: Kroger stock falls after profit tops expectations but sales come up a bit shy

Shares of Kroger Co. KR fell 1.8% in premarket trading Thursday, putting them in danger of snapping a five-day win streak, after the grocery chain reported fiscal first-quarter profit that topped expectations but net sales that came up a bit shy, and affirmed its full-year outlook. Net income for the quarter to May 20 rose to $962 million, or $1.33 a share, from $664 million, or 91 cents a share. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share of $1.51 beat the FactSet consensus of $1.46. Net sales grew 1.3% to $45.17 billion, but were below the FactSet consensus of $45.26 billion, while same-store sales growth of 3.5% topped expectations for a 3.4% rise. The company said its gross margin rate improved due primarily to lower supply chain costs and the effect of the terminated agreement with Express Scripts, which was partially offset to higher shrink and increased promotional price investments. For fiscal 2023, the company continues to expects adjusted EPS of $4.45 to $4.60 and same-store sales growth of 1.0% to 2.0%. Kroger’s stock has gained 5.9% year to date through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 SPX has advanced 13.9%.

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