KROGER CO (KR)

The Kroger Co., founded in 1883 and incorporated in 1902, is a diversified retail grocery company operating supermarkets under various local banner names across 35 states and the District of Columbia. As of January 31, 2026, Kroger operated 2,697 supermarkets, of which 2,250 included pharmacies and 1,731 included fuel centers, with approximately 51% of stores in Company-owned facilities. The company's strategy centers on growing households and customer loyalty through value, convenience, Fresh offerings, Our Brands, personalization, and eCommerce, leveraging data and traffic from its retail business to fuel a fast-growing, high-margin alternative profit segment, including third-party media revenue.

Kroger's eCommerce capabilities include Pickup, Harris Teeter ExpressLane, and Delivery services available at the majority of its stores, supported by customer-facing apps designed for a seamless shopping experience. Its retail media arm, Kroger Precision Marketing, uses first-party shopper data from approximately 63 million households (with over 95% of transactions tied to loyalty cards) to deliver targeted advertising across digital and in-store channels, forming a key part of the company's alternative profit strategy alongside its data analytics subsidiary, 84.51° LLC, and Kroger Personal Finance. Private label products, branded as Our Brands, generated over $39 billion in sales in 2025 across tiers including Private Selection, Kroger, Smart Way, and the natural/organic Simple Truth line, with roughly 20% of these products manufactured in the company's 33 owned food production plants (comprising dairies, deli/bakery plants, grocery product plants, beverage plants, a meat plant, and cheese plants) and the remainder sourced from outside manufacturers.

The company's revenue is largely non-seasonal but rises during major holidays, with weather events like winter storms also influencing sales trends. Kroger employed more than 403,000 full- and part-time associates as of January 31, 2026, with more than two-thirds covered by roughly 350 collective bargaining agreements, and it invests heavily in workforce training, tuition reimbursement, competitive wages (averaging over $20 per hour, or over $26 with benefits), and safety programs. The company also addresses climate-related risks through periodic risk assessments, refrigerant infrastructure upgrades to meet HFC phasedown requirements, and more than 200 business continuity plans to maintain operational resilience across its supermarkets, plants, and supply chain.