Albertsons stock bumps up with positive earnings report

As the grocer continues to defend itself in court against three antitrust lawsuits aiming to block its acquisition by Kroger, Albertsons stock jumped about 1% on Tuesday, following the release of its Q2 earnings report that outperformed Wall Street estimates. 

The Boise, Idaho-based retailer, which operates 2,267 stores, 1,726 pharmacies, 405 fuel centers, 22 distribution centers, and 19 manufacturing facilities, chose to forgo its guidance call with analysts and members of the press. 

Albertsons Cos. Inc. reported better-than-expected earnings of $0.46 per share on revenue of $18.6 billion, the company reported for the 12 weeks ending Sept. 7. That beat consensus estimates of $0.45 per share on revenue of $18.47 billion, according to Earnings Whispers. 

The net revenue increase was driven by an identical sales increase of 2.5% for the quarter. Digital sales saw a whopping 24% increase. Meanwhile, the retailer’s loyalty program, Albertsons for U, grew 15% to 43 million members. 

Net income reached $146 million, or $0.25 per share, while adjusted net income hit $301 million, or $0.51 per share. Its adjusted EBITDA came in at $901 million for the quarter. 

“In the second quarter of fiscal 2024, investments in our Customers for Life strategy continued to drive strong growth in our digital sales and pharmacy operations,” Albertsons CEO Vivek Sankaran said in the earnings report. “We also drove strong year-over-year growth in our loyalty members and omnichannel shoppers, and accelerated growth in our Albertsons Media Collective. We want to thank our teams for their ongoing commitment to serving our customers and supporting the communities in which we operate.”

Gross margin rate remained flat year over year for the quarter at 27.6%. That’s down 44 basis points when excluding fuel and other expenses. 

“The strong growth in pharmacy sales, which carries an overall lower gross margin rate, and increases in picking and delivery costs related to the continued growth in our digital sales were the primary drivers of the decrease, partially offset by the benefits from our procurement and sourcing productivity initiatives,” the earnings report noted

Albertsons spent $952.3 million during the first 28 weeks of fiscal year 2024, primarily using the funds to remodel 44 stores, open two new ones, and build out its digital and tech platforms, the retailer said.

Albertsons Cos. Inc. operates in 34 states under more than 20 banners including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Haggen, Carrs, Kings Food Markets, and Balducci’s Food Lovers Market.

Since late August, the retailer has been arguing its case in three antitrust lawsuits, one brought by the Federal Trade Commission and nine attorneys general and two others from attorneys general in Washington and Colorado, that aim to block its proposed $24.6 billion acquisition by Kroger. All three cases remain unresolved.