School Specialty Inc's Competitiveness
A competitive positioning analysis and financial ratio benchmarking of School Specialty Inc (SCOO) against its publicly traded competitors: sales growth, net income, profitability, valuation and market share, plus each peer's market capitalization, revenue, income and employees. Free below: the top 5 peers. Subscriber access adds the full competitor list and CSV downloads.
Key Findings: School Specialty Inc vs Its Competitors
- TTM: Trailing 12-month revenue of 626M vs 190M combined for tracked competitors (76.7% combined share).
- Trending: Latest-quarter revenue run-rate is decelerating (-41.8% annualized vs trailing 12 months), vs decelerating (-43.7%) for its tracked peer group.
- Growth: School Specialty Inc generated -20.6% revenue growth year over year in Q4 2019, vs 1.0% for its tracked competitors combined.
- Profitability: Its -40.2% net margin compares with -31.0% for the peer group.
- Peer revenue share: School Specialty Inc accounted for 77.2% of combined revenue among its tracked peer group, down from 81.2% a year earlier.
- Peer differentiation: Revenue per employee of $0.30M compares with $0.26M for the peer group (1.1x).
Every figure above is sourced and cited in detail further down this page (Market Structure, Profitability & Cost Structure, Productivity vs Peers).
SCOO Sales vs. its Competitors, Q4 2019
School Specialty Inc reported revenue contraction of 20.58 % year on year in Q4 2019, below its competitors' combined revenue growth of 1.04 %.
With a net margin of -40.19 %, School Specialty Inc reported lower profitability than its competitors (-30.98 %).
School Specialty Inc generated 77.24 % of the combined sales of its peer group, down from 81.20 % a year earlier.
School Specialty Inc vs. its Competitors, Q4 2019
Revenue growth, year on year
Net margin
Revenue run-rate vs trailing 12 months
TTM net margin
TTM = trailing twelve months. Run-rate annualizes the latest quarter (×4) and compares it to TTM. In millions of $. High-Confidence Competitors are named as a competitor directly in an SEC filing; Similar-Size Competitors are the closest peers by market-cap rank within the same industry; Similar Growth & Profitability Competitors are the closest peers by combined revenue growth, operating margin and ROIC, all independent of the competitor list.
TTM revenue, latest-quarter run-rate and net income/margin benchmarked across School Specialty Inc and its 4 competitor groupings. Available under Commercial License.
| Entity | TTM Revenue | Rev Run-rate vs TTM |
|---|---|---|
| School Specialty Inc | $12,345M | +12.3% · Accelerating |
| Competitors combined | $12,345M | +12.3% · Accelerating |
| Similar Growth & Profitability (6) | $12,345M | +12.3% · Accelerating |
TTM revenue, run-rate and net margin benchmarking across School Specialty Inc's competitor groups requires a Commercial License.
For context: the Wholesale industry grew revenue 8.3% year over year, combined, vs -20.6% for School Specialty Inc. School Specialty Inc's share of combined industry revenue moved from 0.03% to 0.02%, a loss of 0.01 percentage points.
School Specialty Inc's Competitor Quality Breadth
Share of each group, trailing 12 months: profitable (net margin > 0), expanding (revenue growth > 0), growing faster than the industry's own median, and financially distressed (Piotroski F-Score of 2 or below).
| Entity | Profitable | Expanding | Above Industry Growth | Distressed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| School Specialty Inc | No | No | No | Yes |
| Competitors combined (1) | ||||
| Similar Growth & Profitability (8) | 37.50 % (3 of 8) | 62.50 % (5 of 8) | 62.50 % (5 of 8) | 25.00 % (2 of 8) |
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months. Altman Z-Score is not shown here: it is not populated in the underlying data for any company. Percentages are of companies in each group that report the relevant metric, not of the full group size.
SCOO Stock Performance relative to its Competitors
SCOO Stock Performance relative to Similar Growth & Profitability Competitors
5 Best-Performing Tracked Competitors, Trailing 12 Months
| # | Competitor | TTM Share Price Return | vs U.S.A. 500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Virco Mfg Corporation | 282.9% | Outperformed |
TTM share price return and U.S.A. 500 outperformance for School Specialty Inc's best-performing tracked competitors requires a Commercial License.
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months.
Publicly Traded Peers of School Specialty Inc
Revenue and income for trailing 12 months, in millions of $, except employees| Company | Market Cap | Revenues |
|---|---|---|
| School Specialty Inc | 0.14 | 626.07 |
| Virco Mfg Corporation | 102.29 | 190.43 |
| SUBTOTAL | 102.43 | 816.50 |
Sources: School Specialty Inc's official press releases and regulatory filings; CSIMarket.com's market research; and the financial filings and press releases of the other companies cited.
Updated on:
Focus of this report: publicly traded companies. Ten additional tables on School Specialty Inc versus competitors, including market share analysis, are in the navigation menu under Competition. To download the tables, please subscribe.
School Specialty Inc's Competitors Named by the Company
Competitive relationships identified from SEC filings and corroborating sources, each with a basis and confidence.| Competitor | Basis | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Virco Mfg Corporation | Named by the company | 85% |
Filing basis, confidence, active dates and source counts for School Specialty Inc's named competitors require a Commercial License.
Methodology: relationships are extracted from SEC filings (named-competitor disclosures) and corroborating sources. Named by the company = explicitly disclosed as a competitor; Inferred = derived from corroborating signals. Confidence reflects evidence strength.
School Specialty Inc's Productivity vs Peers Comparison
Revenue and income per employee, trailing 12 months, in $; market cap in millions of $| Company | Market Cap | Revenue / Employee | Income / Employee |
|---|---|---|---|
| School Specialty Inc | 0 | 298,130 | -23,594 |
| Virco Mfg Corporation | 102 | 260,505 | 22,657 |
| PEERS TOTAL | 102 | 260,505 | 22,657 |
School Specialty Inc's Position in Industry Market Structure
Market-capitalization share and concentration across all 26 companies in School Specialty Inc's industry classification, broader than the peer set above. Market cap in millions of $.School Specialty Inc ranks #0 of 26 companies by market capitalization in its industry, holding 0.00 % of total industry market cap. The industry's Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) is 3,596, indicating a highly concentrated market structure (U.S. antitrust guidance: below 1,500 unconcentrated, 1,500 to 2,500 moderately concentrated, above 2,500 highly concentrated).
| Rank | Company | Market Cap | Industry Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walmart Inc | 862,861 | 53.77 % |
| 2 | Costco Wholesale Corp | 410,707 | 25.59 % |
| 3 | Target Corporation | 72,069 | 4.49 % |
| 4 | W w Grainger Inc | 58,975 | 3.67 % |
| 5 | Sysco Corporation | 1,234 | 5.2% |
| 6 | Dollar General Corp | 1,234 | 5.2% |
| 7 | Dollar Tree Inc | 1,234 | 5.2% |
| 8 | Us Foods Holding Corp | 1,234 | 5.2% |
| 9 | Best Buy Co Inc | 1,234 | 5.2% |
| 10 | Five Below Inc | 1,234 | 5.2% |
| 0 | School Specialty Inc | 0 | 0.00 % |
Market cap and industry share for the rest of School Specialty Inc's industry peers requires a Commercial License.
Source: CSIMarket API (daily market-structure computation) across CSIMarket's industry classification, market capitalization as of 2026-06-05.
School Specialty Inc's Profitability & Cost Structure
Trailing 12-month margins from SEC-filed financials. Operating margin is compared to the Wholesale industry median; gross margin, EBITDA margin and capital intensity are compared to the live industry average (43 companies).| Metric | Company | Industry | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross Margin | 33.16 % | 27.15 % (avg) | +6.0 pp |
| Operating Margin | -3.51 % | industry median | -8.4 pp |
| EBITDA Margin | -3.41 % | -0.10 % (avg) | -3.3 pp |
| Capital Intensity (Capex / Revenue) | 1.55 % | 2.47 % (avg) | -0.9 pp |
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months. SG&A and R&D as a share of revenue have limited coverage as this data is backfilled and appear only where reported. Higher capital intensity is not inherently negative; it reflects the industry's asset requirements.
School Specialty Inc's Valuation vs Competitive Position
Valuation multiples vs the Wholesale industry average (43 companies, excluding loss-making/negative-equity outliers), alongside returns on capital for context on whether a premium or discount lines up with measurably stronger or weaker returns.| Metric | Company | Industry Average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| P/E | - | 23.3x | - |
| EV / EBITDA | - | 12.7x | - |
| P/B | 0.0x | 4.2x | -4.2x |
| Return on Equity | -132.32 % | industry aggregate | -155.81 % |
| Return on Invested Capital | -16.39 % | 1.47 % (avg) | -17.86 % |
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months. A valuation premium or discount is not, by itself, a judgment of over- or under-valuation. Compare it against the return and growth context shown elsewhere on this page.
School Specialty Inc's Multi-Year Financial Trajectory
Fiscal-year revenue growth, operating margin, return on invested capital and P/E, as reported in SEC filings.| Metric | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue Growth | -91.39 % | 0.31 % | 2.29 % | -7.04 % |
| Operating Margin | -6.57 % | 3.78 % | -2.73 % | -3.51 % |
| Return on Invested Capital | -1.23 % | 7.60 % | -6.18 % | -16.39 % |
| P/E | - | 0.2x | - | - |
Source: CSIMarket API, fiscal-year figures. P/E is this company's own historical ratio at each fiscal year end and can swing sharply around an earnings trough: that is real, not a data error.
School Specialty Inc's Strategic Group Map
Every company in School Specialty Inc's industry and named-competitor list, plotted by trailing 12-month revenue growth and operating margin. School Specialty Inc is shown in red; its closest peers by combined growth, margin and ROIC (the Similar Growth & Profitability group above) are labeled.
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months. Extreme outlier values (from near-zero-revenue companies) are excluded from the plotted cloud but never from the highlighted company or its labeled peers.
School Specialty Inc's Competitive Forces (Porter's Five Forces)
Only the forces this data can support honestly are shown; the other three are marked as such rather than guessed.| Force | Assessment | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Competitive Rivalry | Low | Industry HHI of 3,596 (see Industry Market Structure & Concentration above) |
| Barriers to Entry | Lower than typical for the industry | Capital intensity (capex / revenue) of 1.55 % vs industry average 2.47 % (see Profitability & Cost Structure above) |
| Supplier Power | Not covered on this page | See School Specialty Inc's dedicated suppliers page for concentration and dependency data |
| Buyer Power | Not covered on this page | See School Specialty Inc's dedicated customers page for concentration and dependency data |
| Threat of Substitutes | - | No systematic data source for cross-product substitution exists in this system; not estimated |
Note: this is a partial, data-grounded application of the framework, not a complete strategic assessment. Rivalry and barriers-to-entry readings are mechanical translations of the HHI and capital-intensity figures shown elsewhere on this page, not independent judgments.
School Specialty Inc's Industry Attractiveness & Competitive Strength
A CSIMarket composite, not a standard field: each axis is an equal-weighted average of three factors already shown elsewhere on this page (industry growth, industry profitability and rivalry for attractiveness; relative market share, profitability and growth vs industry for strength). Disclosed as a designed methodology, not a precision measurement.
School Specialty Inc falls in the Medium attractiveness / Low strength cell: Harvest.
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months. Each axis score is a simple 1(low)/2(medium)/3(high) average across its three inputs -- a transparent, disclosed simplification, not a validated academic scoring model.
School Specialty Inc's SWOT
Every point below is a fixed rule applied to a metric already shown elsewhere on this page (Market Structure, Profitability, Valuation, Run-Rate, Stock Performance, Quality Breadth) not an independent strategic assessment. A blank quadrant means no rule was met, not that none apply.Strengths
No rule matched.
Weaknesses
- Operating margin 8.4 points below the industry median.
- Return on equity 155.8 points below the industry aggregate.
- Latest-quarter revenue run-rate is decelerating (-41.8% annualized vs trailing 12 months).
- Underperforming the U.S.A. 500 over the trailing 12 months.
- Piotroski F-Score of 2 or below, the standard financial-distress signal.
Opportunities
No rule matched.
Threats
- Industry dominated by Walmart Inc , holding 53.77 % of industry market cap.
- Tracked peer group's revenue run-rate is broadly decelerating (-43.7% annualized).
Methodology: mechanical, rule-based SWOT. Each bullet reuses a figure already sourced and cited elsewhere on this page; nothing here is generated narrative or independent analyst judgment.
School Specialty Inc's Financial Strength vs Peers Comparison
Quick ratio, working capital, debt to equity and asset turnover, trailing 12 months| Company | Quick Ratio | Working Capital | Debt / Equity |
|---|---|---|---|
| School Specialty Inc | 0.03 | 1.04 | 4.71 |
| Virco Mfg Corporation | 0.38 | 2.95 | 0.04 |
Quick ratio = cash / current liabilities; working capital ratio = current assets / current liabilities; asset turnover = revenue / total assets. Peers in the Blank Checks industry are excluded.
School Specialty Inc's Revenue and Income Growth vs Peers
Quarterly revenue and net income growth, year over year and quarter over quarter| Company | Period | Revenue Y/Y | Income Y/Y |
|---|---|---|---|
| School Specialty Inc | Q4 2019 | -20.6 % | - |
| Virco Mfg Corporation | Q2 2026 | -4.8 % | -15.4 % |
| PEERS TOTAL | -13.6 % | - |
Growth is shown only where both periods are positive. Peers in the Blank Checks industry are excluded.
School Specialty Inc's Peers' Costs of Sales and Capital Expenditures
Context for revenue growth: peer costs and capex, year over year and quarter over quarter| Company | Period | Costs Y/Y | Capex Y/Y |
|---|---|---|---|
| School Specialty Inc | Q4 2019 | -21.7 % | -48.4 % |
| Virco Mfg Corporation | Q2 2026 | +2.8 % | -56.1 % |
School Specialty Inc's Returns and Turnover vs Peers
ROA, ROI and ROE (trailing 12 months), receivables and inventory turnover| Company | ROA | ROI | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| School Specialty Inc | - | - | - |
| Virco Mfg Corporation | 9.16% | 11.01% | 15.32% |
ROA = net income / total assets; ROI = net income / investments; ROE = net income / equity; turnover ratios use trailing 12 month revenue (receivables) and cost of sales (inventory).
School Specialty Inc's Valuation vs Peers
P/E, price to sales, PEG, price to cash flow and price to book| Company | P/E | Price / Sales |
|---|---|---|
| School Specialty Inc | - | 0.00 |
| Virco Mfg Corporation | - | 0.54 |
| PEERS AVERAGE | - | 0.13 |
P/E = price / diluted EPS (trailing 12 months); PEG = P/E divided by EPS growth; the average row divides the peers' combined market cap by their combined income, sales, cash flow and equity.