Staples Credit Rating & NNN Cap Rate

Staples Business Overview

Staples is a U.S. office supply retailer that also sells to businesses through delivery and contract channels. Funds managed by Sycamore Partners took Staples private on September 12, 2017, for aggregate merger consideration of approximately $6.9 billion (Staples Form 8-K, September 12, 2017), and the company does not publish financial statements. An office supply competitor, ODP Corporation, which operates Office Depot and OfficeMax, was also taken private when its merger closed on December 10, 2025.

ODP has reported planned store closures and lower demand at its Office Depot stores (Form 10-K for 2024), so the future of each individual store is the central question for a landlord.

Staples Credit Profile

S&P Global Ratings rates Staples Inc., which it describes as a U.S.-based business-to-business office supplies distributor, B-, below investment grade (source and date below). We have not confirmed from a primary source which Staples entity operates the U.S. retail stores, and a rating applies to a lease only if the rated entity signs or guarantees it. Confirm the tenant and guarantor in each lease.

Ratings come from our tenant ratings database, which records the source and date of each rating. A rating at or above BBB‑/Baa3 is investment grade; see the investment grade guide.

Source: S&P Global Ratings B-, as of May 10, 2024. Ratings checked October 8, 2026.

Staples NNN Cap Rates

Live asking cap rates for Staples and comparable tenants:

Active listings InvestmentGrade.com tracks with an asking cap rate (stated in the listing, or computed from its stated income and price when no rate is stated), listings last observed October 16, 2026. Asking cap rates are not closed-sale cap rates. The middle half is the range from the 25th to the 75th percentile of listings. The 10-year Treasury yield is 5.24% as of October 1, 2026 (FRED series DGS10). Ratings are the agency ratings in our ratings database for the entity shown, which may be a parent company; the rating type (for example issuer, senior unsecured debt, long-term debt or revenue bond ratings) varies by company and is shown on each tenant page. A rating applies to a lease only if the rated entity signs or guarantees it, so confirm the tenant and any guarantor in the lease. n/a means no verified rating is on file. Not shown because fewer than 3 active listings with a published cap rate were observed: Staples, Barnes & Noble.

The listings InvestmentGrade.com tracks include few Staples properties, and remaining lease terms vary, so confirm the term and renewal options on each; price a property mainly on the location, the rent compared with market rent and the re-use potential of the box.

What to Check in a Staples Lease

• Tenant and guarantor: which Staples entity signs the lease and whether a parent guarantees it.
• Store status: whether the store has appeared on closure lists, and the remaining term and options.
• Rent versus market: whether rent is at or below market, which supports re-leasing.
• Re-use: mid-size retail boxes can suit discount, fitness, medical or other retailers in a strong center.
• Co-tenancy: shopping center co-tenancy and go-dark provisions.

Pros and Cons

Sources: Ratings from InvestmentGrade.com’s ratings database; transaction dates from company announcements.