sharp swings bother you, the betas differ (0.57 vs 1.00). These are facts to understand, not a verdict - read each full explainer before deciding anything.
Common questions
Why are supermarket profit margins so thin?
Groceries are fiercely competitive and price-sensitive, so a supermarket keeps only a penny or two of profit on each pound of sales. That makes scale, buying power and cost control decisive - small differences move the whole result.
What is the biggest threat to both?
The discounters. Aldi and Lidl have taken share for years by stocking fewer lines at lower prices, forcing the traditional grocers to match on price - which pressures already-slim margins.