At a glance
Winmark Corporation is worth $1.01B, about 25 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 5.9% to $86.1M in fiscal 2025, with 48.4% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 5.4% a year. It pays a 4.93% dividend yield, raised every year for at least 5 years, and returned $279.8M to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned −28.1% over the past year with dividends reinvested and +7.6% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 41.1% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 24.4% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 16 months and 4 months after the lows.
The business in plain English
Winmark franchises resale stores but does not own or run any itself. Independent owners, called franchisees, buy gently used goods from local shoppers and resell them for less than new. It has five brands: Plato's Closet (teen and young adult clothing), Once Upon A Child (children's clothing, toys and gear), Play It Again Sports (sporting goods), Style Encore (mainly women's apparel) and Music Go Round (musical instruments). As of December 27, 2025, there were 1,378 stores, including 165 in Canada.
Winmark earns money mainly from royalties, the ongoing fees franchisees pay to use its brands and operating systems. In the fiscal year ended December 27, 2025, royalties made up 88.7% of its $86.1 million in revenue. The rest came from product sales, marketing fees, franchise fees and software license fees. Franchise agreements last 10 years, and 98% of those up for renewal in 2025 were renewed.
Plato's Closet is the biggest brand. Its royalties and franchise fees equaled 37.4% of fiscal 2025 revenue. Once Upon A Child followed at 30.1% and Play It Again Sports at 17.3%. Style Encore (3.7%) and Music Go Round (2.0%) were far smaller. Most revenue comes from the US, and Canadian franchisees contributed about $7.8 million in 2025. As of December 27, 2025, franchisees had signed another 82 franchise agreements for stores that had not yet opened.
Price history
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WINA -28.1% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
How it makes money
By product or service
| Royalty | $76.4M | 88.7% |
| Product | $3.3M | 3.8% |
| Product And Service Other | $2.3M | 2.6% |
| Marketing Fees | $1.9M | 2.2% |
| Franchise | $1.5M | 1.8% |
| Software License Fees | $400K | 0.5% |
Latest results
- In Q3 FY2026 (ended Sep 26, 2026), revenue was $27.9M, up 23.2% from a year earlier, and net income was $11.8M (+6.1%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $86.1M (+5.9% year over year; +5.4% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 48.4% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +5.4% good |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 63.4% good |
| Free cash flow margin | 51.9% good |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 167.4% good |
| Net cash (cash minus debt) | $-2.0M watch |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $66.1M | $29.8M | $43.2M |
| FY2021 | $78.2M | $39.9M | $48.3M |
| FY2022 | $81.4M | $39.4M | $43.7M |
| FY2023 | $83.2M | $40.2M | $43.6M |
| FY2024 | $81.3M | $40.0M | $42.0M |
| FY2025 | $86.1M | $41.7M | $44.7M |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $1.01B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 25 |
| Dividend yield | 4.93% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Winmark’s market value went from $520.0M at the end of 2016 to $1.01B on Oct 28, 2026, up 94%; since the end of 2025 it is down 30%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $1.01B | -30.2% |
| 2025 | $1.44B | +4.2% |
| 2024 | $1.38B | -5.0% |
| 2023 | $1.46B | +79.6% |
| 2022 | $810.7M | -10.0% |
| 2021 | $900.4M | +29.6% |
| 2020 | $694.9M | -8.5% |
| 2019 | $759.7M | +22.5% |
| 2018 | $620.3M | +25.4% |
| 2017 | $494.5M | -4.9% |
| 2016 | $520.0M |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WINA price data to Oct 28, 2026 | -29.6% | -28.1% | -8.5% | +7.6% | +12.2% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | -29.6% |
| 2025 | +6.5% |
| 2024 | -3.2% |
| 2023 | +82.4% |
| 2022 | -2.8% |
| 2021 | +38.4% |
| 2020 | -5.9% |
| 2019 | +25.4% |
| 2018 | +23.4% |
| 2017 | +2.9% |
| 2016 | +36.1% |
| 2015 | +7.3% |
| 2014 | -0.1% |
| 2013 | +63.0% |
| 2012 | +7.2% |
| 2011 | +71.0% |
| 2010 | +56.8% |
| 2009 | +86.9% |
| 2008 | -45.2% |
| 2007 | +4.0% |
| 2006 | -3.4% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 54.4% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 59.6%, back to its old high 7.9 months after the low |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 41.1% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 41.1%, back to its old high 15.8 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 8.9% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 24.4%, back to its old high 4.3 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-31 to 2026-10-31 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 2 sales ($2.6M).
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 4, 2026 | Jenele C Grassle Director | sell | $1.9M |
| Mar 3, 2026 | Percy C Jr Tomlinson Director | sell | $764K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| BlackRock, Inc. | 12.1% | Jan 31, 2026 |
| Renaissance Technologies LLC | 6.21% | Jun 4, 2025 |
| AltraVue Capital, LLC | 4.9% | Dec 31, 2025 |
| First Trust Portfolios L.P. | 0.06% | Sep 30, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in WINA
| XRT SPDR S&P Retail ETF | 1.17% |
| DEEP Acquirers Small and Micro Deep Value ETF | 1.17% |
| SQLV Royce Quant Small‑Cap Quality Value ETF | 0.27% |
| SMLV SPDR SSGA US Small Cap Low Volatility Index ETF | 0.26% |
| AGOX Adaptive Alpha Opportunities ETF | 0.21% |
| DES WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Dividend Fund | 0.19% |
| QSML WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Quality Growth Fund | 0.19% |
| GSSC TR Activebeta US Small Cap Equity ETF | 0.18% |
What could go wrong
- Renewing 10-year franchise agreements. Franchise agreements last 10 years. As of December 27, 2025, 110 were due to expire in 2026, 103 in 2027 and 92 in 2028. Many non-renewals would hurt results; 98% renewed in fiscal 2025.
- Growth depends on new franchise openings. Growth relies on adding franchisees. Weak economies can make it harder for would-be owners to get financing, and buyers of a territory may never open a store or start paying royalties.
- Stores need a steady supply of used goods. Inventory comes from the public selling unwanted items, which may be irregular. Product safety rules and local secondhand dealer laws can also limit what franchisees can purchase and resell.
- Point-of-sale system upgrade could disrupt stores. Every franchisee must use Winmark's point-of-sale (checkout and pricing) system. Winmark is working to modernize it, and a poorly run rollout or vendor failure could disrupt stores, strain franchisee relationships and hurt results.
- Debt, loan limits and negative equity. Winmark's loan agreements carry restrictions. As of September 26, 2026, debt was $30.0 million versus $28.0 million in cash and investments, and liabilities exceeded assets by $37.4 million.
- Bigger retailers and online marketplaces compete. Many rivals, from new-goods retailers to online marketplaces, have far more money and resources. Franchisees also face thrift and other resale stores, and more competitors may enter the used-goods market.
Recent events
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement; Other company announcement
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement; Other company announcement
- Executive or board change
- Shareholder vote results
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement; Other company announcement
- Other company announcement
- Quarterly results released; Investor presentation or announcement
- Investor presentation or announcement; Other company announcement
For income and retirement investors
Dividends per share have risen for 5 straight fiscal years, from $0.80 in fiscal 2020 to about $13.33 in fiscal 2025. The dividend yield (yearly dividends divided by share price) was 4.93% as of October 28, 2026. Fiscal 2025 dividends were 117.9% of earnings and 109.9% of free cash flow (cash left after running and investing in the business), meaning Winmark paid out more than it generated. Over fiscal 2021–2025, it paid $184.1 million in dividends and spent $95.8 million on buybacks, mostly in the first two years.
In past downturns, the shares fell about 60% from November 2007 to February 2009 (recovering by October 2009), 41% in the 2020 COVID crash (recovering by July 2021) and 24% in the first half of 2022 (recovering that October). As of October 28, 2026, the stock was down 29.6% year to date. Single stocks carry more risk than diversified funds, because one company's setbacks hit the whole investment.
Questions investors ask
How does Winmark make money?
Mostly from royalties paid by franchisees. Winmark owns five resale brands, including Plato's Closet and Once Upon A Child, and licenses them to independent owners who run the stores. In fiscal 2025, royalties were $76.4 million, or 88.7% of $86.1 million in revenue. The rest came from product sales, marketing fees, franchise fees, software license fees and other services. Winmark kept 48.4% of revenue as net profit, partly because it owns no stores; franchisees bear the costs of running them.
Does Winmark own the Plato's Closet and Once Upon A Child stores?
No. Winmark owns the brands, but every store is owned and run by a franchisee. As of December 27, 2025, there were 526 Plato's Closet and 441 Once Upon A Child stores among 1,378 franchised locations. Winmark trains owners, supplies the required point-of-sale system and offers ongoing support. Franchisees must spend at least 5% of gross sales on approved advertising. Agreements last 10 years, and 98% of those due for renewal in fiscal 2025 were renewed.
Does Winmark raise its dividend every year?
It has raised dividends per share for 5 straight fiscal years, through fiscal 2025. They rose from $0.80 in fiscal 2020 to $1.60, $2.55, $3.10, about $10.60 and about $13.33 in fiscal 2025. The yield was 4.93% as of October 28, 2026. A five-year streak is short next to companies that have raised dividends for decades, the increases have been uneven, and fiscal 2025 dividends exceeded earnings, so past raises are no promise of future ones.
Does Winmark pay out more in dividends than it earns?
Yes, in fiscal 2025. Dividends equaled 117.9% of net income and 109.9% of free cash flow, the cash left after running and investing in the business. Net income was $41.7 million and free cash flow $44.7 million, while dividends paid totaled $49.1 million. A company can fund a gap like that from cash on hand or borrowing only for so long. As of September 26, 2026, Winmark had $28.0 million in cash and investments and $30.0 million in debt.
How has Winmark stock performed?
Mixed: the shares gained over 10 and five years but lost ground over three years and one year. As of October 28, 2026, they returned about 12.2% a year over 10 years and 7.6% a year over five years, but lost 8.5% a year over three years and 28.1% over one year, at one point falling 41.5% from a peak. A one-year beta of 0.43 means the price has been less tied to broad market moves than a typical stock's, yet it still swung widely.