Albertsons Companies (NYSE: ACI) reported fiscal 2025 net sales and other revenue of $83.17 billion, but that 53-week year included an estimated $1.36 billion from an extra week. Identical sales rose 2.0%, while gross margin declined and debt remained substantial. Investors assessing ACI should look beyond headline revenue growth to comparable demand, margins, earnings quality, debt maturities and the risks the company identifies in its annual filing.
What does Albertsons do, and what period do its results cover?
Albertsons Companies, Inc. operates grocery stores, pharmacies, fuel centers and digital shopping services in the United States. Its Class A common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange as ACI. At February 28, 2026, the company operated 2,244 stores in 35 states and the District of Columbia. Fiscal 2025 was the 53 weeks ended February 28, 2026; it should not be confused with calendar 2025. The audited annual report is available in the fiscal 2025 Form 10-K.
The company’s sales mix helps explain why its results do not behave like those of a pure-play supermarket operator. In fiscal 2025, revenue came from non-perishables (48.8%), fresh products (31.3%), pharmacy (13.7%), fuel (4.6%) and other sources (1.6%). Digital sales are included in the product categories where the sales occur, rather than reported as a separate category. The company reported 51.2 million loyalty members for the year.
How is Albertsons performing financially?
Reported sales growth versus comparable demand
Net sales and other revenue increased 3.5% to $83.1725 billion in fiscal 2025. That reported growth is not a like-for-like measure: the year had 53 weeks, compared with 52 weeks in fiscal 2024, and management estimated that the additional week contributed $1.36 billion of sales and other revenue. Store closures and lower fuel sales partially offset growth.
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Identical sales increased 2.0%, while digital sales rose 21%. Albertsons defines identical sales using stores open in both periods, excludes fuel and includes direct-to-consumer digital sales. The 2.0% figure is therefore more useful than unadjusted revenue for judging comparable demand, though it is not a complete measure of profitability. Pharmacy was the primary driver of identical-sales growth. The 10-K provides the company’s definitions and year-over-year figures.
Margins and the cost of growth
Gross margin rate fell to 27.2% from 27.7% in fiscal 2024. Excluding fuel and LIFO effects, Albertsons reported a 59-basis-point decline. The company cited strong pharmacy growth, which carries a lower overall gross margin rate, as well as delivery and handling costs associated with digital growth. It also discussed customer-value investment and productivity initiatives.
These figures make the quality of growth a central question: can pharmacy and digital sales contribute enough after product costs, fulfillment and handling to support profit growth? Digital sales increasing 21% does not by itself show whether their contribution improved. Investors can also watch whether productivity gains offset labor costs, inflation and price investments; management initiatives are not guaranteed savings.
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What do Albertsons’ earnings figures show?
Albertsons reported fiscal 2025 GAAP net income of $217 million. It also reported adjusted net income of $1.209 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $3.902 billion. Adjusted net income and adjusted EBITDA are company-defined non-GAAP measures, not substitutes for GAAP results. They exclude or adjust for items as described in the company’s reconciliation, so investors should examine that reconciliation alongside the GAAP figure rather than treating the measures as interchangeable. The figures and reconciliations appear in the fiscal 2025 results release.
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A major item affecting the GAAP result was a $773.8 million charge ($599.8 million net of tax) associated with an opioid settlement framework announced with the results. Albertsons said payments are expected over nine years. The framework is intended to resolve substantially all opioid-related claims by participating states, political subdivisions and Native American tribes. The charge is a significant earnings item; the expected payment schedule also makes it relevant to future cash flows.
How much debt does Albertsons have?
At February 28, 2026, Albertsons reported approximately $8.6 billion of debt excluding finance lease obligations. Total debt including finance lease obligations was $8.9466 billion. The balance sheet listed $8.4126 billion of long-term debt and finance lease obligations and $534 million of current maturities. These are distinct presentations: excluding leases gives a view of borrowings that should not be confused with total debt and lease obligations.
The 10-K’s debt maturity schedule excludes finance lease obligations, debt discounts and deferred financing costs:
| Due in | Debt principal |
|---|---|
| 2026 | $485.1 million |
| 2027 | $906.6 million |
| 2028 | $44.0 million |
| 2029 | $2.4779 billion |
| 2030 | $397.0 million |
| Thereafter | $4.3162 billion |
The maturity schedule is only one part of the debt picture. Assess it together with interest expense, operating cash flow, capital spending and lease commitments. Albertsons says in its filing that debt can absorb cash flow, reduce financial flexibility and constrain additional borrowing; those are disclosed risks, not predictions that a particular outcome will occur.
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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →What are the risks of investing in Albertsons stock?
Albertsons identifies a range of risks in its Form 10-K. The practical investor question is how they could affect sales, costs, execution or cash generation:
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- Competition: The company names other grocers, supercenters, drug retailers, club and dollar stores, discount and online retailers, delivery providers, specialty stores and local operators. It says online competition is growing and its digital initiatives may not succeed.
- Consumer spending and economic conditions: Inflation or deflation, fuel and energy costs, consumer confidence, trade disruptions and reductions in SNAP benefits may affect spending, sales and margins.
- Thin-margin execution: Pharmacy mix and digital delivery and handling costs weighed on fiscal 2025 gross margin. If sales grow without attractive contribution after these costs, revenue growth may not translate into stronger profitability.
- Labor: Grocery retail requires significant staffing. Recruiting and retention, wages, benefits, labor laws and union negotiations can affect both operating costs and service.
- Debt and refinancing: Debt service and maturities compete with investment and other uses of cash. The maturity schedule and the company’s ability to generate cash are important alongside the stated debt balance.
- Legal matters: The opioid framework produced a large charge and expected multiyear payments. The filing also identifies merger-related litigation and other claims whose outcomes are uncertain.
- Cybersecurity and technology: Albertsons depends on complex information systems, payment systems and third-party cloud services. Outages, ransomware and data breaches could disrupt operations or expose information.
- Regulation and operations: Food safety, pharmacy rules, privacy, antitrust, employment, environmental and other requirements may affect costs or operations.
These are risks the company describes, not evidence that each will materialize. The annual filing’s full risk discussion is in the Form 10-K.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What does ACI’s identical-sales growth mean?
Identical sales compare sales at stores open in both periods, with fuel excluded and direct-to-consumer digital sales included. The measure is intended to show comparable sales performance without the full effect of store openings and closures. Albertsons’ 2.0% fiscal 2025 increase indicates growth on that basis, led primarily by pharmacy.
It is not the same as total company revenue growth, and it does not establish that comparable sales were more profitable. In particular, digital transactions count in identical sales even though delivery and handling costs can affect margin. The extra fiscal week increased reported revenue but does not make the 2.0% comparable-sales measure a substitute for understanding the calendar effect on total sales.
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How can investors assess ACI without relying on one metric?
No single measure establishes whether Albertsons stock is attractive or safe. For an informed comparison with other grocery companies, use the same fiscal periods and comparable definitions, then consider:
- Comparable-sales growth, including how each company treats fuel and calendar differences.
- Gross and operating margin trends, with attention to pharmacy and digital mix.
- Digital growth alongside evidence about delivery, handling and contribution economics.
- Store count, closures, remodels, capital spending and store productivity.
- GAAP earnings alongside reconciliations for adjusted earnings and EBITDA.
- Debt both excluding and including lease obligations, maturity concentrations, interest expense and operating cash flow.
Albertsons says its business is generally not seasonal, although a larger share of annual revenue may occur in November and December because of major holidays. That seasonal pattern is separate from fiscal 2025’s extra week, which affects year-over-year calendar comparability.
Management’s characterization should also be read as management’s view, not independent analysis. CEO Susan Morris described fiscal 2025 as a year of “disciplined execution and resilience” and cited strong fourth-quarter adjusted EBITDA alongside pharmacy-related top-line headwinds in the results release. The reported margin decline, GAAP earnings, debt and risk disclosures provide additional context for evaluating that assessment.
The figures above use Albertsons’ fiscal 2025 Form 10-K and full-year results release, covering the year ended February 28, 2026. They do not establish current share-price valuation; valuation also depends on current market data and an investor’s own objectives and risk tolerance.
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