Same-store sales.
In plain English
Same-store sales, also called comparable sales, count revenue only from stores that have been open long enough to have a prior-year figure to compare against. New stores, closed stores, and often heavily remodeled ones are excluded. The point is to show whether existing locations are actually selling more, rather than whether the chain is getting bigger. Companies set their own definitions, including whether e-commerce counts, so the measure is not standardized across the industry. Read the footnote before comparing two retailers.
01Why it matters
A chain can post rising total revenue while every existing store sells less, and this number is the one that shows it, which is why investors watch it more closely than headline sales.
02The math, step by step
A chain runs 100 stores and opens 20 more. Total sales rise from $500 million to $580 million, up 16 percent. But the original 100 stores went from $500 million to $495 million, so same-store sales fell 1 percent. The growth came from the new locations.
Illustrative example. The amounts here are hypothetical, chosen to show how the math works, not real quoted rates or figures.
03What this is NOT
Total revenue growth includes every new store the chain opened. Same-store sales deliberately exclude them. A retailer can show strong total growth and negative same-store sales at once, which usually means the chain is buying growth by building rather than earning it at existing locations.
04Receipts
Every figure on this page is sourced to a primary document. Tap to open the original.
Plain-English answers from our glossary. Receipts included. Never advice.
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