: Albertsons beats earnings expectations, as retail price inflation, pharmacy and digital growth boosted sales

Shares of Albertsons Companies Inc. ACI rose 0.6% in premarket trading Tuesday, after the grocery-store chain reported fiscal first-quarter earnings that beat expectations, as retail price inflation across most categories and growth in pharmacy and digital sales helped boost same-store sales. Net income for the quarter to June 17 fell to $417.2 million, or 72 cents a share, from $484.2 million, or 84 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share of 93 cents topped the FactSet consensus of 85 cents. Sales grew 3.2% to $24.05 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $23.95 billion, as same-store sales increased 4.9% and digital sales jumped 22%. “We are also mindful of the evolving economic backdrop, including slowing food inflation, declining government assistance and higher interest rates, and their potential effects on consumer spending and our business,” said Chief Executive Vivek Sankaran. “We also expect to see ongoing labor investment, broad inflationary cost increases and significant declines in COVID-19 vaccination and test kit revenue. These headwinds, however, are expected to be partially offset by the benefits of our productivity initiatives.” Shares of the company, which agreed in October 2022 to be acquired by Kroger Co. KR, has gained 5.7% year to date through Monday, Kroger’s stock has climbed 9.3% and the S&P 500 SPX has rallied 18.6%.

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