Regardless of being based earlier than anybody can bear in mind, Tesco (LSE:TSCO) continues to dominate the UK grocery market. And I’m questioning whether or not I ought to add it to my Shares and Shares ISA. 

A 3.5% dividend yield is above what I’m at present getting from my portfolio. Moreover, the agency has simply reported a powerful Christmas buying and selling interval, giving buyers loads to be constructive about.

Dividends

Real buyer loyalty within the grocery store business is about as sensible as a world the place everybody agrees on one thing. And this makes the emergence of Aldi and Lidl a danger for Tesco shareholders.

It’s value noting, although, that the UK’s largest grocery store firm has been defending its territory very properly. In line with knowledge from Kantar, Tesco’s market share within the final quarter of 2024 was 28.5%. 

That’s up from 27.7% the yr earlier than. And with the market as an entire increasing as Brits spent extra on Christmas groceries than ever earlier than, buyers have so much to really feel constructive about.

Importantly, Tesco additionally has some long-term benefits that make it tough to compete with. Most clearly, its scale places it in a robust place in relation to negotiating costs with suppliers.

In a world the place retailers throughout the board are being pressured to compete on price, having decrease prices than the competitors is a large benefit. And it’s laborious for different supermarkets to duplicate this. 

In different phrases, whereas boundaries to entry could be low, boundaries to scale are excessive. And it’s the scale of Tesco’s operation that makes its market place more durable to shift than a rusted-out tank.

Progress

Tesco’s robust aggressive place makes it seem like an incredible passive revenue funding. However I’m a bit cautious – once I’m in search of shares to purchase, dividends aren’t the one factor I take into consideration.

I additionally pay shut consideration to an organization’s future development prospects. Particularly, I’m taken with what alternatives a enterprise has to reinvest its earnings to extend its revenue sooner or later. 

This comes down to 2 issues. The primary is how a lot Tesco goes to have the ability to enhance its revenues and earnings by and the second is how a lot it’s going to have to take a position with a purpose to try this.

By way of income development, the final 10 years have been about as explosive as a strolling tour of a library. Leaving apart the Covid-19 pandemic, gross sales have usually elevated by greater than the speed of inflation – however not by a lot. 

Tesco income development 2015-2024

Created at TradingView

It’s additionally value noting that this development has been pretty costly. Over the past decade, Tesco’s return on invested capital (ROIC) has constantly been under 10%, which isn’t notably spectacular.

Tesco ROIC 2014-2024

Created at TradingView

This means that the corporate has to commit various its capital into issues like stock and tools to realize this development. And this isn’t a very good signal for buyers.

A chance?

Tesco has been a part of the FTSE 100 since 1996 and its scale provides it an enormous benefit over the remainder of the UK grocery business. From a dividend perspective, I feel the inventory seems engaging. 

The factor is, there’s extra to investing than simply dividends. And with development wanting each modest and capital-intensive, I feel I can discover higher alternatives proper now.