Friday, Jul 24, 2026 The claims desk. Receipts included. POWERED BY LENZ ↗
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The Claim

In 2025, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission found that Coles Group and Woolworths Group were among the most profitable supermarket businesses compared with their international competitors.

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The Short Version

The claim matches the ACCC’s published 2025 conclusion. In its final supermarkets inquiry report, the regulator said Coles and Woolworths were among the most profitable supermarket businesses relative to international peers. The main caveat is that this was a comparative profitability finding, not a finding of price gouging or proof that every profitability metric was highest in the world.

Caveats

  • The ACCC’s finding was about comparative profitability among global peers, not about every single profit measure pointing in the same direction.
  • High profitability does not mean the ACCC found illegal conduct or price gouging; the report stopped short of that accusation.
  • The ACCC’s wording was typically that Coles and Woolworths were 'among' the most profitable, not definitively the single most profitable.

The Receipts

  1. Final report - Supermarkets inquiry 2024-25

    ACCC

  2. ACCC recommends supermarket reforms to provide better outcomes for consumers and suppliers

    ACCC

  3. ACCC finds Australia’s supermarkets are among the world’s most profitable, but doesn’t accuse them of price gouging

    Evening Report

  4. Supermarkets inquiry summary

    Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

  5. Supermarkets inquiry 2024-25 – Final report

    Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

  6. ACCC exposes unfair supermarket dominance

    ABC News

  7. Coles, Woolworths Have Little Incentive to Compete: Inquiry

    Bloomberg

  8. 9News on Instagram: "A report by the ACCC earlier this year ..."

    9News (Instagram)

  9. ACCC urges reform as Coles and Woolworths named among ‘most profitable' supermarkets in world

    The Guardian

  10. ACCC Deputy Chair discusses the findings of the supermarkets inquiry | ABC NEWS

    ABC News (YouTube)

+ 11 more sources — see the full list on Lenz

Filed Under

Australian Competition And Consumer CommissionColes GroupWoolworths Group

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