Kroger Lowers Full-Year Sales Outlook for 2026 Amid Profit Growth
Supermarket chain Kroger has revised its full-year identical sales guidance for 2026 to a range of 0.2%-0.8%, down from the previous estimate of 1%-2%. This adjustment follows mixed performance in Q2, where total sales rose to $34.62 billion and operating profit increased to $971 million despite weaker identical sales growth (excluding fuel) at just 0.2% compared with a prior year increase of 3.4%. The company attributed the slowdown to higher transportation costs, increased shrinkage, greater value passed on to customers, and other factors. Despite this, Kroger reported improved profitability in Q2, including an earnings per share (EPS) rise from $0.91 to $1.05 and adjusted EPS of $1.09 compared with $1.04 a year ago. The company maintained its full-year financial targets for operating profit, free cash flow, capital expenditure, and tax rate. CEO Greg Foran highlighted progress in e-commerce profitability, cost management, and customer value initiatives as key strengths.
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Topics: earnings report operating profit retail sales guidance