Kroger (KR)
Consumer Staples · Grocery Retailers · NYSE
Kroger is a leading US grocery retailer that uses a data-driven omnichannel strategy and a high-margin retail media business to drive customer loyalty and long-term earnings growth.
What Kroger does
Kroger is an omnichannel retailer operating thousands of supermarkets, pharmacies, and fuel centers across the United States. The company leverages its large-scale retail footprint and loyalty data to provide personalized shopping experiences and drives additional revenue through its high-margin retail media business, Kroger Precision Marketing. Its business strategy centers on the four pillars of Fresh, Our Brands (private label), Personalization, and eCommerce.
Recent developments
Kroger lowered its full-year 2026 identical sales (without fuel) guidance while reaffirming adjusted net earnings per share guidance. The company reported a 20% increase in adjusted eCommerce sales and a 24% increase in Kroger Precision Marketing profit for the second quarter of 2026. Kroger also repurchased $1.0 billion in shares during the quarter as part of its ongoing capital allocation strategy.
From Kroger's filing of 2026-09-18.
Themes: omnichannel retail, retail media advertising, first-party data analytics, private label brands, eCommerce pickup and delivery, grocery loyalty programs, consumer staples
Fundamentals
- Price$61.64 as of 2026-10-09 close
- Market cap$36.4B as of 2026-09-15 (share count; price 2026-10-09)
- 1-year return-8.8% 2025-10-09 close $67.56 → 2026-10-09 close $61.64
- P/E35.70 as of 2026-10-09
- Net margin+0.7% FY2026, SEC XBRL
- ROE+17.1% FY2026, SEC XBRL
- Debt / equity2.63 as of 2026-09-02
- Revenue growth (YoY)+1.1% as of 2026-09-02
- Revenue CAGR (3y)-0.1% SEC XBRL
- Beta-0.29 as of 2026-09-02
- Last reported earnings2026-09-11 SEC EDGAR Form 8-K (Item 2.02)
Dividend: yield +2.6%; at least 13 years of non-decreasing per-share dividends (SEC XBRL) — a stock split inside this window left the earlier years on a different per-share basis, so the real streak may be longer.
How KR compares in its sector
- price-to-earnings ratiotop 25% 91 covered Consumer Staples peers, as of 2026-10-09
- net profit marginbottom 25% 105 covered Consumer Staples peers, as of 2026-09-02
- operating marginbottom 25% 98 covered Consumer Staples peers, as of 2026-09-02
- return on equitymiddle range 106 covered Consumer Staples peers, as of 2026-09-02
- 3-year revenue CAGRmiddle range 109 covered Consumer Staples peers
- indicated dividend yieldmiddle range 77 covered Consumer Staples peers, as of 2026-09-02
- free cash flow (absolute dollars, latest fiscal year)top 10% 110 covered Consumer Staples peers, as of FY2026
Position among covered Consumer Staples companies that report each metric (minimum 5 peers). A relative position within our covered catalog — not a valuation, quality, or investment judgment. A higher percentile is simply a higher value (for P/E, more expensive on earnings — never "better"). Informational only.
Top 10 scores & list membership
KR is not currently in any published Top 10 list. Its scores are below.
Top 10 score
35.2 #1284 of 1,383 scored · #58 of 65 in Consumer Staples
Capital return 91st (net share count bought back over the year 9, consecutive years of dividend increases 13 years) and profitability 44th (return on equity 17.1%, operating margin 1.3%); weakest is financial health (17th, debt to equity 2.6, free cash flow margin 2.3%).
Scores as of 9 Oct 2026. Each bar is a percentile: how this company ranked against every company the score ranked, 0–100. A list is a published formula and its output, not a recommendation. Method version 4.
Dividend coverage (FY2026)
Covered by reported results. In FY2026, KR's dividend was covered by reported results (earnings payout 87%, free-cash-flow payout 26%). This describes past coverage, not a forecast.
- Earnings payout87% dividends / net income
- Free-cash-flow payout26% dividends / (operating cash flow − capex)
Coverage derived from reported SEC EDGAR XBRL figures for FY2026 (dividends paid vs. net income and free cash flow, same fiscal year). This describes PAST coverage for one fiscal year — it does not predict whether a dividend will be maintained, raised, or cut, and a one-year payout ratio can be distorted by non-recurring items. Informational only — not financial advice.
How Kroger looks technically
Kroger (KR) is trading 2.8% below its 200-day average, the long-term trend line — a long-term downtrend. Its 50-day average crossed below its 200-day average about 80 trading days ago — a "death cross", a bearish long-term signal. There is no clear trend right now — the price is choppy (ADX, a 0–100 trend-strength gauge, is 11, below the 25 that marks a real trend). Momentum is neutral — its 14-day RSI (a 0–100 momentum gauge) is 60, neither overbought (above 70) nor oversold (below 30). MACD, a trend-momentum gauge, turned bullish about 2 trading days ago (its momentum flipped positive). It made a new 20-day high about 19 trading days ago. It is 19.5% below its highest point of the past year.
Trend
7
| Distance from the 200-day | it is trading 2.8% below its 200-day average, the long-term trend line — a long-term downtrend | -2.8% |
|---|---|---|
| 50-day moving average | its average price over the last 50 trading days — a short-term trend line — is $58.33 | $58.33 |
| 200-day moving average | its average price over the last 200 trading days — the long-term trend line — is $63.42 | $63.42 |
| Swing structure | its recent peaks and dips disagree — one of them is rising while the other is not, so there is no clean up or down pattern in the swings | mixed — one of the two is not confirming |
| Last swing turn | its last significant turn was a swing high 9 calendar days ago — the swings before that are what the structure reading is measured on | 9 sessions |
| Since the 50/200 cross | its 50-day average crossed below its 200-day average about 80 trading days ago — a "death cross", a bearish long-term signal | 80 sessions |
| Trend strength (14-day ADX) | there is no clear trend right now — the price is choppy (ADX, a 0–100 trend-strength gauge, is 11, below the 25 that marks a real trend) | 11.0 |
Momentum
3
| 14-day RSI | momentum is neutral — its 14-day RSI (a 0–100 momentum gauge) is 60, neither overbought (above 70) nor oversold (below 30) | 60.5 |
|---|---|---|
| Position in its 14-day range | it is trading right at the top of its 14-day range ($57.56 to $61.66) — its "stochastic" reading is 100 out of 100, where 0 would mean closing exactly at the 14-session low and 100 exactly at the high. This measures WHERE the price sits inside its recent range, which is a different question from the RSI beside it: RSI is a momentum gauge, measuring how FAST the price has been moving, so a stock can drift quietly to the bottom of its range with an ordinary RSI, or fall sharply and still sit in the middle. It has been climbing within that range over the last few sessions. | 99.5 |
| Since the MACD crossed zero | MACD, a trend-momentum gauge, turned bullish about 2 trading days ago (its momentum flipped positive) | 2 sessions |
Range
12
| 52-week high | its highest closing price over the past year (about 252 trading days) was $76.58 | $76.58 |
|---|---|---|
| From the 52-week high | it is 19.5% below its 52-week high (its highest price of the past year) | -19.5% |
| Above the 52-week low | it is 13.8% above its 52-week low (its lowest price of the past year) | +13.8% |
| Below the 52-week high | it is 19.5% below its highest point of the past year | 19.5% |
| Since a 20-day breakout | it made a new 20-day high about 19 trading days ago | 19 sessions |
| Since a 55-day breakout | it made a new 55-day high about 19 trading days ago | 19 sessions |
| All-time high | its highest closing price on record is $76.58 (set on 2026-03-12) | $76.58 |
| Given back of the 52-week move | over the past year its closes ranged ($55.53 to $75.60), and it has recovered roughly a third of its fall from last year’s high — 30% of it. Chart-watchers call 61.8%-65% given back the "golden pocket" — for this company that is $67.93 to $68.58. It is watched widely enough that orders cluster there, which is the honest reason it matters; it is not a forecast. | 30.4% |
| From the all-time high | it is 19.5% below its all-time high | -19.5% |
| Nearest price level | it is trading 1.2% above a support level at $60.93 — a price it turned at 9 times since 2024-11-11, most recently on 2026-09-30. Since 2024-10-09 it has 4 such levels below the current price and 7 above. Levels like these describe where the price has reversed or paused before; they are not a forecast of where it will go. | -1.2% |
| All-time low | its lowest closing price on record is $9.03 (set on 2006-02-02) | $9.03 |
| Above the all-time low | it is 583.0% above its all-time low | +583.0% |
Volatility
5
| Band width vs its own 6 months | day-to-day price swings are about average versus its own recent 6-month history | 37th percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Typical daily range | in a typical session it travels about $1.51 between its high and its low — about 2.4% of its price. That is its "average true range" over the last 14 sessions, which also counts the distance from the previous close, so a day that opens well away from yesterday counts as the large move it was | $1.51 |
| Bollinger bands (20-day, ±2σ) | most of its recent trading has stayed between about $57.32 and $62.25 — the "Bollinger bands", a range drawn two standard deviations either side of its 20-day average price, which widens when the stock gets more volatile and narrows when it settles | $57.32 – $59.79 – $62.25 |
| Typical daily range (% of price) | its price moves about 2.4% in a typical session — calmer than most companies we cover. This is the average gap between a session's high and low over the last 14 sessions, counting overnight moves, expressed against the current price so it can be compared with companies trading at any price | 2.4% |
| Stretch from the 200-day average | it is trading 1.2 daily ranges below its 200-day average price (2.8% below it in plain percentage terms) — a way of asking how far it has stretched from its own average in units of how far it normally moves in a day, so a calm company and a jumpy one can be compared on the same scale | 1.2 daily ranges below its 200-day average |
Volume
1
| Volume vs its 30-day average | trading volume is about normal versus its 30-day average | 0.69× |
|---|
Analyst
2
| Change in the average price target | analysts have raised their average price target by 0.3% since the prior reading | +0.3% |
|---|---|---|
| Change in the consensus rating | the analyst consensus rating has improved toward "buy" since the prior reading | 0.08 toward buy |
Candlestick patterns
2
| Since a doji | 2 sessions ago it opened and closed at almost the same price after trading through a wider range — a "doji", the classic picture of buyers and sellers finishing the session level | 2 sessions ago |
|---|---|---|
| Since a bearish engulfing | 7 sessions ago it opened above the previous session's close and finished below that session's open — a "bearish engulfing" pair, where one down day more than undid the up day before it | 7 sessions ago |
Price gaps
2
| Gap at the open | it opened on 2026-10-09 0.6% below the previous session's close — an overnight gap, the part of the move that happened while the market was shut, and traded back through that level before the close | -0.6% |
|---|---|---|
| Gap filled | a 2.3% gap up opened on 2026-08-18 has been "filled" 36 sessions ago — price traded back through the level the gap left behind, and it took 1 session to close | 36 sessions ago |
Price streaks
1
| Closing streak | it has closed higher 3 sessions in a row, a +5.53% move over the run — an unbroken run of up days, which describes what has already happened and says nothing about the next session | 3 sessions up |
|---|
Relative strength
4
| vs market, 1 month | over the past 1 month this stock beat the market by 7.1 percentage points (the stock gained 9.2% while the market gained 2.1%) | +7.1% |
|---|---|---|
| vs market, 3 months | over the past 3 months this stock lagged the market by 0.6 percentage points (the stock gained 3.0% while the market gained 3.6%) | -0.6% |
| vs market, 6 months | over the past 6 months this stock lagged the market by 26.9 percentage points (the stock lost 12.4% while the market gained 14.5%) | -26.9% |
| vs market, 12 months | over the past 12 months this stock lagged the market by 24.8 percentage points (the stock lost 8.8% while the market gained 16.0%) | -24.8% |
Signal agreement
2
| Bullish technical signals | 2 of the 9 technical signals we can compute for it are currently in a bullish state: MACD momentum is positive, trading above the Ichimoku cloud — these describe past price behaviour, not a forecast | 2 of 9 |
|---|---|---|
| Bearish technical signals | 4 of the 9 technical signals we can compute for it are currently in a bearish state: a "death cross" — its 50-day average is below its 200-day, trading below its 200-day average, lagging the market over 6 months, near the top of its 14-day range (overbought) — these describe past price behaviour, not a forecast | 4 of 9 |
Trend (Ichimoku cloud)
1
| Vs the Ichimoku cloud | trading 6.6% above the Ichimoku cloud — a band drawn from where its own highs and lows sat up to 2026-09-02 and projected forward over today's price, the side traders read as an established uptrend, with the band below acting as the level that would have to give way. The band itself is thin, spanning 0.1% of the share price, which is taken to mean a barrier that gives way easily. | +6.6% |
|---|
Volume-weighted price
2
| Vs this year’s average price paid | the price is 2% below the average price paid so far this year, so the typical buyer over that stretch is under water. That average is $62.80 — a volume-weighted average of daily closes over 191 sessions, not a true tick-by-tick VWAP. | -1.8% |
|---|---|---|
| Vs the average paid since it last reported | the price is 3% above the average price paid since it last reported on 2026-09-11 (its 8-K), so the typical buyer over that stretch is showing a gain. That average is $59.77 — a volume-weighted average of daily closes over 21 sessions, not a true tick-by-tick VWAP. | +3.1% |
Price levels it has turned at before
KR last closed at $61.64 on 2026-10-09. Since 2024-10-09 it has turned at 4 prices below its last close and 7 above; the 3 nearest below and the 3 nearest above are listed, nearest first.
| Level | Side | Distance | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| $60.93 | Support | 1.2% below the last close | turned there 9 times · 2024-11-11 to 2026-09-30 |
| $62.57 | Resistance | 1.5% above the last close | turned there four times · 2024-12-27 to 2026-09-15 |
| $64.18 | Resistance | 4.1% above the last close | turned there 12 times · 2024-12-12 to 2026-06-11 |
| $58.03 | Support | 5.8% below the last close | turned there four times · 2024-10-25 to 2026-09-23 |
| $65.94 | Resistance | 7.0% above the last close | turned there 8 times · 2025-02-13 to 2026-04-27 |
| $56.68 | Support | 8.1% below the last close | turned there twice · 2024-11-20 to 2026-07-15 |
A level is a price this company reversed or paused at more than once — they describe past behaviour, not a forecast of where the price will go.
Wave structure
No Elliott-wave labelling currently fits its swings: the recent highs and lows do not satisfy the three rules a five-wave count has to obey, so there is no count to show rather than a count we are unsure about.
Read from daily closes as of 2026-10-09.
An Elliott-wave count describes the swings already printed and the level that would disprove it. It is not a forecast, a target, or advice.
Screens: Trading below the 200-day moving average · MACD just crossed bullish (12/26/9) · trendless / choppy (low ADX) · lagging the market · At the top of its 14-day range (stochastic above 80) · Trading above the Ichimoku cloud | Learn: moving average · golden cross · adx · rsi · macd · breakout · fifty two week high low
Based on daily closing prices as of 2026-10-09. Describes past price behavior only — informational, not financial advice.
Analyst consensus
- Consensus ratingBuy (1.96 mean, 1=Strong Buy…5=Strong Sell) — 22 analysts
- Mean price target$68.32 range $57.00 – $85.00; median $68.00
Analyst estimates, as of 2026-10-10. These are third-party analyst opinions and price targets, aggregated — not a recommendation, prediction, or advice from stocks-llm. Informational only.
Analyst EPS estimate for KR
- Consensus EPS estimate$1.16 next reporting period, as of 2026-10-10
- Readings revised upward33% of 3 comparable readings
The consensus estimate for the next reporting period, and how it has moved between readings of that SAME period. A change is measured only between readings estimating one period — when a company reports, the consensus moves to the next quarter and the two numbers are not comparable. Informational only, not a forecast and not advice.
Key risks (from latest filing)
["Intense competition from traditional supermarkets, online retailers, mass merchants, and discounters.","Exposure to economic trends, including inflationary pressures, labor market conditions, and changes in consumer spending.","Risks related to data security breaches, potential cyberattacks, and the integration of new technologies like AI."]
What changed in the latest 10-Q
AI-assisted comparison of KR's 10-Q filed 2026-06-26 against the prior one filed 2025-12-12.
Management's Discussion & Analysis (MD&A)
- Added:
- Newer filing (2026-06-26) adds reference to Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 in the CAUTIONARY STATEMENT opening sentence
- Newer filing adds 'the potential costs and risks associated with new technologies, including artificial intelligence' to risk factors
- Newer filing adds 'We cannot fully foresee the effects of changes in economic conditions on our business' as a separate bullet point
- Newer filing includes a FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE DATA table with Q1 2026 vs Q1 2025 comparison showing specific metrics (Sales, FIFO gross margin, OG&A rate, Operating profit, etc.)
- Newer filing includes a SIGNIFICANT EVENTS section beginning with eCommerce sales growth information
- Newer filing specifies 'state and federal regulatory agencies' instead of just 'regulatory agencies'
- Removed:
- Older filing (2025-12-12) includes a section titled 'OUR VALUE CREATION MODEL – DELIVERING CONSISTENT AND ATTRACTIVE TOTAL SHAREHOLDER RETURN' with detailed description of Kroger's value creation strategy, which is not present in the newer filing's excerpt
- Older filing includes statement 'We assume no obligation to update the information contained in this report unless required by applicable law' while newer filing says 'this Form 10-Q'
- Reworded:
- Older: 'pricing and promotional activities of existing and new competitors, and the aggressiveness of that competition' changed to newer: 'pricing and promotional activities of existing and new competitors and the aggressiveness of that competition' (removed comma before 'and')
- Older: 'potential cyber-attacks' changed to newer: 'potential cyberattacks' (compound word without hyphen)
- Older: 'through our strategic pillars of Fresh, Our Brands , personalization, and eCommerce' changed to newer: 'through Fresh, Our Brands , Personalization and eCommerce' (removed 'our strategic pillars of', capitalized 'Personalization', removed comma before 'and')
- Older: 'the terminated transaction with Albertsons' changed to newer: 'the terminated transaction with Albertsons Companies, Inc.' (added company legal designation)
- Notes:
- The newer filing excerpt appears to be truncated at the eCommerce sales section, while the older filing excerpt was also truncated but at a different point; comparison is limited to the content provided
- The older filing includes sections (e.g., VALUE CREATION MODEL) not present in the newer filing excerpt, suggesting the newer filing may reorganize or relocate this content rather than remove it entirely
AI-assisted comparison of two SEC filing sections. It describes wording and theme changes only, makes no materiality, legal, or investment judgement, and is not financial advice. Informational only — not financial advice.
Insider activity (SEC Form 4)
0 open-market purchases and 4 open-market sales by insiders in the last 90 days, of which we have read Form 4 filings through 2026-10-05. The 5 days since 2026-10-05 have not been checked yet.
- Last 30 days · read to 2026-10-050 buys · 3 sells ($4M) — 1 selling insider
- Last 90 days · read to 2026-10-050 buys · 4 sells ($6M) — 2 selling insiders
- Last 180 days · read to 2026-10-050 buys · 4 sells ($6M) — 2 selling insiders
Activity heuristic: net selling (a transparent product heuristic from the counts above, not a prediction or advice)
Most recent open-market transaction: 2026-09-18. Based on Form 4 filings read through 2026-10-05; anything filed since is not yet included.
View full insider trading history → View SEC Form 3/4/5 filingsAsk about KR's insider activity →
Only open-market purchases (SEC code P) and sales (code S) are counted here. Option exercises, vesting/awards, gifts, and shares withheld for taxes are excluded — they are compensation or mechanical, not open-market conviction. Sales may be planned and non-discretionary (e.g. a Rule 10b5-1 plan) and are not necessarily bearish; open-market buying is not a recommendation to buy. Informational only — not financial advice.
U.S. House trading disclosures
U.S. House members publicly disclose their own, their spouse's, and dependent children's stock transactions under the STOCK Act. We hold 17 matched disclosures for KR from U.S. House Clerk Periodic Transaction Report filings.
U.S. House trading disclosures →Institutional ownership (13F)
6 institutional 13F filers reported holding KR as of 2026-06-30 (quarter-end position, filed within 45 days).
- Distinct 13F filers 6
- Reported shares held 145,964,024
- Reported value $8,105,382,213
reported quarterly holdings change (2026-03-31 → 2026-06-30): 0 new, 3 increased, 3 decreased, 1 exited. Change counts cover only managers that filed 13F reports in BOTH quarters, derived between two quarter-end snapshots — not same-day trades; a single manager is never said to have "bought" or "sold".
Institutional holdings are quarter-end long positions reported on SEC Form 13F-HR, filed up to 45 days after the quarter ends — they are delayed, are not real-time trades, exclude short positions and most non-US securities, and are not investment advice. Any increase/decrease is a reported change between two quarterly snapshots, not a same-day purchase or sale. These are quarter-end snapshots from the 13F filings on SEC EDGAR, filed within 45 days — not real-time, and any change is a difference between two quarterly reports, not a same-day trade. Informational only — not financial advice.
Ask about KR's institutional holders → See what each manager we track holds →
Short interest (FINRA)
KR had 29,646,792 shares of reported short interest as of the 2026-09-15 FINRA settlement date (delayed, bi-monthly; not real-time).
KR had 5.02% of its shares outstanding sold short as of the 2026-09-15 FINRA settlement date (percent of FLOAT would be higher — float is not disclosed in the source). FINRA reported 3.98 days to cover at the same settlement.
- Reported short interest (shares) 29,646,792
- Short interest (% of shares outstanding) 5.02%
- Prior settlement (shares) 28,596,616
- Reported change 3.67%
- Days to cover (reported) 3.98
Reported to FINRA as of the 2026-09-15 settlement date. Short interest is reported to FINRA and published on a delayed, bi-monthly schedule (as of a settlement date, disseminated roughly eight business days later) — it is NOT real-time, does not cover every venue or all US trading, and is not a short-squeeze prediction or investment advice. Days-to-cover is the value FINRA reports; percent of float is not shown because the source file carries no share-count denominator — where a percent appears it is of shares OUTSTANDING, the larger base, and is therefore a floor on percent of float. Informational only — not financial advice.
Competitors & peers
- Walmart (WMT)
- Costco Wholesale (COST)
- Target (TGT)
- Amazon (AMZN)
- Albertsons Companies
- Aldi
- Dollar General (DG)
AI-enriched competitor set. Linked names are companies covered by stocks-llm; other named peers are shown for reference only.
Compare KR vs…
Kroger is found in…
Frequently asked questions
What does Kroger (KR) do?
Kroger is an omnichannel retailer operating thousands of supermarkets, pharmacies, and fuel centers across the United States. The company leverages its large-scale retail footprint and loyalty data to provide personalized shopping experiences and drives additional revenue through its high-margin retail media business, Kroger Precision Marketing. Its business strategy centers on the four pillars of Fresh, Our Brands (private label), Personalization, and eCommerce.
What sector is Kroger (KR) in?
Kroger (KR) is classified in the Consumer Staples sector. Its industry is Grocery Retailers. It trades on NYSE.
Does KR pay a dividend?
Yes — Kroger (KR) pays a dividend, with an indicated yield of about 2.60% and at least 13 years of non-decreasing per-share dividends (SEC EDGAR XBRL) — a stock split inside this window left the earlier years on a different per-share basis, so the real streak may be longer (market data, as of 2026-09-02). Informational only — not financial advice.
Who are Kroger's (KR) competitors?
Notable peers of Kroger (KR) include Walmart, Costco Wholesale, Target, Amazon and Albertsons Companies. This peer set is informational only — not financial advice.
Has there been recent U.S. House stock trading in KR?
Yes — we hold 17 matched STOCK Act disclosures for KR from U.S. House Clerk Periodic Transaction Report filings. These are legally-required disclosures (often filed 30–45 days after the trade), may belong to a U.S. House member, their spouse, or a dependent child, and are not an indicator of company performance or investment advice.
Is Kroger (KR) overbought or oversold right now?
Kroger (KR) is currently neither overbought nor oversold — its 14-day RSI (a 0–100 momentum gauge) is 60, in the neutral middle (as of 2026-10-09). RSI describes recent price momentum, not a forecast — informational only, not financial advice.
Where does stocks-llm's data on KR come from?
Fundamentals come from SEC XBRL company filings for the figures marked with a fiscal year, and market data, as of 2026-09-02 for the rest; prices are market data, as of 2026-09-02; company filings and profile facts come from SEC EDGAR. All figures are delayed daily-close data shown with their as-of date — informational only, not financial advice.
Fundamentals: SEC XBRL company filings for the figures marked with a fiscal year, and market data, as of 2026-09-02 for the rest. Filings: SEC EDGAR. Prices are delayed daily-close data.
Last updated 2026-10-09.
Informational only — NOT financial advice. All figures are delayed daily-close data from SEC EDGAR & market data, shown with their as-of date.