Kroger (KR)
Consumer Staples · $35.0B market cap · SEC CIK 0000056873
fundamentals score out of 100
Next reports on Dec 2, 2026, with analysts expecting $1.18 in earnings per share.
The case for KR
- Free cash flow of 9.9% of its market value a year: a lot of cash for the price.
- Pays a 2.6% dividend while you wait.
- Moves less than the market (beta 0.37).
- Price/sales of 0.2× is lower than 97% of Consumer Staples companies.
The case against
- Earnings per share down 53.4%.
- Pricey at 33.2× earnings, against a long-run market average nearer 20×.
- Heavily leveraged. Debt is 2.9× equity.
- Return on equity of only 3%.
- Near the bottom of its 52-week range, 24% below the high. Falling prices usually have a reason; find it first.
- Net margin of 0.7% leaves very little room for error.
What the score is made of
Each factor is half a curve over reported figures and half a rank among the other Consumer Staples companies (momentum is judged against fixed thresholds only), and the five are blended by weight. It describes the last filing and the current price. It is not a forecast.
| Valuewhat you pay for the earnings, sales, assets and cash | 62 |
|---|---|
| Growthhow fast revenue and earnings are moving, this year and over five | 25 |
| Profitabilityhow much of the revenue becomes profit, and how much of that is cash | 28 |
| Momentumhow the price has behaved lately | 39 |
| Stabilityhow violently it moves, what it owes and what it pays you | 79 |
- Each factor except momentum is half fixed thresholds, half rank among the 36 Consumer Staples companies.
Key numbers
| Price / earnings | 33.2× |
|---|---|
| Price / book | 5.72× |
| Price / sales | 0.2× |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | +1.1% |
| EPS growth (YoY) | -53.4% |
| Gross margin | 23% |
| Operating margin | 1% |
| Net margin | 1% |
| Return on equity | 3% |
| Debt / equity | 2.91× |
| Current ratio | 0.70 |
| Dividend yield | 2.63% |
| Beta | 0.37 |
| 52-week range | $54.15 – $76.58 |
| Position in that range | 20% of the way up |
| 3-month return | +5.4% |
| 1-year return | -9.0% |
Five years of financials, as filed
Pulled from Kroger's XBRL filings on SEC EDGAR. Italic rows are derived from the rows above.
| FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $148B | $147B | $150B | $148B | $138B |
| Operating income | $1.9B | $3.8B | $3.1B | $4.1B | $3.5B |
| Net income | $1.0B | $2.7B | $2.2B | $2.2B | $1.7B |
| Operating cash flow | $7.3B | $5.8B | $6.8B | $4.5B | $6.2B |
| Capital expenditure | $3.9B | $4.0B | $3.9B | $3.1B | $2.6B |
| Total assets | $50.0B | $52.6B | $50.5B | $49.6B | $49.1B |
| Total liabilities | $44.0B | $44.3B | $38.9B | $39.6B | $39.7B |
| Shareholder equity | $5.9B | $8.3B | $11.6B | $10.0B | $9.5B |
| Cash | $3.3B | $4.0B | $1.9B | $1.0B | $1.8B |
| Long-term debt | $14.5B | $15.8B | $10.2B | $10.1B | $11.3B |
| Free cash flow | $3.5B | $1.8B | $2.9B | $1.4B | $3.6B |
| Operating margin | 1.3% | 2.6% | 2.1% | 2.8% | 2.5% |
| Net margin | 0.7% | 1.8% | 1.4% | 1.5% | 1.2% |
| Diluted shares | 655M | 720M | 725M | 727M | 754M |
Share count is down 13.1% over 4 years. Buybacks have been shrinking the pie.
What Kroger says it does
​ The Kroger Co. (the "Company" or "Kroger") was founded in 1883 and incorporated in 1902. Our Company is built on the foundation of our retail grocery business, which includes the added convenience of our retail pharmacies and fuel centers. Our strategy is focused on growing households and increasing customer loyalty by delivering great value and convenience, and investing in Fresh, Our Brands , Personalization and eCommerce. ​ We utilize the data and traffic generated by our retail business to create personalized experiences and value for our customers. This data and traffic also enable our fast-growing, high operating margin alternative profit business, including third-party media revenue. In turn, the value generated from these businesses enables us to reinvest back into our retail business. ​ Our revenues are predominately earned and cash is generated as consumer products are sold to customers in our stores and…
Risk factors KR lists in its 10-K
- If we do not appropriately or accurately anticipate customer preferences or fail to quickly adapt to these ever-changing preferences, our sales and profitability could be adversely affected
- If we fail to meet the evolving needs of our customers, our ability to compete and our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows could be adversely affected
- We may be unsuccessful in implementing our alternative profit strategy, which could adversely affect our business growth and our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows
- The nature and extent to which our competitors respond to the evolving and competitive industry by developing and implementing their competitive strategies could also adversely affect our profitability
- Providing flexible fulfillment options and implementing new technology is complex and may not meet customer preferences
- ​ The emergence of artificial intelligence-powered agentic shopping tools, in which AI agents autonomously research, compare and purchase products on behalf of consumers could further disrupt traditional grocery retail
- If customers increasingly delegate purchasing decisions to AI agents that prioritize price, speed or other factors over retailer preference or brand loyalty, we could become disintermediated from the customer relationship
- This could result in reduced visibility into customer behavior, increased margin pressure and a weakened ability to influence purchasing decisions
- Our failure to adapt our digital capabilities to address the growth of agentic shopping could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows
- ​ In addition, if we do not successfully develop and maintain a relevant digital experience for our customers, our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows could be adversely affected