Learn · Explainer
Comparable store sales
Sales at locations open more than a year, why the definition varies, and the figures retailers reported in their latest 10-Ks.
The short answer
Comparable store sales, also called comps, same-store sales or comparable sales, measure sales at locations that have been open long enough to compare with the same period a year earlier. The idea is to separate growth at existing stores from growth that comes from opening new ones. Each company defines the term in its 10-K, and those definitions are not identical.
Why companies report it
Total revenue can rise because the company opened stores, closed stores, bought a business, changed prices, or sold more at the stores it already had. Comparable sales try to hold the store base still. The 10-K's MD&A usually defines the figure and then reports the percentage change, sometimes split into transactions (or traffic) and average ticket (or check). The method of calculating comparable sales varies across the retail industry, as Home Depot's 10-K notes, so the percentage is most useful against that company's own past and against retailers that define the term in a similar way.
How the definition differs
- Walmart’s fiscal 2026 10-K reports that Walmart U.S. comparable sales increased 4.3% in fiscal 2026 and 4.8% in fiscal 2025, and it shows a separate line for Sam’s Club.
- Home Depot’s fiscal 2025 10-K defines comparable sales as sales at locations, physical and online, open greater than 52 weeks, including remodels and relocations, and excluding closed stores. It reports a 0.3% change in fiscal 2025, and it also reports comparable customer transactions and comparable average ticket.
- Costco’s fiscal 2026 10-K defines comparable sales as net sales from warehouses operating for more than one year, including remodels, relocations and expansions, and reports an increase in comparable sales of $22,457 million, or 8%.
- Starbucks’ fiscal 2025 10-K includes company-operated stores open 13 months or longer and excludes the effects of foreign currency exchange rates. It reports that revenue growth in North America was partially offset by a 2% decline in comparable store sales.
- Lowe's fiscal 2025 10-K reports that comparable sales increased 0.2%, with a 3.0% increase in comparable average ticket partly offset by a 2.8% decrease in comparable customer transactions.
- McDonald's 2025 10-K reports that global comparable sales increased 3.1%. It defines comparable sales as sales at restaurants, company-operated or franchised, in operation at least thirteen months, compared with the same period in the prior year, and it also reports comparable guest counts.
Those differences matter. Some companies include e-commerce in the comparable figure; some report it separately. Some include franchised locations; some only company-operated stores. Some adjust for extra weeks in a 53-week year, for fuel prices, or for currency. The definition is in the 10-K, usually just above or below the table.
How to read the number
A positive comparable-sales figure means existing locations sold more than in the year-earlier period, on that company's definition; a negative figure means they sold less. The split between traffic and ticket tells you whether more people came in, or whether each visit was larger. Neither the percentage nor the split is advice about the shares. The figure is also usually a non-GAAP operating measure, and companies often say it is not a substitute for revenue presented under GAAP.
Common questions
What are comparable store sales?
Sales at locations that have been open long enough to compare with the same period a year earlier, used to separate growth at existing stores from growth that comes from opening new ones.
Is there one official definition?
No. Each company defines the term in its 10-K. The open-for period may be 12 months, 13 months or 52 weeks, and companies differ on whether they include e-commerce, fuel, franchisees and currency.
How is this different from total revenue growth?
Total revenue includes new stores, closures, acquisitions and sometimes extra weeks. Comparable sales try to hold the store base still so the change reflects trading at existing locations.
What is the difference between traffic and ticket?
Traffic, transactions or guest counts measure how many visits there were. Ticket or average check measures how much each visit was. Comparable sales is often the combination of the two.
Why might two retailers' comps not be comparable to each other?
Because the definitions differ, and because the businesses differ. The 10-K's definition, and the company's own history, are the fair starting point.
Disclosures
- Editor holdings
- The editor holds no position in any company named on this page. As of Nov 11, 2026.
- Compensation
- Nobody paid for this page. No affiliate links on this page.
- Sources
- Each company's own SEC filings, linked next to each number.
- Last updated
- Nov 10, 2026
General education, the same for every reader. Not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security, and it doesn't consider your situation.
More in Learn and Tools · Methodology & Disclosures explains where every number comes from.