Shares of Kroger (NYSE: KR) popped 9.9% on Thursday after the grocery store chain announced strong fourth-quarter 2023 results and better-than-expected forward guidance.
For its fourth quarter of 2023, Kroger's total company sales grew 6.4% year over year to $37.06 billion, including around $2.7 billion from an extra week in the quarter relative to the same year-ago period. Identical sales without fuel declined by 0.8%. On the bottom line, that translated to net earnings of $1.34 per share, or $1.14 per share excluding a $0.20-per-share benefit from the extra week. Most analysts were modeling earnings of $1.13 per share on roughly the same revenue.
Kroger Chairman and CEO Rodney McMullen called it the end of a "strong" year that was in line with the company's long-term growth model.
Source Fool.com