Level 1 — Absolute Beginner
Kroger is one of the biggest supermarket companies in the United States. Today, Friday, September 11, 2026, Kroger will share a report about how much money it made.
The report comes out before the stock market opens. Experts think Kroger made about 34.68 billion dollars. They also think Kroger earned 1.05 dollars for each share of stock. That is a little more than the 1.04 dollars from last year.
Greg Foran is the new boss of Kroger. He started his job earlier in 2026. This report is a big test for him. He wants to give shoppers better prices and make the company work in a simpler way. He also wants Kroger to compete better with stores like Walmart and Costco.
Some people who trade stocks think Kroger's stock price could move up or down by about 5.5 to 6.3 percent after the report. In the past, Kroger's stock has sometimes moved even more than expected. In June 2026, the stock moved 12.2 percent, much more than the 5.1 percent that was expected.
- supermarket
- a large store that sells food and other things people need
- report
- information a company gives about how much money it made
- dollar
- the money used in the United States
- share
- one small part of a company that people can buy or sell
- boss
- the top leader of a company
- compete
- to try to do better than other companies or people
- price
- the amount of money something costs
- percent
- a way to show a part out of 100
Level 2 — Elementary
Kroger, one of the largest supermarket chains in the United States, will report its results for the second quarter of fiscal 2026 before the stock market opens on Friday, September 11, 2026. The company will also hold a conference call with investors at 8 a.m. Eastern time.
Wall Street analysts expect Kroger to report 34.68 billion dollars in revenue and earnings of 1.05 dollars per share. If that happens, it would be about a 1 percent increase from the 1.04 dollars per share that Kroger reported in the same quarter last year.
This earnings report is an important test for Greg Foran, who became Kroger's CEO earlier in 2026. Foran has focused on improving value for shoppers, simplifying how the company operates, and helping Kroger compete more effectively against price focused rivals such as Walmart and Costco.
Investors are preparing for the stock to move a lot. The options market is pricing in a possible swing of roughly 5.5 to 6.3 percent in either direction once the results are out. That caution makes sense: in four of Kroger's last eight earnings reports, the stock moved by more than the market had expected, including a 12.2 percent swing in June 2026 against an expected move of only 5.1 percent.
- fiscal quarter
- a three month period a company uses to report its business results
- conference call
- a phone or online meeting where company leaders talk with investors
- analyst
- a person who studies companies and predicts how well they will do
- revenue
- the total amount of money a company brings in from sales
- earnings per share
- the amount of profit a company makes for each share of its stock
- CEO
- the top leader of a company, short for Chief Executive Officer
- options market
- a market where investors trade contracts that bet on how much a stock's price will move
- swing
- a change, up or down, in a stock's price
Level 3 — Intermediate
Kroger, one of the largest grocery retailers in the United States, is scheduled to report second quarter fiscal 2026 results before markets open on Friday, September 11, 2026, followed by a conference call with investors at 8 a.m. Eastern time.
Consensus estimates on Wall Street call for revenue of 34.68 billion dollars and earnings per share of 1.05 dollars, which would represent roughly a 1 percent increase over the 1.04 dollars per share the company posted in the same period a year earlier.
The results carry particular weight for CEO Greg Foran, who took over the company earlier in 2026 and has staked his tenure on improving perceived value for customers, streamlining operations, and sharpening Kroger's competitive position against price aggressive rivals like Walmart and Costco.
Traders are bracing for volatility. Options pricing implies a potential move of roughly 5.5 to 6.3 percent in either direction following the report, a caution that recent history supports: Kroger's stock has exceeded its implied move in half of its last eight earnings reports, most notably a 12.2 percent swing in June 2026 that dwarfed the 5.1 percent move the options market had priced in.
- consensus estimate
- the average prediction made by a group of financial analysts
- tenure
- the length of time a person holds a particular job or position
- streamline
- to make a process or organization simpler and more efficient
- price aggressive
- focused on offering very low prices to attract customers
- implied move
- the size of a price change that options traders expect based on current prices
- volatility
- how much and how quickly a price tends to change
- options pricing
- the cost of contracts that let traders bet on future price movements
- competitive position
- how well a company is doing compared to its rivals in the same market
Level 4 — Advanced
Kroger, the country's largest traditional supermarket operator, unveils second quarter fiscal 2026 results before the opening bell on Friday, September 11, 2026, with management set to field questions on an 8 a.m. Eastern conference call.
Consensus forecasts call for revenue of 34.68 billion dollars and earnings of 1.05 dollars a share, a figure that, if realized, would mark only a modest 1 percent advance on the 1.04 dollars per share the grocer delivered in the equivalent period a year ago, underscoring just how thin the margin for error has become in modern grocery retailing.
For Greg Foran, who assumed the chief executive role earlier in 2026, the report doubles as an early referendum on his strategy: a pivot toward sharper perceived value, leaner operations, and a more disciplined response to price focused incumbents such as Walmart and Costco, whose scale gives them persistent leverage over grocery pricing.
Options markets are signaling unusual unease, pricing in a potential swing of roughly 5.5 to 6.3 percent in either direction once results land, a hedge that history has repeatedly justified: Kroger shares have blown past their implied move in half of the company's last eight earnings reports, most dramatically a 12.2 percent lurch in June 2026 against an implied move of just 5.1 percent, a reminder that thin margins can just as easily produce outsized surprises as they can encourage caution.
- referendum
- here, a moment when people judge whether a leader's strategy is working
- incumbent
- an established company or competitor that already holds a strong position in a market
- leverage
- an advantage that gives one party more power or control in a situation
- hedge
- an action taken to protect against a possible financial loss
- outsized
- much larger than what would normally be expected
- thin margin
- a small difference between the cost of doing business and the profit earned
- disciplined
- careful and controlled, following a clear plan rather than acting impulsively
- unease
- a feeling of worry or uncertainty