Shares fall 3.9% premarket as outlook trumps earnings beat
Kroger on Friday lowered its full-year same-store sales outlook, projecting annual growth of just 0.2% to 0.8% — well below the 1% to 2% range it had previously guided. The grocery-store chain cited macroeconomic trends and a lighter-than-expected first half of the year.
“The lower guidance accounts for Kroger’s results in the first half of the year, as well as the current macroeconomic environment,” Chief Financial Officer David Kennerley said.
In the fiscal second quarter, Kroger reported same-store sales growth of 0.2%, missing Wall Street’s estimate of 0.8% growth.
Total revenue rose 2% to $34.62 billion, slightly below the $34.64 billion forecast by analysts polled by FactSet.
Profit climbed to $641 million, or $1.05 a share, compared with $609 million, or 91 cents a share, a year earlier. Stripping out certain one-time items, adjusted per-share earnings were $1.09, ahead of the $1.06 analysts had anticipated.
Shares declined 3.9% to $54.85 in premarket trading.