Battle · 5 companies

Supermarkets

Unexpected item in the bagging area: a loser

Tesco leads on 4 of the five measures that matter most: turnover, pre-tax profit, profit margin, growth and net assets. Tesco is the biggest by turnover at £73,712m, against £23,774m at Asda. Tesco keeps the most of every £100 it takes, £3.26 as pre-tax profit.

The year ends are up to 14 months apart, so this compares each company's most recent filing rather than the same twelve months. Tesco and Aldi file group accounts that include subsidiaries; Lidl and Waitrose file for a single company, which flatters the groups on size.

Spark Intel Research Desk·Last updated 28 September 2026·Source: Companies House filed accounts

Accounts compared: Tesco to Feb 2026 · Asda to Dec 2024 · Aldi to Dec 2024 · Lidl to Feb 2025 · Waitrose to Jan 2026

Biggest by turnover

Tesco

£73,712m

Highest profit margin

Tesco

3.3%

Fastest-growing turnover

Lidl

+7.9%

The Numbers

#	Company	Turnover	Change	Pre-tax profit	Margin	Employees	Pay per head	Turnover per head	Net assets	Bank and cash	Accounts to	Basis
1	TescoTesco PLC	£73,712m	+5.4%	£2,403m	3.3%	227,188	£42,000	£324,000	£11,463m	£2,515m	Feb 2026	Group
2	AsdaAsda Stores Limited	£23,774m	-3.5%	-£834m	-3.5%	131,027	£22,000	£181,000	£2,361m	n/d	Dec 2024	n/d
3	AldiAldi Stores Limited	£18,125m	+1.3%	£416m	2.3%	50,655	£32,000	£358,000	£3,593m	£118m	Dec 2024	Group
4	LidlLidl Great Britain Limited	£11,733m	+7.9%	£157m	1.3%	34,697	£29,000	£338,000	£2,015m	£164m	Feb 2025	Single company
5	WaitroseWaitrose Limited	£7,767m	+6.9%	£111m	1.4%	44,900	£26,000	£173,000	£718m	£71m	Jan 2026	Single company

Ranked by turnover. Click any column to sort. The leader on each measure is highlighted. Movements are against each company's own prior year. Pre-tax profit is filed except where marked (est.).

Category winners

Biggest by turnover

Tesco

£73,712m

Most pre-tax profit

Tesco

£2,403m

Highest profit margin

Tesco

3.3%

Fastest-growing turnover

Lidl

+7.9%

Biggest employer

Tesco

227,188 staff

Highest pay per head

Tesco

£42,000

Most turnover per head

Aldi

£358,000

Largest net assets

Tesco

£11,463m

Most cash

Tesco

£2,515m

The Takeaway

Tesco converts the most of its turnover. Of every £100, £3.26 reaches pre-tax profit, against a loss of £3.51 at Asda.
Tesco is the largest on the top line, £73,712m of turnover, 3.1x Asda's £23,774m.
Lidl is growing fastest, turnover +7.9% on its own prior year. Asda went backwards.
Tesco is the biggest employer with 227,188 people; Tesco pays the most per head, an average staff cost of about £42,000.
Tesco has the largest balance sheet, net assets of £11,463m.

Who keeps the most of every £100 of sales?

Tesco keeps the most: £3.26 of every £100 of turnover becomes pre-tax profit. Asda does worst, losing £3.51.

Every profit figure here is the one the company filed.

The chart splits each company's turnover into £100: what goes on people, on interest and on everything else, and what is left as profit.

Out of every £100 of turnover

Payroll (staff costs)Financing (interest paid)Other running costsPre-tax profitLoss: the costs beyond £100

Each column is £100 of that company's own turnover, so companies of any size compare on one scale; the figures are pounds out of each £100, not millions. Companies run from the best margin to the worst. Payroll is staff costs, financing is interest paid, other running costs are everything else, and profit is pre-tax profit, filed or estimated as marked in the table. A loss is not an extra cost: it is the part of the costs that runs past the £100 line, marked with a red bracket. Hover over any segment for its figure.

Who is the biggest, and does the comparison hold?

By turnover the order is Tesco (£73,712m), Asda (£23,774m), Aldi (£18,125m), Lidl (£11,733m), Waitrose (£7,767m).

By headcount, Tesco leads with 227,188 employees.

The comparison holds with the dates stated plainly: Tesco to Feb 2026, Asda to Dec 2024, Aldi to Dec 2024, Lidl to Feb 2025, Waitrose to Jan 2026. The bases differ: group accounts include the businesses a company owns, single-company accounts do not.

Turnover on the latest filing

Who is growing fastest?

Lidl grew fastest, turnover +7.9% on its own prior year, ahead of Waitrose (+6.9%), Tesco (+5.4%), Aldi (+1.3%), Asda (-3.5%).

Turnover change on each company's own prior year

Who employs the most, who pays the most, and who brings in the most per head?

Tesco employs the most, 227,188 people, against 131,027 at Asda.

Tesco has the highest average staff cost, about £42,000 a head; Asda the lowest, about £22,000.

Aldi brings in the most turnover per employee, about £358,000, against £173,000 at Waitrose. It says as much about the business model as the workforce: a marketplace or a wholesaler needs far fewer people per pound than a restaurant or a gym.

Tesco

227,188

employees, about £42,000 pay a head, £324,000 turnover a head, -0.9% on the year

Asda

131,027

employees, about £22,000 pay a head, £181,000 turnover a head, -3.6% on the year

Aldi

50,655

employees, about £32,000 pay a head, £358,000 turnover a head, +3.9% on the year

Lidl

34,697

employees, about £29,000 pay a head, £338,000 turnover a head, +10.3% on the year

Waitrose

44,900

employees, about £26,000 pay a head, £173,000 turnover a head

Who owns each one?

Ownership as recorded on the Companies House register of people with significant control, in the bands the register uses.

Tesco PLC · 00445790

Owned by its shareholders

Listed on the London Stock Exchange, so no single controller appears on the register. 2 outstanding charges on the register.

Who owns Tesco →

Asda Stores Limited · 00464777

Held by Asda Group Limited

A company recorded as a person with significant control. 26 outstanding charges on the register.

Who owns Asda →

Aldi Stores Limited · 02321869

No controller recorded

The register shows no person with significant control. 5 outstanding charges on the register.

Who owns Aldi →

Lidl Great Britain Limited · 02816429

No controller recorded

The register shows no person with significant control. 31 outstanding charges on the register.

Who owns Lidl →

Waitrose Limited · 00099405

Held by John Lewis Plc

A company recorded as a person with significant control. 3 outstanding charges on the register.

Who owns Waitrose →

What does the full ledger show?

Measure	Tesco	Asda	Aldi	Lidl	Waitrose
Registered name	TESCO PLC	ASDA STORES LIMITED	ALDI STORES LIMITED	LIDL GREAT BRITAIN LIMITED	WAITROSE LIMITED
Company number	00445790	00464777	02321869	02816429	00099405
Incorporated	1947	1949	1988	1993	1908
Accounts filed	25 July 2026	16 September 2025	22 September 2025	23 October 2025	14 May 2026
Turnover, prior year	£69,916m	£24,631m	£17,888m	£10,875m	£7,267m
Pre-tax profit, prior year	n/d	£217m	£537m	£44m	£138m
Staff costs	£9,461m	£2,946m	£1,603m	£1,023m	£1,151m
Payroll share of turnover	12.8%	12.4%	8.8%	8.7%	14.8%
Employees, prior year	229,140	135,911	48,746	31,448	n/d
Dividends paid	£936m	n/d	£250m	n/d	n/d
Charges outstanding	2	26	5	31	3

A figure the filing does not disclose is shown as n/d; a zero in a filing is treated as not disclosed. Rounding: below £0.1m in thousands, £0.1m to £2m to one decimal place, above that to the nearest million.

Supermarkets: common questions

Who is the biggest of Tesco, Asda, Aldi, Lidl or Waitrose?

Tesco, with turnover of £73,712m in the year to February 2026.

Which makes the most profit?

Tesco: £2,403m pre-tax in the year to February 2026.

Which employs the most people?

Tesco, with 227,188 employees in its latest accounts.

Tesco or Asda: which is bigger?

Tesco, with turnover of £73,712m against £23,774m at Asda on their latest filings. On margin, Tesco keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit. The full head to head is in the VS Series. Read the VS page →

Tesco or Aldi: which is bigger?

Tesco, with turnover of £73,712m against £18,125m at Aldi on their latest filings. On margin, Tesco keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Tesco or Lidl: which is bigger?

Tesco, with turnover of £73,712m against £11,733m at Lidl on their latest filings. On margin, Tesco keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Tesco or Waitrose: which is bigger?

Tesco, with turnover of £73,712m against £7,767m at Waitrose on their latest filings. On margin, Tesco keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Asda or Aldi: which is bigger?

Asda, with turnover of £23,774m against £18,125m at Aldi on their latest filings. On margin, Aldi keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Asda or Lidl: which is bigger?

Asda, with turnover of £23,774m against £11,733m at Lidl on their latest filings. On margin, Lidl keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Asda or Waitrose: which is bigger?

Asda, with turnover of £23,774m against £7,767m at Waitrose on their latest filings. On margin, Waitrose keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Aldi or Lidl: which is bigger?

Aldi, with turnover of £18,125m against £11,733m at Lidl on their latest filings. On margin, Aldi keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit. The full head to head is in the VS Series. Read the VS page →

Aldi or Waitrose: which is bigger?

Aldi, with turnover of £18,125m against £7,767m at Waitrose on their latest filings. On margin, Aldi keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Lidl or Waitrose: which is bigger?

Lidl, with turnover of £11,733m against £7,767m at Waitrose on their latest filings. On margin, Waitrose keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.

Where do these figures come from?

Each company's latest accounts filed at Companies House. Each links to its full Spark Intel profile, which names the filing it comes from.