Walmart, Amazon retain top spots in annual NRF ranking of top 50 global retailers

U.S.-based retail giants giants dominate the upper tier of an annual ranking of the leading international retailers based on their retail revenues in 2025.

Walmart once again took No. 1 spot in the National Retail Federation’s “2026 Top 50 Global Retailers” ranking, which was conducted by Kantar. Amazon retained the No. 2 spot. Rounding out the top five were two Germany-based companies — Schwarz Group (No. 3) and Aldi (No.4.) — and Costco Wholesale Corp. (See list of top 25 global retailers at end of article).

Kantar’s ranking system awards points to retailers based on their domestic and international retail revenues and not overall  overall organizational revenue. The system awards the most points to retailers with international direct selling and fewer points to those with a preponderance of domestic retail sales. To qualify for the ranking, retailers need to have a direct investment in at least three countries. (For more on the methodology, click here.)

“The list reflects a year that started quietly but quickly grew more challenging due to U.S. policy shifts and rapidly changing tariffs on almost all goods,” said Kantar senior VP of global insights and technology David Marcotte. “Volatility in key commodity costs, product availability and trade patterns forced global manufacturers and retailers to make quick strategic pivots.”