Grocery chain Kroger shared its earnings report with the company’s results in the first quarter, which largely beat analysts’ expectations. This sent Kroger’s shares on a temporary surge early on Thursday before they returned to the previous level on an unchanged 2024 forecast.
Kroger had $45.27 billion in revenue in the first quarter compared to $45.17 billion revenue in the same period of last year. Analysts, on the other hand, expected revenue of $45.04 billion. Its adjusted earnings per share came at $1.43, a decline compared to $1.51 per share in 2023 but more than analysts’ estimates of $1.34 per share.
Additionally, the company posted a net income of $947 million, or $1.29 per share, a slight decline from $962 million, or $1.32 per share, in the same period of 2023.
“Kroger is off to a solid start in 2024 led by better-than-expected performance of our grocery business,” said “CEO Rodney McMullen. The long-term investments we have made to strengthen and diversify our model enables us to manage economic cycles and gives us the confidence to deliver on our full year outlook.”
Despite positive results, Kroger remained its 2024 forecast of adjusted earnings per share at $4.30 to $4.50 with identical sales. The analysts, on average, expect $4.43 per share on sales of $148.7 billion.
Kroger’s stock closed at $52.00 per share on Tuesday before jumping to $53.25 on Thursday. However, the uptick proved to be short-lived, as the shares went to $51.83 later in the day.