logoalt Hacker News

phyzix5761yesterday at 4:06 PM2 repliesview on HN

I was shocked to find out tonight that WSJ's net profit margin was just 3.2% in 2024. I would have thought it was a lot more. Also, surprisingly Walmart's net profit margin is only 2.85% for 2025. You would think these huge companies are making huge profits.


Replies

bee_rideryesterday at 11:05 PM

Maybe the big players can get by with a smaller percentage of a huge number.

I’d also expect the competition in the “big leagues” to be more aggressive, resulting in leaner margins.

Also these are huge companies. Small companies might find a niche that is small in absolute terms, but large relative to the company. That niche might be underserved, allowing the small company to make large percentage based margins.

andyferrisyesterday at 11:25 PM

I thought Walmart was well known as an early innovator in precise-but-low-margin business operations?