The Kroger Co. · KR · FY2024 Q3 · Calendar Q4 2024

Kroger delivers solid Q3 growth as merger approval remains pending

Kroger's Q3 evidence supports a cautiously constructive operating picture: resilient identical sales, digital momentum, private-label strength, and margin improvement were balanced by merger uncertainty, fuel pressure, and risks to core-category profitability.

Reported Before market openNYSEConsumer Defensive $37.58B market cap
80quality score

Earnings scorecard

Reported versus consensus
Reported EPS — Consensus $0.98
EPS surprise — Reported versus consensus
Reported revenue — Consensus $34.22B
Revenue surprise — Reported versus consensus

Market reaction

prior-close to event-session close
Stock move +1.3% Event window
SPY move -0.2% Same window
Abnormal move +1.5% Stock minus SPY
Volume 1.8× Versus trailing sessions
Subsequent drift -0.1% Up to 20 sessions
KRSPY benchmark

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Transcript intelligence

What changed

Compared with the prior quarter, the analysis points to stronger 2.3% identical-sales growth, continued 11% digital-sales growth, and a 22.9% gross margin. The company also introduced or expanded RFID and generative-AI inventory tools, while the Albertsons transaction remained unresolved.

Guidance delta

Management maintained full-year sales, profit, and EPS expectations while narrowing the guidance ranges.

Key takeaways

  • Q3 identical sales grew 2.3%, led by pharmacy and digital growth.
  • Digital sales increased 11%; delivery rose 18%, while gross margin improved to 22.9%.
  • Management highlighted private-label growth, new-store openings, and inventory tools as operating priorities.
  • The Albertsons transaction remained pending, leaving regulatory and court approval as a key uncertainty.

Management priorities

  • Expand pharmacy, Our Brands, Fresh, and digital delivery initiatives
  • Scale RFID labeling and AI inventory tools across more stores
  • Open new stores while improving store profitability
  • Advance digital automation to narrow the online-versus-in-store profitability gap

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Earnings History

Estimate Beat Miss Match
KR EPS earnings history estimate and actual scatter chart 7 reported fiscal quarters and 4 future estimate-only quarters. Q3 '24 estimate $0.91 Q3 '24 actual $0.95, beat Q4 '24 estimate $1.13 Q4 '24 actual $1.34, beat Q2 '25 estimate $0.91 Q2 '25 actual $0.93, beat Q2 '26 estimate $0.99 Q2 '26 actual $1.04, beat Q3 '26 estimate $1.03 Q3 '26 actual $1.05, beat Q4 '26 estimate $1.20 Q4 '26 actual $1.28, beat Q2 '27 estimate $1.06 Q2 '27 actual $1.09, beat Q3 '27 estimate $1.69 Q4 '27 estimate $1.15 Q1 '28 estimate $1.24 Q2 '28 estimate $1.46

Analyst Consensus ?

ConsensusHold43 ratings
Bullish2046.5%
Neutral1739.5%
Bearish614.0%

Analyst 52W Price Targets

$63.63Current
$42Low
$67.92Average
$92High

Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted current price from FN2's market snapshot as of Oct 19, 2026. Not an FN2 forecast.

Firm-level rating actions

FMP grade actions identify the grading firm, not a named analyst.

FirmRatingPrior ratingActionDate
Guggenheim Buy BuyMaintainSep 15, 2026
Telsey Advisory Group Outperform OutperformMaintainSep 14, 2026
Evercore ISI Group Outperform OutperformMaintainSep 14, 2026
Citigroup Neutral NeutralMaintainSep 1, 2026
UBS Neutral NeutralMaintainJun 22, 2026
Show 38 more rating actions

Named analyst price targets

Upside is calculated against the persisted current price $63.63. FMP does not supply a rating on these named-analyst rows.

FirmAnalyst52W targetPrice when postedUpsideDate
BNP ParibasRobert Joyce$72$58.41 +13.2%Oct 7, 2026
Melius ResearchAnalyst unavailable$80$59.69 +25.7%Sep 29, 2026
Telsey AdvisoryJoseph Feldman$75$60.73 +17.9%Sep 14, 2026
GuggenheimJohn Heinbockel$66$60.76 +3.7%Sep 14, 2026
Roth CapitalWilliam Kirk$73$58.49 +14.7%Sep 14, 2026
See 70 more

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Company context

Snapshot as of publication

The Kroger Co. functions as a significant retail entity throughout the United States, encompassing a varied collection of store formats. Its operations include integrated food and drug stores, which stock a broad range of products from natural and organic sections to pharmacies, general merchandise, pet centers, fresh seafood, and organic produce. The company also runs multi-department stores that broaden their offerings to include apparel, home fashion and furnishings, outdoor living goods, electronics, automotive products, and toys.…

Historical context

All KR earnings

Latest beats and misses

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Sources

  1. Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-05-11T10:29:34.698584+00:00
  2. FN2 earnings calendar · 2024-11-21T00:04:18.285229+00:00
  3. Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-10-19T03:00:40.335068+00:00
  4. Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-10-19T03:00:40.332050+00:00

Methodology

Reported and consensus figures come from FN2's earnings event records. Market reaction and volume are calculated from daily adjusted bars around the event; abnormal move subtracts the SPY move over the same window.

Analyst target low, average, and high values are derived at request time from each named analyst's latest persisted FMP target. The current-price marker comes from FN2's persisted market snapshot. They are sell-side estimates, not an FN2 valuation or recommendation.

Transcript intelligence is a structured synthesis of the current and prior earnings-call analyses. Missing values stay missing and are never estimated.

By FN2 Research · Updated · As of 2026-10-19. For educational purposes only; not investment advice.