Americans Cooking, Eating At Home Push Kroger Grocery Sales Up For 3Q

CINCINNATI, Ohio (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — As COVID-19 infections surge in Texas and across the country, sales at Kroger grocery stores are surging as Americans restock their pantries.

The grocer boosted its full-year outlook believing that there is little evidence families will continue eating at home to reduce their risks to exposure.

Revenue climbed to $29.72 billion, from $27.97 billion and online sales more than doubled. That was a little shy of the $29.98 billion Wall Street was looking for, according to a survey by Zacks Investment Research, and shares fell almost 5% at the opening bell Thursday.

Citi’s Paul Lejuez said in a research note Thursday he was expecting stronger signals from the company for the fourth quarter, and that might be contributing to a sell-off after a pretty strong quarter.

However, comparable-store sales rose 10.9% excluding fuel sales, which topped projections, and its profit was better than analysts had expected.

Kroger operates more than 175 stores in Texas and more than 2,600 other stores in 34 states and the District of Columbia.

Kroger Co. earned $631 million, or 80 cents per share, for the three months ended November 7. A year earlier it earned $263 million, or 32 cents per share.

For the full year, the grocer now anticipates adjusted earnings per share growth of between 50% and 53%.

(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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