The ODP Corporation (ODP): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money

How does a legacy retailer like The ODP Corporation (ODP), founded in 1986, manage to pivot and remain a dominant force in the shifting B2B distribution landscape? You're looking at a company that generated $1.6 billion in sales and $23 million in net income in the third quarter of 2025 alone, but whose story is now defined by a strategic shift toward its logistics arm, Veyer, and its B2B segment.

The core of the business is moving: the ODP Business Solutions division saw adjacency categories-like cleaning and breakroom supplies-grow to 45% of sales, plus the entire company is now set to be acquired by Atlas Holdings for roughly $1 billion by the end of 2025.

That acquisition, valued at $28 per share, is the clearest signal yet that the market sees real, defintely untapped value in ODP's integrated platform, especially as its third-party logistics sales through Veyer jumped 64% year-over-year in Q3 2025, so you need to understand the mechanics of this transformation now.

The ODP Corporation (ODP) History

You want to understand The ODP Corporation's current strategy, but you can't get there without seeing how they evolved from a single retail store to a complex B2B solutions provider. The story is one of relentless adaptation-from a warehouse-style discounter to a logistics and procurement powerhouse, culminating in a major privatization deal in late 2025.

The ODP Corporation's Founding Timeline

Year established

The company, originally named Office Depot, was founded in 1986.

Original location

The first store opened in Lauderdale Lakes, Florida.

Founding team members

The founding trio were F. Patrick Sher, Stephen Dougherty, and Jack Kopkin. They had a clear vision for selling office supplies at a discount in a warehouse format.

Initial capital/funding

While the exact initial capital isn't public, the founders launched the venture using their own retail experience and personal capital. They quickly attracted external investment once the discount warehouse concept proved its success. Honestly, the real initial capital was the founders' prior retail expertise.

The ODP Corporation's Evolution Milestones

The ODP Corporation's Transformative Moments

The most transformative period for the company came with the shift from a traditional office supply retailer to a B2B distribution and services platform. This wasn't just a name change; it was a fundamental restructuring of the business model.

• The Strategic Pivot: The 2020 holding company structure allowed ODP to prioritize its B2B Distribution segment, ODP Business Solutions, which now represents the majority of its sales.
• Supply Chain as a Service: The creation of Veyer, the dedicated supply chain and logistics division, turned an internal cost center into a potential external revenue generator, offering services to third parties.
• 2025 Financial Snapshot: Despite macroeconomic headwinds, the company's B2B focus showed operational resilience. For the first three quarters of 2025, total sales were around $4.9 billion (Q1: $1.7 billion, Q2: $1.6 billion, Q3: $1.6 billion). The company is defintely focused on cash flow, expecting to generate over $115 million in adjusted free cash flow for the full year 2025.
• The Privatization Decision: The pending merger with Atlas Holdings, announced in September 2025, is the latest and perhaps most significant transformation. The deal, valued at $28.00 per share, aims to accelerate the B2B strategy away from the short-term demands of the public market.

Here's the quick math: the proposed merger consideration of $28.00 per share was at the high end of J.P. Morgan's implied per-share equity value range of $23.25 to $29.75, based on their discounted cash flow analysis as of late 2025. You can dive deeper into the players behind this deal by Exploring The ODP Corporation (ODP) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

The ODP Corporation (ODP) Ownership Structure

The ODP Corporation, while currently a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ, is in a critical transition phase that will fundamentally alter its ownership structure by the end of 2025. The company has agreed to be acquired by an affiliate of Atlas Holdings for approximately $1 billion, a deal that will take the company private and end its listing on the NASDAQ stock exchange.

The ODP Corporation's Current Status

As of November 2025, The ODP Corporation (ODP) is a publicly held company trading on the NASDAQ Global Select Market. However, the definitive all-cash merger agreement with an affiliate of Atlas Holdings, announced on September 22, 2025, is set to close by the year's end, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals. The purchase price of $28.00 per share represents a significant 34% premium over the stock's closing price on September 19, 2025. This near-term event means the current shareholder base is trading on an arbitrage opportunity, not long-term public growth, so you defintely need to watch the December 5, 2025 shareholder vote.

The ODP Corporation's Ownership Breakdown

The company's ownership is highly concentrated among institutional investors, a common trait for a stock in play before a major acquisition. This institutional control is what gives the pending merger a high probability of success. The largest institutional holders include BlackRock, Inc., Dimensional Fund Advisors Lp, and Vanguard Group Inc.

Here's the quick math: Institutional ownership is so dominant-nearly three-quarters of the shares-that the retail investor influence is relatively small in a shareholder vote. This kind of concentration makes the acquisition by Atlas Holdings much easier to execute. For a deeper dive into the company's long-term strategy, check out the Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of The ODP Corporation (ODP).

The ODP Corporation's Leadership

The ODP Corporation is steered by a seasoned executive team with an average tenure of 5.6 years, providing stability during this period of corporate transformation. The leadership structure is set up to manage the company's distinct business segments, including the B2B distribution platform and the Office Depot retail network.

• Gerry P. Smith, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) & Executive Director: Appointed in February 2017, Smith's total yearly compensation for the 2025 fiscal year is reported at $9.46 million.
• Max Hood, Senior Vice President & Co-Chief Financial Officer (Co-CFO): Shares the financial oversight role.
• Adam Haggard, Senior Vice President & Co-Chief Financial Officer (Co-CFO): Appointed Co-CFO in late 2024, bringing over 20 years of company experience.
• John Gannfors, Executive Vice President & President of Veyer: Leads Veyer, the company's supply chain, sourcing, and purchasing services division.
• Kevin Moffitt, Executive Vice President & President of Office Depot: Oversees the core retail and consumer-facing operations.

What this estimate hides is the potential for executive team changes once Atlas Holdings takes the company private. Private equity firms often streamline management, so you should anticipate shifts in the C-suite after the acquisition closes.

The ODP Corporation (ODP) Mission and Values

The ODP Corporation's mission and core values define its strategic pivot, moving beyond traditional retail to focus on empowering the modern workplace through a robust business-to-business (B2B) distribution platform. This cultural foundation is crucial for understanding how they plan to generate the projected 2025 adjusted free cash flow of over $115 million.

The ODP Corporation's Core Purpose

You're looking at a company that knows its future is in the service and solutions space, not just selling boxes of paper. Their core purpose centers on leveraging their integrated platform-which includes Office Depot, ODP Business Solutions, and Veyer-to drive customer success. Honestly, the company's commitment to ethical conduct is so serious that their Global Compliance Department's mission is to touch every international market yearly with its Code of Ethics and Anti-Corruption/Anti-Bribery training.

Official mission statement

The formal mission statement is a clear declaration of their strategic direction, prioritizing their B2B platform over the legacy retail model.

• To be a leading provider of business services, products and digital workplace technology solutions through an integrated B2B distribution platform.

Vision statement

The vision statement maps their mission to a long-term goal, focusing on the ultimate benefit they want to deliver to their customer base.

• To empower workplaces of today and tomorrow, helping our customers succeed.

This vision is backed by real-world shifts, like the ODP Business Solutions Division increasing its adjacency category sales-cleaning, furniture, and technology-to 45% of total sales in Q3 2025. That's a clear move toward being a full-service workplace partner.

The ODP Corporation's Core Values (The 5C Culture)

The company's cultural DNA is built on five core values, known internally as the 5C Culture. This framework guides everything from associate behavior to the "Optimize for Growth" restructuring plan, which aims to accelerate B2B growth while reducing fixed costs associated with retail operations.

• Customer: Relentlessly focus on servicing customers to ensure their success.
• Commitment: Do what we say we will do with transparency and integrity.
• Change: Seek and embrace change in the pursuit of excellence.
• Caring: Treat each other, customers, and communities as we want to be treated.
• Creativity: Innovate and disrupt to deliver new ways of doing business that drive sustainable, profitable growth.

Here's the quick math: Despite a challenging macro environment, the focus on these values helped the company achieve an adjusted EPS of $1.14 in the third quarter of 2025, which beat analyst expectations. That focus defintely pays off.

Given Company slogan/tagline

While the operating companies often use specific taglines, the corporate message is an action-oriented statement that sums up their overall value proposition.

• The ODP Corporation empowers every business, professional, and consumer to achieve more every day.

You can explore more about the cultural framework that drives this performance in the deep dive here: Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of The ODP Corporation (ODP).

The ODP Corporation (ODP) How It Works

The ODP Corporation operates as a diversified business services and product provider, shifting from a traditional office supply retailer to an integrated B2B distribution platform that leverages its supply chain and omnichannel presence to serve businesses and consumers across three primary operating companies. It makes money by selling a vast array of products and services, with a strategic focus on high-margin B2B contracts and third-party logistics (3PL) services to offset declining retail sales.

The ODP Corporation's Product/Service Portfolio

The ODP Corporation's Operational Framework

The company's operations are currently defined by its 'Optimize for Growth' restructuring plan, a clear move to de-risk the retail footprint and accelerate B2B distribution. This means a lot of internal re-engineering, so you're seeing a more efficient, albeit smaller, physical footprint.

• Retail Consolidation: The company closed 63 fewer retail locations in Q3 2025 compared to the prior year, reducing fixed costs and focusing on higher-performing stores.
• B2B Investment: Capital expenditures, which were $12 million in Q3 2025, are prioritized toward B2B growth opportunities, specifically in supply chain and digital capabilities.
• Cash Discipline: Strong operational discipline led to an adjusted free cash flow of $89 million in the third quarter of 2025, demonstrating effective working capital management.
• Supply Chain as a Service: Veyer, LLC, acts as an internal and external logistics engine, providing a competitive edge by controlling the end-to-end supply chain.

The quick math here is that while total revenue of $1.6 billion for Q3 2025 was down 9% year-over-year, the focus is on improving the quality of earnings through B2B and logistics, which is why adjusted EPS rose to $1.14 in the same quarter.

The ODP Corporation's Strategic Advantages

The ODP Corporation's market success hinges on its ability to transition its core strengths-its massive distribution network and brand recognition-into new, higher-growth enterprise markets.

• Integrated B2B Platform: The combination of ODP Business Solutions and the Veyer supply chain creates a single-source platform for businesses, which is defintely hard for pure-play e-commerce competitors to replicate quickly.
• Expansion into Verticals: Strategic partnerships, like the one in hospitality which is onboarding over 600 new hotel properties, provide a strong foundation for future growth in adjacent markets like healthcare.
• Omnichannel Reach: The remaining retail stores, operating under the Office Depot and OfficeMax brands, function as showrooms, return centers, and print/ship service hubs, supporting the online platform with same-day delivery and 15-minute in-store pickup options.
• Brand Equity: Decades of operation give the company strong brand recognition and established procurement relationships, which are critical for securing large, long-term B2B contracts.

The main risk here is the macroeconomic headwinds that have softened enterprise customer spending, still, the pivot to B2B and logistics is a clear action to mitigate the long-term decline in the traditional retail office supplies market.

Finance: Track the Veyer third-party sales growth rate quarterly to confirm the logistics pivot is accelerating.

The ODP Corporation (ODP) How It Makes Money

The ODP Corporation primarily makes money by acting as a leading provider of business-to-business (B2B) distribution solutions and a retailer of office products and services, essentially connecting a vast supply chain with both large enterprise clients and individual consumers.

The company is undergoing a strategic pivot, shifting its focus from a traditional retail model to a B2B distribution and services platform, which is reflected in the segment performance as of late 2025. This involves leveraging its supply chain division, Veyer, to serve both internal and external (third-party) customers, plus accelerating growth in non-traditional office supply categories, known as adjacency categories.

The ODP Corporation's Revenue Breakdown

Analyzing the third quarter of 2025 (Q3 2025) results provides a clear snapshot of where The ODP Corporation generates its sales. The business operates across two primary customer-facing divisions: ODP Business Solutions (B2B) and Office Depot (Consumer/Retail).

Here's the quick math: Total reported sales for Q3 2025 were approximately $1.6 billion, with the ODP Business Solutions segment contributing $862 million and the Office Depot Division contributing $749 million. The B2B segment is now the clear revenue leader, which is defintely the intended result of the multi-year strategy.

Business Economics

The ODP Corporation's economic engine is built on two core pillars: high-volume B2B contract sales with sticky, recurring revenue and a streamlined retail footprint focused on services and small business needs. The company is actively executing its 'Optimize for Growth' restructuring plan, which aims to generate approximately $380 million in EBITDA improvement over its life. That's a significant financial target.

The pricing strategy in the B2B segment is based on negotiated, long-term contracts, which prioritize volume and customer retention over high-margin transactional sales. This creates a more predictable, though currently challenged, revenue stream. In the Office Depot Division, the focus is on a mix of standard retail pricing and higher-margin services like copy, print, and technology support.

• Adjacency Categories: A key growth driver is the expansion into adjacency categories-products outside of traditional office supplies like cleaning and breakroom, furniture, technology, and copy and print. These categories accounted for 45% of total ODP Business Solutions' sales in Q3 2025, an increasing trend.
• Supply Chain Monetization: The Veyer division, which handles supply chain and distribution, is actively growing its third-party customer sales. This external revenue stream increased by a remarkable 64% year-over-year in Q3 2025, generating $23 million in sales from outside customers. This monetization of logistics assets is a critical new revenue vector.
• Retail Rationalization: The company is closing underperforming Office Depot stores to reduce fixed costs and focus capital on the B2B pivot. The Q3 2025 results reflected 63 fewer retail locations in service compared to the prior year.

For a deeper dive into who is betting on this pivot, you should read Exploring The ODP Corporation (ODP) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

The ODP Corporation's Financial Performance

Despite macroeconomic headwinds and a planned decline in retail sales, The ODP Corporation is demonstrating financial discipline, particularly in cash flow generation, as of the end of Q3 2025. The full-year 2025 Trailing Twelve Months (TTM) revenue stood at approximately $6.53 billion.

• Adjusted EBITDA: Adjusted EBITDA for Q3 2025 was $62 million, remaining flat year-over-year, which shows operational stability despite the 9% revenue decline. This indicates strong cost management.
• Adjusted Free Cash Flow: The company's cash generation is robust. Adjusted Free Cash Flow was a significant $89 million in Q3 2025 alone. Management projects generating over $115 million in adjusted free cash flow for the full year 2025.
• Liquidity Position: The balance sheet is solid, with total available liquidity of $730 million as of Q3 2025, including $182 million in cash and cash equivalents. This financial flexibility is crucial for funding the B2B growth initiatives and the ongoing restructuring.
• Adjusted EPS: Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share (EPS) for Q3 2025 was $1.14, a strong increase from the prior year period.

The key takeaway is that while the top-line revenue is contracting due to the retail closures and soft enterprise demand, profitability metrics like Adjusted EBITDA and cash flow are holding up or improving, which is a positive signal for the B2B pivot strategy.

The ODP Corporation (ODP) Market Position & Future Outlook

The ODP Corporation is executing a critical pivot, shifting from a declining retail-centric model to a B2B distribution and logistics powerhouse, aiming to stabilize revenue while unlocking long-term value through its Veyer and ODP Business Solutions divisions. This strategy, dubbed the 'Optimize for Growth' restructuring plan, is designed to generate approximately $380 million in EBITDA improvement over its multi-year life.

In the near term, the company faces revenue headwinds, with trailing twelve-month revenue as of Q3 2025 at approximately $6.53 billion, reflecting a decline due to planned store closures and softer enterprise spending. Still, management forecasts generating over $115 million in adjusted free cash flow for the full year 2025, which is a strong sign of operational discipline.

Competitive Landscape

The office supplies and B2B distribution market is intensely competitive, forcing ODP to lean heavily on its supply chain assets and B2B contracts to compete against both traditional rivals and e-commerce giants.

Opportunities & Challenges

The company's strategic initiatives are clearly mapped to market opportunities, but execution risk remains high in a non-growth industry. Honestly, the biggest challenge is Amazon's sheer scale.

Industry Position

The ODP Corporation is positioned as a leading, yet transforming, player in the fragmented office products and B2B solutions market, leveraging its physical infrastructure to compete on service and supply chain efficiency rather than just price.

• B2B Focus: The B2B Distribution segment is the core, with an annual trailing-twelve-month revenue of approximately $3.6 billion, serving small, medium, and enterprise-level companies.
• Logistics Advantage: The Veyer supply chain arm offers a key competitive differentiator, providing logistical support to both internal divisions and external third-party customers, with a network capable of next-day delivery to 98.5% of the U.S. population.
• Strategic Realignment: The company is actively reducing its retail footprint, having closed 23 retail stores in Q2 2025 alone, to reduce fixed costs and focus capital on B2B growth opportunities.

The company is defintely a turnaround story, betting its future on B2B services and logistics. If you want a deeper dive into the numbers underpinning this shift, check out Breaking Down The ODP Corporation (ODP) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.