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Japanese supermarket chain operating stores in the greater Tokyo and Kansai regions selling fresh and daily foods.
Japanese supermarket chain operating stores in the greater Tokyo and Kansai regions selling fresh and daily foods.
Earns a small margin on a large volume of everyday food, with fresh produce and prepared foods drawing repeat visits and own-brand goods earning better margins than branded ones. Stores sit in dense neighbourhoods around Tokyo and Osaka, and trading house Mitsubishi is a major shareholder.
In one line: A regional US grocery chain, akin to a smaller Kroger/Publix.
Moat: narrow (brand, scale, distribution). Regional store density and brand recognition in Tokyo/Kansai grocery retail.
Headquarters: Osaka, Japan · Founded: 1946 · Employees: 7,506
Size Life (8194.T) is a Japan Consumer Staples company (Food Retail) with a market value of $1.43B, the 587th largest of 1,379 Japan companies the cockpit tracks. Shares closed at ¥2,615 on 6 Nov 2026.
Performance Over six months the shares gained 1.4%, against -4.8% for the median peer and +1.8% for the Japan market (cap-weighted) — 6th highest of 21 in its peer set.
Growth Revenue grew 2.6% over the last twelve months (peer median +2.8%); the operating margin is 2.8% (peer median 3.0%).
Valuation It trades at 12.1× forward earnings against a peer median of 15.9× (4th cheapest of 16).
Price implies For today's price to make sense, revenue must grow about -11% a year for seven years (Req g). Recent delivered growth is +3%, so the hurdle is -14 pp: the price already allows for a slowdown.
Capital Return on invested capital runs 3.7 points above its cost of capital (5.0% WACC).
Next results Next results expected around 12 Jan 2027 (exchange calendar; dates can move).
| TTM | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | ¥891B | ¥881B | ¥850B | ¥810B | ¥765B |
| Revenue growth | — | +4% | +5% | +6% | — |
| Gross profit | ¥302B | ¥283B | ¥270B | ¥259B | ¥242B |
| EBITDA | ¥41.9B | ¥42.8B | ¥41.8B | ¥40.2B | ¥34.2B |
| Net income | ¥18.1B | ¥18.8B | ¥17.9B | ¥16.9B | ¥13.3B |
| Free cash flow | n/a | ¥63.2B | ¥631M | ¥28.1B | ¥2.45B |
| Capital expenditure | n/a | ¥12.6B | ¥22.7B | ¥16.1B | ¥22.1B |
| Total debt | ¥49.5B | ¥32.1B | ¥71.1B | ¥53.1B | ¥74.2B |
The default views of Competitor Analysis ▸ Charts, drawn from the same data. Open them in the cockpit to change the axes, pin companies and read every value.
| Company | Market cap | 6M return | Revenue growth | Op. margin | Forward P/E | Req g |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Life 8194.T | $1.43B | +1% | +3% | 3% | 12.1× | -11.0% |
| United Super Markets 3222.T | $999M | -7% | +11% | 0% | n/a | 31.5% |
| Blue Zones 417A.T | $2.56B | +11% | +12% | 4% | 15.8× | -4.0% |
Peer set: Industry: the same industry and sector in any market, nearest in size. This is the same default set the interactive Competitor Analysis opens with.
| Measure | 8194.T | Peer median | Rank in peer set |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-month return | +1.4% | +3.7% | 9th lowest of 21 |
| 6-month return | +1.4% | -4.8% | 6th highest of 21 |
| Distance from 52-week high | -7.6% | -14.9% | 5th highest of 21 |
| Revenue growth (TTM) | +2.6% | +2.8% | 10th lowest of 20 |
| Operating margin | 2.8% | 3.0% | 10th lowest of 20 |
| Forward P/E | 12.1× | 15.9× | 4th cheapest of 16 |
| Growth the price implies (Req g, 7 yrs) | -11.0% | -2.7% | 5th least demanding of 20 |
| Growth delivered (Del g) | +3.0% | +3.0% | 10th highest of 20 |
| Hurdle (Req g minus delivered) | -14.0 pp | -7.5 pp | 6th least demanding of 20 |
| ROIC minus cost of capital | +3.7 pp | +1.3 pp | 9th highest of 21 |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 0.9× | 0.4× | 5th most indebted of 11 |
| Company | Market | Market cap | 6M return | Revenue growth | Op. margin | Forward P/E | Req g | Delivered g |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Life 8194.T | Japan | $1.43B | +1% | +3% | 3% | 12.1× | -11.0% | +3.0% |
| Ingles Markets IMKTA | United States | $1.53B | -5% | +1% | 3% | n/a | -1.4% | +3.0% |
| Better Life Commercial Chain Share 002251.SZ | China | $1.34B | -19% | +11% | 5% | 42.1× | 10.8% | -23.1% |
| Yesway YSWY | United States | $1.56B | -4% | n/a | n/a | 21.2× | n/a | n/a |
| Grocery Outlet GO | United States | $1.29B | +59% | +5% | 4% | 21.6× | 4.4% | +8.4% |
| Aryzta ARYN.SW | Switzerland | $1.28B | -26% | -3% | 7% | 13.0× | -6.6% | +3.0% |
| Arcs 9948.T | Japan | $1.27B | +5% | +2% | 3% | 15.9× | -10.6% | +2.4% |
| Chongqing Chongbai Technology 600729.SS | China | $1.26B | -9% | -11% | 4% | 11.3× | -10.4% | -6.9% |
| Valor 9956.T | Japan | $1.25B | -6% | +9% | 3% | 8.8× | -2.7% | +4.8% |
| Taiwan FamilyMart 5903.TWO | Taiwan | $1.23B | -4% | +7% | 2% | 23.4× | -2.4% | +5.2% |
| San-a 2659.T | Japan | $1.22B | -2% | +6% | 7% | 16.4× | -12.3% | +3.9% |
| BGF Retail 282330.KS | South Korea | $1.82B | +9% | +5% | 3% | 10.8× | -18.3% | +7.9% |
| Fuji 8278.T | Japan | $1.11B | -1% | -1% | 1% | n/a | 2.6% | +20.9% |
| Weis Markets WMK | United States | $1.92B | +10% | +4% | 2% | n/a | 4.3% | +3.8% |
| Shanghai Bailian 600827.SS | China | $1.99B | -5% | -9% | -2% | 15.9× | -3.5% | -6.7% |
| Toly Bread 603866.SS | China | $1.01B | -15% | -2% | 8% | 24.1× | 0.5% | -1.8% |
| Chengdu Hongqi Chain 002697.SZ | China | $1.01B | -5% | -1% | 5% | 14.3× | -17.5% | +1.1% |
| United Super Markets 3222.T | Japan | $999M | -7% | +11% | 0% | n/a | 31.5% | +5.6% |
| Jiangxi Guoguang Commercial Chains 605188.SS | China | $908M | -26% | +3% | 1% | n/a | 27.5% | +4.6% |
| Jiajiayue 603708.SS | China | $874M | -12% | 0% | 2% | 25.6× | -12.7% | +1.5% |
| Axial Retailing 8255.T | Japan | $865M | +30% | +3% | 4% | 15.1× | -10.9% | +2.9% |