One-glance verdict
Not enough data
Fair value unavailable
Not enough cash-flow history to value this one with our method.
Fundamentals snapshot
Kroger Company (The)
KR · NYQ · Consumer Defensive · Grocery Stores
Current price
$58.22
52-week range
$54.15 - $76.58
Market cap
—
Balance sheet
Distressed
2.96x Stretched
Net debt $21.32B. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.
What stands out
3 Rewards
2 Risks
3 rewards · 2 risks
- Reward Revenue grew 0.7% last year.
- Reward Returns 13.8% on equity, ahead of 16% of its peers.
- Risk Stock trades 55.1% above its 5-year average P/E.
- Risk Net debt grew 10.1% over 3 years.
What this company does
Kroger Company (The)
The Kroger Co. is one of the largest grocery store operators in the United States, running familiar chains like Ralphs, Fred Meyer, and Harris Teeter. While most of its revenue comes from selling food and pharmacy items, the company also makes its own store-brand products and sells gasoline at its fuel centers. Owning parts of its own supply chain (the entire process of getting products from the factory to the customer) helps Kroger manage costs and protect its profit margins (the portion of each sales dollar the company keeps after paying for everything) in the highly competitive grocery industry.
How the company got here
Kroger's story starts in 1883 when Barney Kroger used his life savings to open a single grocery store in Cincinnati, Ohio, with a simple motto: never sell anything you wouldn't want yourself. He was an early innovator, becoming the first grocer to bake his own bread to lower costs and sell fresher products. The company grew steadily and went through a major expansion by merging with other grocery chains, a key part of its growth strategy. A huge turning point was the 1999 merger with Fred Meyer, which made Kroger the largest grocery retailer in the country and expanded its reach from coast to coast.
What it actually does
Kroger is the largest supermarket chain in the United States, operating thousands of stores under many different local banner names like Ralphs, Fred Meyer, and Harris Teeter. You'd recognize their stores as your neighborhood grocery, selling everything from fresh produce and meat to packaged foods and household items. Beyond just groceries, many stores also have pharmacies, sell gasoline at adjacent fuel centers, and even offer general merchandise like clothing and electronics in their larger 'Marketplace' stores. The company also makes many of its own food products, from bread and milk to ice cream, under its own family of brands.
Supermarkets and Grocery
This is Kroger's main business and where most of its sales come from. It includes the sale of perishable items like fresh fruits, vegetables, and meats, as well as non-perishable goods like canned foods and snacks. Shoppers pay for these items at the checkout counter in their various store formats, which range from traditional supermarkets to larger multi-department stores. This core grocery business is the engine that drives the company, making up the vast majority of its revenue.
Our Brands (Private Label)
This part of the business involves creating and selling products under Kroger's own brand names, such as Private Selection, Simple Truth, and the budget-friendly Smart Way. Instead of selling a product from a big national company, Kroger makes its own version, which it sells in its stores. These products are a big deal for the company, bringing in over $30 billion in annual sales. This is an important business because these private label products typically have higher profit margins (the amount of profit made on each sale) than the national brands they compete with.
Pharmacy
Inside more than 2,000 Kroger stores, you'll find a full-service pharmacy where customers can fill prescriptions and get health advice. This is a significant business for Kroger, making up about 10% of the company's total revenue. Pharmacies are important because they bring customers into the store frequently, and these shoppers often end up buying groceries during their visit, which increases the total basket size (the amount of money a customer spends on one trip).
Fuel Centers
Many Kroger locations have gas stations in their parking lots, making it convenient for customers to buy groceries and fuel in one stop. While fuel sales are a smaller part of the overall business, they are strategically important. Kroger uses fuel discounts, earned by buying groceries, as a key part of its loyalty program to encourage customers to shop more often and spend more inside the store.
What management is betting on now
Management is focused on what they call an 'omnichannel' strategy, which means creating a seamless shopping experience whether you are in the store or online. A big priority is expanding their digital business, which includes online ordering for pickup and delivery, and using customer data to offer personalized discounts. They are also investing heavily in their higher-margin 'Our Brands' private label products and planning to open more new stores to gain market share. The company is also focused on keeping prices affordable and ensuring their stores are stocked with fresh products to compete effectively with other major retailers.
Price history
How the share price has moved
—
Loading price history…
Earnings history
Last 8 quarters — what happened
Click any quarter to read the call summary and what the numbers say.
FY2025 Q3
$247.00M
FY2025 Q4
$-28.00M
FY2026 Q1
$520.00M
FY2026 Q2
$1.10B
FY2026 Q3
$615.00M
FY2026 Q4
$29.00M
FY2027 Q2
$481.00M
Revenue
$46.12B
Net income
$903.00M
Diluted EPS
1.46
Operating cash flow
$1.77B
Free cash flow
$481.00M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$33.86B
Net income
$-1.32B
Diluted EPS
-2.02
Operating cash flow
$970.00M
Free cash flow
$29.00M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$33.94B
Net income
$609.00M
Diluted EPS
0.91
Operating cash flow
$1.54B
Free cash flow
$615.00M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$45.12B
Net income
$866.00M
Diluted EPS
1.29
Operating cash flow
$2.15B
Free cash flow
$1.10B
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$34.31B
Net income
$634.00M
Diluted EPS
0.90
Operating cash flow
$1.40B
Free cash flow
$520.00M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$33.63B
Net income
$618.00M
Diluted EPS
0.84
Operating cash flow
$926.00M
Free cash flow
$-28.00M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$33.91B
Net income
$466.00M
Diluted EPS
0.64
Operating cash flow
$1.12B
Free cash flow
$247.00M
Fetching…
Sources
Is it cheap or expensive?
Fair value — vs current price $58.22
We couldn't calculate a fair value right now.
Is it drowning in debt?
Distressed
Net debt $21.3B. Interest coverage 3.0x.
Net debt
$21.32B
Interest coverage
2.96x
Kroger Company (The)'s profit covers its interest bill about 3.0 times over.
Distressed
Worse cushion
Baseline
Better cushion
KR
BASELINE
Kroger Company (The)
Total debt $24.19B Interest coverage 2.96x This is the baseline the peer rows are being compared against.
Total debt $75.55B Interest coverage 10.66x +260% vs KR Carries about 3.6x more debt cushion than KR.
Total debt $15.70B Interest coverage 1.46x -51% vs KR Carries about 2.0x less debt cushion than KR.
Total debt $10.23B Interest coverage 67.42x +2,180% vs KR Carries about 22.8x more debt cushion than KR.
Total debt $19.27B Interest coverage 11.50x +289% vs KR Carries about 3.9x more debt cushion than KR.
Total debt $2.11B Interest coverage 391.03x +13,121% vs KR Carries about 132.2x more debt cushion than KR.
What you should know
The case for and against KR
3 Rewards
2 Risks
Rewards
-
Revenue grew 0.7% last year.
-
Returns 13.8% on equity, ahead of 16% of its peers.
-
Free cash flow was positive in 10/10 years.
Risks
-
Stock trades 55.1% above its 5-year average P/E.
-
Net debt grew 10.1% over 3 years.
The numbers
All the key metrics, grouped by purpose
Tap any ? icon to learn what it means.
Valuation
How expensive the stock looks
P/E (TTM)
34.05x
Forward P/E
10.51x
P/B
6.29x
P/S
—
EV/EBITDA
8.34x
PEG ratio
0.56x
Profitability
How much profit each dollar creates
Gross margin
24.0%
Operating margin
3.2%
Net margin
0.7%
ROE
13.8%
ROA
5.8%
Health
Liquidity and balance-sheet strength
Debt / equity
3.73x
Current ratio
0.79x
Quick ratio
0.28x
Total debt
$24.19B
Total cash
$2.87B
Growth
How the business has been compounding
Revenue TTM
$148.65B
Revenue 5Y CAGR
1.7%
EPS TTM
1.71
EPS 5Y CAGR
-20.5%
Cash flow
How much cash the business throws off
Operating CF TTM
$6.94B
Free CF TTM
$3.46B
FCF margin
2.3%
Dividend
Shareholder payout
Yield
2.5%
Payout ratio
80.1%
Last ex-div date
2026-08-14