Overview
- Kroger reported results on Friday that showed Q2 adjusted EPS of $1.09, topping analyst expectations and lifting operating profit to $971 million.
- Total second‑quarter sales were $34.6 billion while comparable‑store sales excluding fuel slowed sharply to 0.2%, down from 3.4% a year earlier.
- Management cut full‑year identical‑store sales guidance to a 0.2%–0.8% range from 1.0%–2.0% and said roughly 140 basis points of the downgrade came from the Inflation Reduction Act.
- The company kept full‑year adjusted EPS guidance at $5.10–$5.30, raised its quarterly dividend by 11%, and repurchased $1.0 billion of shares with about $800 million of buyback authorization left.
- Kroger cited improved e‑commerce and pharmacy mixes, sourcing gains and lower LIFO charges as offsets to margin pressure from higher shrink, transport costs and fuel mix, while investors responded with a roughly 3% premarket stock decline.