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Albertsons and Kroger both reported positive fiscal 2025 sales growth excluding fuel, but those figures alone do not establish which stock is the better investment—or which is cheaper. Compare their earnings on a consistent basis, test the quality and cost of sales growth, examine cash flow and obligations, and use current market data before reaching a valuation conclusion. The merger agreement between the companies was terminated in December 2024, so the relevant starting point is two standalone businesses.
What the fiscal 2025 comparison shows
The latest figures in the companies’ fiscal 2025 disclosures show growth at both grocers, but the reporting periods and adjusted measures are not identical. Albertsons’ fiscal 2025 covered the 53 weeks ended February 28, 2026. Kroger published fiscal 2025 results on March 5, 2026; its Form 10-K gives a fiscal year ended January 31, 2026. Use those period definitions when comparing results.
| Measure | Albertsons | Kroger | How to read it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Identical sales growth excluding fuel | 2.0% in fiscal 2025, according to Albertsons’ Form 10-K for the year ended February 28, 2026 | 2.9% in fiscal 2025, according to Kroger’s March 5, 2026 results release | Both were positive. The difference is not, by itself, proof of stronger underlying demand or better returns; examine traffic, price and mix, category trends, and fiscal-period effects. |
| Digital or eCommerce sales growth | 21% digital sales growth in fiscal 2025, per Albertsons’ Form 10-K | 20% adjusted eCommerce sales growth in fiscal 2025, per Kroger’s results release | The labels and calculation boundaries differ. Kroger’s adjusted figure excludes the effects of fulfillment-center exits, Vitacost, and Ship Marketplace, so the percentages are not a clean like-for-like ranking. |
| Adjusted earnings measure | $1.209 billion adjusted net income in fiscal 2025, per Albertsons’ Form 10-K | $4.85 adjusted EPS and $4.9 billion adjusted FIFO operating profit in fiscal 2025, per Kroger’s results release | These are issuer-defined measures with different forms and denominators. Do not compare the amounts as though they were the same metric. |
| Reported GAAP context | $217 million net income in fiscal 2025, including a $600 million after-tax opioid settlement charge, per Albertsons’ Form 10-K | $1.54 GAAP EPS in fiscal 2025; reported results included $2.5 billion in impairment and related charges tied to the automated fulfillment network, per Kroger’s results release | Assess the reported results as well as management-adjusted figures, and determine whether excluded costs are genuinely unusual or reflect recurring business risks. |
| Operating cash flow | $2.367 billion in fiscal 2025, per Albertsons’ Form 10-K | Not stated in the reviewed Kroger results-release figures | Retrieve both full annual filings and align cash flow, capital spending, and working-capital effects before comparing cash conversion. |
How should you compare their earnings?
Start with GAAP, then audit the adjustments
Use each company’s audited GAAP statements as the anchor. Then reconcile the company’s adjusted results to GAAP, item by item. Albertsons’ fiscal 2025 net income included the after-tax opioid settlement charge noted above; Kroger’s reported results included impairment and related charges associated with its automated fulfillment network. The size and nature of those items differ, so simply removing both does not create an equivalent earnings comparison.
Ask whether an adjustment is unusual, cash or non-cash, and likely to recur. A settlement charge may be distinct from ordinary operations, but legal exposure can still matter to an investor. An impairment may not be a current-period cash expense, but it can signal that expected returns from an investment fell short. Also check each issuer’s definition of adjusted earnings and whether similar categories were excluded in prior periods.
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Use a common measure and period
Adjusted net income, adjusted earnings per share, and FIFO operating profit answer different questions. To compare operating performance, choose a common operating measure and reconcile both companies to it from their filings. To compare what common shareholders may earn, use consistently calculated diluted per-share figures and account for share counts. Do not place Albertsons’ adjusted net income beside Kroger’s adjusted EPS or FIFO operating profit and treat the larger number as the stronger result.
Does the sales growth indicate better business quality?
Identical-sales growth excluding fuel is a useful starting point, not a complete measure of performance. It does not reveal how much growth came from customer traffic, higher prices, product mix, or changes in promotions. A grocer can grow sales while spending more to hold prices down or attract shoppers, putting pressure on margins.
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Check the drivers behind comparable sales
- Traffic and basket: Look for disclosed changes in transaction counts and average spending. Separate more visits from larger baskets or higher average prices.
- Price, mix, and inflation: Consider whether sales reflect price increases, shifts among categories, or changes in unit volumes. Compare these drivers with the company’s comments about price investment and competition.
- Promotions and margins: Review gross margin and operating expenses alongside sales growth. More promotional activity may support volume but reduce the profit retained per sale.
- Market position: Use market-share information only where companies disclose a comparable geography, category, and period. Store counts alone do not establish market share.
- Period alignment: Account for Albertsons’ 53-week fiscal year and the companies’ different fiscal year-end dates when considering year-over-year trends.
The reported 2.0% and 2.9% growth rates establish positive direction for each company under its reported measure. They do not supply enough detail on their own to explain the gap or rank the underlying economics.
How much weight should you put on digital growth?
Albertsons reported 21% digital sales growth and 51.2 million loyalty members for fiscal 2025. Kroger reported 20% adjusted eCommerce sales growth, with exclusions that include fulfillment-center exits, Vitacost, and Ship Marketplace. The growth rates are close, but their definitions differ; the loyalty-member figure is a scale measure, not a direct comparison with Kroger’s eCommerce growth.
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To judge whether digital activity adds value, look beyond order growth. Determine whether orders are incremental or replace in-store purchases, how pickup and delivery costs affect profitability, and whether loyalty engagement improves retention or basket size. Those economics cannot be inferred from the reported growth percentages alone.
What should you examine in cash flow and obligations?
Operating cash flow less capital expenditures is a useful starting point for assessing cash generation, but it is not automatically a standardized free-cash-flow measure. Albertsons reported fiscal 2025 operating cash flow of $2.367 billion and capital expenditures of $1.8336 billion in its Form 10-K. Kroger’s reviewed results-release figures do not provide an equivalent cash-flow comparison. Consult both annual filings before ranking cash generation.
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Then examine what cash flow must support: debt payments, lease obligations, pension commitments, capital spending, dividends, and share repurchases. Working-capital changes can also affect reported operating cash flow from year to year. Compare these items on a consistent basis and check whether shareholder distributions are covered by recurring cash generation rather than a single year’s result.
How do the companies’ scale and footprint compare?
Albertsons’ Form 10-K reports 2,244 stores across 35 states and the District of Columbia, operating under 22 banners as of February 28, 2026. Kroger’s investor overview reports 2,688 supermarkets and multi-department stores. These figures provide operating context, but the companies use issuer-defined categories and the dates are not necessarily aligned. They should not be treated as a direct market-share comparison.
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Albertsons announced on December 11, 2024 that it had terminated its merger agreement with Kroger after injunctions from the U.S. District Court in Oregon and the King County Superior Court for Washington. Kroger’s fiscal 2025 Form 10-K also records the termination. Evaluate each company as a standalone business; do not include merger synergies as a base-case catalyst.
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In its termination announcement, Albertsons CEO Vivek Sankaran said, “We start this next chapter in strong financial condition with a track record of positive business performance.” That was management’s characterization at the time, not an independent assessment of the company’s financial condition.
How can you decide whether either stock is attractively valued?
Operating performance does not answer whether a share price is attractive. A valuation comparison needs current market prices and current financial inputs, which are not established by the fiscal 2025 figures above. Before comparing Albertsons (NYSE: ACI) with Kroger (NYSE: KR), assemble the same-date inputs for each company:
- Share price, diluted shares outstanding, and market capitalization.
- Debt, cash, and lease obligations, with a consistent decision about how leases enter enterprise value.
- Pension and other material commitments.
- Normalized earnings and free cash flow, reconciled from reported results and adjusted for recurring costs.
- Dividend cash requirements and other shareholder distributions.
With those inputs, compare measures such as enterprise value to EBITDA, normalized earnings yield, and free-cash-flow yield, while considering differences in growth, margins, and risk. Use comparable periods and definitions, and do not infer that ACI is undervalued relative to KR—or the reverse—without that like-for-like work.
A practical checklist before investing
- Read the latest full annual reports: Reconcile GAAP statements, adjustment definitions, cash flow, debt, leases, pensions, and diluted share counts.
- Align the comparison: Confirm fiscal-year dates, the extra week in Albertsons’ fiscal 2025, and whether measures exclude fuel or other businesses.
- Test sales quality: Separate traffic, price and mix, promotions, and margin trends rather than relying on comparable-sales growth alone.
- Assess digital economics: Reconcile the companies’ definitions and look for evidence about fulfillment costs, incremental sales, and customer retention.
- Build valuation from current data: Calculate comparable enterprise values and normalized yields using current prices and consistently treated obligations.
- Keep the investment case standalone: Exclude the terminated merger’s anticipated benefits from a base-case valuation.
Fiscal 2025 results offer evidence of positive comparable-sales growth at both grocers, but not enough to name a better stock. A defensible choice requires comparable earnings and cash-flow analysis, a review of each company’s obligations, and valuation at current market prices.
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