The Kroger Co. Business Summary

Company Overview:
The Kroger Co. is a historic retail grocery company founded in 1883 and incorporated in 1902. Its core business is a diversified supermarket retailer with additional segments in retail pharmacies and fuel centers. The company operates in the United States, across 35 states and the District of Columbia, with a focus on growing customer loyalty through value and convenience.

Key Business Operations:

• Supermarkets:

  • Operates approximately 2,731 stores as of February 1, 2025.
  • Stores are branded under various local banners with strong community ties.
  • The stores are categorized into formats: combo stores (primary format), multi-department stores, marketplace stores, and price impact warehouses.
  • About 51% of stores are operated in Company-owned facilities; the rest are leased.
  • Stores often include fuel centers, with a strategic goal to have a fuel center at each location when feasible and profitable.

• Digital Ecosystem:

  • Provides omnichannel shopping options: Pickup, Delivery, and Ship.
  • Offers Pickup and Harris Teeter ExpressLane™ at 2,412 stores for online orders.
  • Delivery options include in-store pickup, fulfillment centers, and third-party platforms, with digital sales exceeding $13 billion annually.
  • Focuses on seamless customer experience with reliable and easy-to-use apps and interfaces.

• Merchandising & Manufacturing:

  • Owns 33 food production plants mainly bakery and dairy facilities.
  • These plants supply approximately 31% of Kroger’s private label units sold.
  • Private label products are categorized into three tiers:
    • Premium: Private Selection®
    • Mainstream: Kroger® brand (most units)
    • Value: Big K®, Smart Way®, Heritage Farm®
  • Also offers natural and organic products via Simple Truth® and Simple Truth Organic®, which are free from artificial ingredients and USDA certified organic (in the case of Organic).
  • The company’s private label product sales totaled over $32 billion in 2024.

• Customer Base & Data Analytics:

  • Serves approximately 63 million households per year.
  • Over 95% of transactions are linked to Kroger loyalty cards, reflecting deep data utilization.
  • Has invested over 20 years in data science, enabling personalized experiences and value creation.
  • Owns Kroger Precision Marketing, a retail media business generating high-margin revenue through third-party media and data analytics.

Financial Highlights (2024):

• Revenue:

  • Total sales of $147.1 billion (including fuel and specialty pharmacy).
  • Excluding fuel and the sale of Kroger Specialty Pharmacy, sales grew 0.9% year-over-year.
  • Digital sales are over $13 billion annually, with digital channels experiencing significant growth.

• Customer & Market Metrics:

  • The company’s sales are relatively nonseasonal but tend to be higher during major holidays.
  • Same-store sales (excluding fuel) increased 1.5% in 2024.
  • Digital sales growth led by delivery solutions, which grew 18% in 2024.
  • The company’s stock is traded on the NYSE under the symbol KR, with 660,893,475 shares outstanding as of March 26, 2025.

• Financial Performance:

  • Net earnings attributable to The Kroger Co.: $2.67 billion in 2024, up 23.2% from 2023.
  • Diluted EPS: $3.67 per share, a 24% increase over 2023.
  • Operating profit: $3.8 billion (24.3% increase over 2023).
  • Adjusted net earnings (excluding recent items): $3.25 billion (decreased slightly from prior year).
  • Dividends paid in 2024 totaled $883 million; dividend per share increased to $1.22.
  • Share repurchases: $4.2 billion spent to reacquire 68.4 million shares at an average price of $61.31 per share.
  • Market value: Approximately $38.2 billion as of August 17, 2024.

Employees:

• As of February 1, 2025, Kroger employs over 409,000 full- and part-time employees.
• The company invests heavily in associate development, with $192 million spent on training in 2024.
• Average wages are over $19 per hour, with comprehensive benefits, representing a 38% wage increase over seven years.

Strategic Focus:

• Driving growth through organic store expansion, increased digital capabilities, private label brands, and personalized customer experiences.
• Investing in major store projects, supply chain efficiency, and digital innovation.
• Maintaining investment-grade credit ratings and returning value to shareholders via dividends and stock repurchases.

Summary:
Kroger is a large, diversified supermarket operator in the U.S. with a strong digital and data-driven platform. It serves a broad customer base with large-format stores, private-label brands, and omnichannel shopping options. The company emphasizes customer loyalty, operational efficiency, and strategic growth, and reported $147 billion in total sales in 2024 with a net income of $2.67 billion and a market capitalization of approximately $38.2 billion.