Staples (Staples) Operating Margin % : 2.71% (As of Jul. 2017)

Staples Operating Margin % Chart

Staples Annual Data
	Trend	Jan08	Jan09	Jan10	Jan11	Jan12	Jan13	Jan14	Jan15	Jan16	Jan17
Operating Margin %		Get a 7-Day Free Trial					2.09	5.09	1.50	3.80	-1.45

Staples Quarterly Data
	Oct12	Jan13	Apr13	Jul13	Oct13	Jan14	Apr14	Jul14	Oct14	Jan15	Apr15	Jul15	Oct15	Jan16	Apr16	Jul16	Oct16	Jan17	Apr17	Jul17
Operating Margin %	Get a 7-Day Free Trial															-4.14	5.56	5.10	3.93	2.71

Competitive Comparison of Staples's Operating Margin %

For the Specialty Retail subindustry, Staples's Operating Margin %, along with its competitors' market caps and Operating Margin % data, can be viewed below:

* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.

Staples's Operating Margin % Distribution in the Retail - Cyclical Industry

For the Retail - Cyclical industry and Consumer Cyclical sector, Staples's Operating Margin % distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where Staples's Operating Margin % falls into.

Staples Operating Margin % Calculation

Operating Margin % - also known as operating income margin, operating profit margin and return on sales (ROS) - is the ratio of Operating Income divided by net sales or Revenue, usually presented in percent.

Staples's Operating Margin % for the fiscal year that ended in Jan. 2017 is calculated as

Staples's Operating Margin % for the quarter that ended in Jul. 2017 is calculated as

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

Staples  (NAS:SPLS) Operating Margin % Explanation

Just like Gross Margin %, it is important to see a company maintains its operating margin over time. Among the same industry, a company with higher operating margin is more efficient in its operation. It is also more stable during industry slowdown or recessions. Peter Lynch prefers those with higher margins than those with lower margins.

Be Aware

Operating Margin % can be manipulated by adjusting the rate of depreciation, depletion and amortization (DDA).

If a company is facing competition, its Operating Margin % may decline. Often the Operating Margin % declines well before the company's Revenue or even profit decline. Therefore, Operating Margin % is a very important indicator of whether the company is facing problems.

For instance, by 2012, Nokia (NOK)'s problems were well known and its stock had lost more than 90% of its market value since 2007. But Nokia’s Operating Margin % had already been in decline since 2002, although its Earnings per Share (Diluted) were still rising. Investors who paid attention to Operating Margin % would have avoided this huge loss. The same can be said for Research-in-Motion (RIMM).

Therefore, Operating Margin % is a very important screening filter for GuruFocus. GuruFocus's Buffett-Munger screener requires that the profit margin is either consistent or expanding. The Model Portfolio of the Buffett-Munger screener has outperformed the market every year since inception in 2009.

Staples Operating Margin % Related Terms

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Staples (Staples) Business Description