Prices as of 2026/10/30 close
Company comparison · Supermarkets & Food Distribution
Life (¥881.3B) and Blue Zone (¥813.2B) are about the same size by revenue.
Blue Zone earns more on each yen of sales, with an operating margin of 4.5% — 1.5 points above Life (3.0%).
For next year, Life guides for the fastest operating profit growth (+3.8%).
Over the past year the shares moved Blue Zone +19.4%, Life +3.0%.
Head-to-head wins10 metrics
One win per metric for the company with the best value. Metrics with no better or worse (P/E, average age, employees) are excluded.
ScaleInvestors
Blue Zone aheadLife 1 : Blue Zone 2
Revenue: Life ¥881.3B / Blue Zone ¥813.2B
ProfitabilityInvestors
Blue Zone aheadLife 0 : Blue Zone 2
Operating margin: Life 3.0% / Blue Zone 4.5%
GrowthInvestors
EvenLife 1 : Blue Zone 1
Guidance: revenue growth: Life +4.7% / Blue Zone +11.0%
Stock & balance sheetInvestors
Blue Zone aheadLife 0 : Blue Zone 2
Share price, 1 year: Life +3.0% / Blue Zone +19.4%
Pay & workforceJob seekers
Life aheadLife 1 : Blue Zone 0
Average tenure: Life 15.5 yrs / Blue Zone 7.3 yrs
| Metric | Life | Blue Zone | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | ◎¥881.3B | ¥813.2B | 1.1x |
| Operating profit | ¥26.0B | ◎¥36.4B | 1.4x |
| Net income | ¥18.8B | ◎¥23.6B | 1.3x |
| Metric | Life | Blue Zone | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | 3.0% | ◎4.5% | 1.5pt |
| Net margin | 2.1% | ◎2.9% | 0.8pt |
| ROE | — | 12.4% | |
| Revenue per employee | ¥119M | — |
| Metric | Life | Blue Zone | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth (YoY) | +3.6% | — | |
| Operating profit growth (YoY) | +2.9% | — | |
| Revenue CAGRlast 5 years | +3.0% | — | |
| Guidance: revenue growthnext FY plan | +4.7% | ◎+11.0% | 6.4pt |
| Guidance: op. profit growthnext FY plan | ◎+3.8% | +2.9% | 0.9pt |
| Metric | Life | Blue Zone | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Share price, 1 year | +3.0% | ◎+19.4% | 16.5pt |
| Share price, 3 months | −5.1% | ◎+1.8% | 7.0pt |
| P/E (trailing)lower = cheaper | — | 16.2x | |
| Equity ratio | — | 48.1% | |
| Share price (close) | ¥2,470 | ¥1,877.5 |
◎ marks the best value for each metric. Revenue and profit are from the latest full-year earnings release; share prices are closing-price references; P/E = latest close ÷ trailing EPS. For banks and some other financials, revenue means ordinary income.
| Metric | Life | Blue Zone | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average salary | ¥5.57M | — | |
| Starting salary (monthly) | ¥253,000 | — | |
| Average tenure | ◎15.5 yrs | 7.3 yrs | 8.2 |
| Average age | 41.0 | 35.4 | 5.6 |
| Employees | 7,385 | 4 | 1846.3x |
Average salary is for the reporting (parent) company and is affected by average age and job mix. Holding companies with few employees are left out of the salary comparison.
Close (Oct 30, 2026)
¥2,470+3.0% (1Y)
Life +3.0% over 1Y. Compared: Blue Zone +19.4%.
Reference chart of daily closing prices, not real-time quotes (split-adjusted; weekly closes before the last year). Each line shows the % change from the start of the period. Updated Oct 30, 2026.
Life2 segments
Blue Zone1 segments
ARevenue in the latest results: Life ¥881.3B, Blue Zone ¥813.2B. Life (¥881.3B) and Blue Zone (¥813.2B) are about the same size by revenue.
AOperating margins: Blue Zone 4.5%, Life 3.0%. Blue Zone turns the highest share of sales into operating profit.
AShare price change over the past year (closing prices, for reference): Blue Zone +19.4%, Life +3.0%. Blue Zone has risen the most.
Comparing 2 companies (up to 4)
Sources: earnings releases (kessan tanshin), annual securities reports and other public information. Share prices are closing-price references, not real-time. Our data may contain errors; investment decisions are your own responsibility.
