The Kroger Co. (KR) is a Consumer Defensive company in the Grocery Stores industry with a 56% Hold Score. Key strengths include Return on Equity (13.8%). Areas to watch: Debt/Equity (3.73). The score on this page is a five-factor screen — revenue growth, gross margin, net margin, return on equity and debt-to-equity — each scored against fixed thresholds from a neutral starting point of 50%. The eight-section analysis, including moat, free cash flow, dilution and valuation, runs in the full report.
This analysis is generated by StrongBuyAnalytics AI using publicly available financial data from SEC filings, earnings reports, and market feeds. It is not personalized investment advice. See our methodology and disclaimer.
4 of the inputs in our model moved KR's score away from the neutral baseline of 50%, landing it at 56% (Hold). Each one below is a specific figure from The Kroger Co.'s reported financials, not a judgement call:
4 data points sit outside the score itself but bear on The Kroger Co.'s next few quarters. They are reported here as observations, not predictions:
4 measurable risks showed up in The Kroger Co.'s numbers. This is not a complete list of what could go wrong — only what is visible in the data we score:
The Kroger Co.'s liquidity and cash generation as of the most recent filing — note the cash position of $2.87B against $24.19B of debt:
Figures are drawn from The Kroger Co.'s most recent balance sheet and cash flow statement as filed with the SEC. See the filings themselves.
Institutional investment managers with >$100 M in qualifying assets must disclose their equity positions quarterly on SEC Form 13F — typically within 45 days of quarter-end. Search those filings below to see which hedge funds, mutual funds, and asset managers reported KR as a holding, how many shares they held, and how positions changed quarter over quarter.
We do not answer that question for you, and we do not publish buy or sell calls. What we publish is a score: KR rates 56% on our five-factor fundamentals screen, which puts it in the "Hold" band. Everything below explains how it got there so you can disagree with it.
The Kroger Co. clears some of our thresholds and misses others. On the positive side, return on equity (13.8%). Against that, debt/equity (3.73). A middling score means the fundamentals are genuinely ambiguous, not that we have hedged.
The Kroger Co. reported revenue growth of 2.2% year over year, against a Grocery Stores peer set where scale and pricing power vary widely. Growth that slow contributes little to the score on its own; margins and capital efficiency carry more weight for KR.
Earnings grew 13.2% over the same period, outpacing revenue — a sign of operating leverage.
Track upcoming report dates on our earnings calendar.
This is a fundamentals outlook, not a price target — we do not publish one. It describes what The Kroger Co.'s current financials imply about the next three to twelve months if the trends in them hold.
Mixed: Revenue growth of 2.2% sits alongside debt/equity (3.73). On the fundamentals alone there is no strong case in either direction for KR at present.
These are the The Kroger Co. figures that push the score up, taken straight from the most recent reported financials:
These are the figures working against KR in the same model:
See how every metric on this KR page — quality score, valuation, DCF scenarios, confidence, and data limitations — fits into a professional research report.
Generate My Free KR ReportGuides to the specific measures used in this KR analysis:
How the financial statements behind this page fit together.
Understanding P/E RatioWhat KR's 33.4x multiple does and does not tell you.
Return on Equity (ROE)Why KR's 13.8% return on equity matters for stock selection.
Stock Valuation MethodsHow DCF, multiples and asset-based approaches value a company like The Kroger Co..
How to Read Earnings ReportsWhere the KR growth and margin figures on this page come from.
What Are Demand Zones?The technical side we deliberately keep out of the KR score.
Latest SEC filings for KR explained in plain English — insider buys/sells (Form 4), proposed sales (Form 144), material events (8-K), and quarterly & annual reports.
