The historical stock prices of these companies were obtained from the following two excellent internet resources.... Google Finance and MarketWatch Big Charts.
These 87 US Retail Companies had their average stock prices increase by an off-the-charts 383% from January 16, 2009 to January 7, 2014. This 383% increase was 3.3 times the 116% increase in the S&P 500 Index over the same time span.
This exceptional stock price increase was very widespread, with only 7 of the 87 US Retail Companies with Stock Price declines so far during the Obama Administration.
Like the rest of the US economy, the US Retail Sector was hit hard by scared potential customers reacting to the aftershocks of the late 2008 financial meltdown. Actions taken from the get go by the Obama Administration to strengthen the devastated US economy substantially turned around all of the US economy, including the US Retail Sector.
US executives working in the Retail Sector all throughout the country have to be very happy with the stock market performance of these many Retail companies during the Obama Administration.
This exceptional stock price increase in the US Retail Sector is driving a very nice increase in total compensation of executives in the US Retail Sector. Stock-based Compensation of these Retail Executives is extremely robust, especially when the stock appreciation is so huge.
Common stockholders of these US Retail Companies should also be very pleased with the Obama Administration.....after all an average stock price increase of 383% in less than 5 years is just incredible.
On the downside, with a few exceptions like Costco and Starbucks, the pay for workers in US Retailing is exceptionally substandard.
There is something really wrong with how capitalism is working in the US when so many executives in these US Retailing Companies are making such incredibly lucrative Total Compensation year after year, buoyed by off-the-charts stock appreciation from very generous stock-based compensation, while so many of the retail employees are making just barely above the minimum wage.
So clearly selfish greedy executives of these US Retailers, along with their Boards of Directors, are driving the massive gap between the Total Compensation of these Executives and the meager amounts being paid to the many retail employees at the bottom.
By choosing to pay these many Retail employees at the bottom such paltry amounts, this substantially increases the bottom line earnings of these US Retailers, which also drives the stock prices higher and thus also drives the Total Compensation of US Retail Executives higher.
But there's much more causing this massive pay gap between Retail Executives and Retail employees at the bottom.
The US Fed is substantially increasing this already huge pay gap. How? Well, nearly all of these US Retailers are very aggressively buying back their own common stock year after year. By setting such incredibly low interest rates, the US Fed is making it extremely lucrative for US Retail Companies to buy back their own common stock.....there's very little financing costs to do so. And by buying back their common stock very aggressively, Earnings Per Share increases significantly by the fewer number of common shares outstanding and thus the market price per share of the common stock also increases significantly, and thus the Total Compensation of US Retail Executives also grows very robustly.
The US Congress is also substantially increasing this already huge pay gap. How? Well, it has been a very long time since the US Federal Minimum Wage has been increased.
But also, the US Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, has granted US Retail Companies very lucrative corporate tax welfare. Let me just mention several of these.
First, US Retailers got either 100% or 50% first-year tax expensing for all equipment purchases in pretty much the entire past decade.
Second, US Retailers were granted an extremely short tax life for depreciating their huge amount of leasehold improvement investments for many years.
Third, US Retailers are permitted to value their massive amounts of inventory under the unrealistic Retail LIFO Inventory method, which substantially lowers their US Federal Income tax bill each year.
Fourth, like other US publicly-held Corporations, US Retailers are able to to get a US Federal Income Tax Deduction for the excess of the market price of the common stock over its exercise price when executives exercise stock options. When you have a sector like US Retailing which have generated an average stock price appreciation of 383% over the past five years, you have a very substantial amount of these windfall tax benefits being received by US Retail Corporations.
Fifth, in Walmart's income tax footnote, it even specifically states that its worldwide effective income tax rate is lower than the US statutory tax rate because of benefits from lower taxed global operations, including the use of global funding structures and certain US tax credits. Does Walmart really need this US Federal Income Tax largesse the US Congress has granted to it?
And there are much more of this corporate tax largesse granted to US Retailers.
Let me make a prediction. If with the November 2014 election, the US Senate remains in Democratic Control and also the US House switches to Democratic Control, this 383% average stock price increase for these 87 US Retail Companies will increase to over 500% over President Obama's entire eight-year Presidential run. I am pretty certain of it.
From a fairness standpoint, I would let all large Retail businesses as well as other businesses get 50% first-year tax expensing for their US equipment and computer software investments made in 2014, and let both small and medium-sized Retail businesses get 100% first-year tax expensing in 2014, but only if this is combined with an increase in the US Federal Minimum Wage to at least $10.00 per hour over a three-year period as well as at least a three-month extension, and preferably much longer, of Unemployment Benefits to those who have already been unemployed for six months.
But in no event would I extend the clearly abusive huge accelerated tax depreciation for leasehold improvements being granted every year to just retailing companies. These retailers have been the main reason for the wholescale Income Inequality in the US and if the US Government continues to reward them like this for paying their employees such meager amounts, then I think US citizens would be justified to hit the Streets in mass to protest this clear unjustice. And any US Congressman, Republican or Democrat, who votes for extending this massive accelerated tax depreciation for leasehold improvements of just retailers should be targeted by US citizens for defeat in the next election.
And I would totally abolish the extremely lucrative unrealistic LIFO Retail method for valuing inventory of US Retailers for US Federal Income Tax purposes.
Also, I would abolish the windfall US Federal Income tax benefit that US Corporations receive when their corporate executives exercise stock options.
Further, I would assess an annual Income Inequality Fee for US Corporations like the many US Retailing ones which have been clearly much too greedy in excessively buying back their own common stock in a given year.
Below here are the common stock market closing prices of each of these 87 Largest US Retail Companies at both the most recent date January 7, 2014, and also at the date just before President Obama took office, as well as the percentage stock market price changes for this period of time.
| State | Market | Market | Percentage | |
| HQs | Price | Price | Increase | |
| 1-7-14 | 1-16-09 | (Decrease) | ||
| Retailers | ||||
| Pier 1 Imports | TX | 23.13 | 0.49 | 4620% |
| Dillards | AR | 94.48 | 4.12 | 2193% |
| Ulta Salon | IL | 94.46 | 6.05 | 1461% |
| HSN | FL | 61.82 | 5.16 | 1098% |
| Cabela's | NE | 66.41 | 5.78 | 1049% |
| Chipotle Mexican Grill | CO | 533.06 | 53.05 | 905% |
| DineEquity | CA | 83.48 | 8.76 | 853% |
| Whole Foods Market | TX | 55.07 | 6.08 | 806% |
| Tractor Supply | TN | 75.93 | 8.53 | 790% |
| DSW | OH | 42.41 | 5.02 | 746% |
| Sonic Automotive | NC | 23.46 | 2.81 | 735% |
| Starbucks | WA | 77.21 | 9.46 | 716% |
| Amazon.com | WA | 398.03 | 51.59 | 672% |
| Williams-Sonoma | CA | 59.47 | 7.83 | 660% |
| ANN | NY | 38.00 | 5.03 | 655% |
| L Brands | OH | 61.80 | 8.77 | 605% |
| Penske Automotive Group | MI | 46.05 | 7.43 | 520% |
| Cracker Barrel | TN | 111.06 | 17.95 | 519% |
| TJX | MA | 63.18 | 10.33 | 512% |
| AutoNation | FL | 49.70 | 8.42 | 490% |
| Sally Beauty Holdings | TX | 30.39 | 5.18 | 487% |
| CarMax | VA | 45.34 | 8.11 | 459% |
| Zale | TX | 15.96 | 2.88 | 454% |
| Finish Line | IN | 28.30 | 5.16 | 448% |
| Cheesecake Factory | CA | 47.54 | 8.78 | 441% |
| Macy's | OH | 52.18 | 9.76 | 435% |
| Foot Locker | NY | 41.25 | 7.74 | 433% |
| Belk | NC | 54.98 | 10.50 | 424% |
| Chico's Fas | FL | 19.08 | 3.91 | 388% |
| Brinker Intl | TX | 44.96 | 9.30 | 383% |
| Genesco | TN | 72.68 | 15.05 | 383% |
| Ascena Retail Group | NY | 22.20 | 4.60 | 383% |
| Dick's Sporting Goods | PA | 58.58 | 12.18 | 381% |
| Ross Stores | CA | 73.77 | 15.42 | 378% |
| Nordstrom | WA | 60.76 | 12.99 | 368% |
| O'Reilly Automotive | MO | 133.01 | 28.54 | 366% |
| Tiffany | NY | 92.15 | 22.84 | 303% |
| Dollar Tree | VA | 56.59 | 14.44 | 292% |
| Men's Wearhouse | TX | 51.56 | 13.33 | 287% |
| Petsmart | AZ | 69.57 | 18.35 | 279% |
| Autozone | TN | 483.59 | 132.61 | 265% |
| Panera Bread | MO | 174.13 | 48.03 | 263% |
| Advance Auto Parts | VA | 113.18 | 31.72 | 257% |
| Home Depot | GA | 81.50 | 23.20 | 251% |
| Sherwin-Williams | OH | 187.61 | 57.38 | 227% |
| Gap | CA | 39.34 | 12.14 | 224% |
| Bed Bath & Beyond | NJ | 79.21 | 25.94 | 205% |
| Casey's General Stores | IA | 66.83 | 22.43 | 198% |
| Joseph A Bank Clothiers | MD | 55.70 | 20.01 | 178% |
| CoPart | CA | 36.37 | 13.14 | 177% |
| Fastenal | MN | 45.88 | 16.58 | 177% |
| Childrens Place Retail Stores | NJ | 56.63 | 20.54 | 176% |
| Dollar General | TN | 59.89 | 22.73 | 163% |
| Yum Brands | KY | 76.56 | 29.91 | 156% |
| Buckle | NE | 51.80 | 20.84 | 149% |
| KAR Auction Services | IN | 29.26 | 12.03 | 143% |
| Costco | WA | 115.86 | 48.80 | 137% |
| Urban Outfitters | PA | 37.98 | 16.14 | 135% |
| Office Max | IL | 15.26 | 6.49 | 135% |
| Family Dollar Stores | NC | 65.40 | 28.40 | 130% |
| Lowes | NC | 48.38 | 21.04 | 130% |
| CATO | NC | 31.86 | 13.99 | 128% |
| Jack in the Box | CA | 49.29 | 21.94 | 125% |
| Big Lots | OH | 31.65 | 14.59 | 117% |
| Darden Restaurants | FL | 52.58 | 25.97 | 102% |
| Target | MN | 62.91 | 35.02 | 80% |
| GameStop | TX | 44.14 | 24.68 | 79% |
| Office Depot | FL | 4.83 | 2.75 | 76% |
| Harris Teeter Supermarkets | NC | 49.36 | 28.64 | 72% |
| McDonalds | IL | 96.38 | 59.67 | 62% |
| Weis Markets | PA | 51.88 | 33.16 | 56% |
| Kroger | OH | 39.00 | 24.97 | 56% |
| Abercrombie & Fitch | OH | 33.00 | 21.45 | 54% |
| Walmart | AR | 78.45 | 51.56 | 52% |
| Cash America Intl | TX | 38.57 | 25.66 | 50% |
| Amererican Eagle Outfitters | PA | 14.97 | 10.06 | 49% |
| Kohls | WI | 56.10 | 38.15 | 47% |
| AmeriGas Partners | PA | 43.87 | 30.07 | 46% |
| Safeway | CA | 31.98 | 23.51 | 36% |
| Best Buy | MN | 38.38 | 29.34 | 31% |
| Sears Holdings | IL | 43.83 | 45.72 | -4% |
| Staples | MA | 15.80 | 17.45 | -9% |
| Ezcorp | TX | 11.38 | 14.05 | -19% |
| Aeropostale | NY | 8.87 | 13.47 | -34% |
| JC Penney | TX | 8.19 | 19.31 | -58% |
| Supervalu | MN | 7.04 | 17.88 | -61% |
| RadioShack | TX | 2.41 | 12.18 | -80% |
| Average % Increase all 87 | 383% |
