Kroger Stock , KR

The Kroger Co. was incorporated in 1902 at the Cincinnati stock exchange. On that year, Kroger generated $1.75 million in annual sales. Public trading at NYSE under the “KR” ticker symbol began on January 26th, 1928. While one Kroger stock cost $40 at the beginning of its history at the stock exchange, its stock price had gone up to $129 by the year 1929. However, the economic crisis of the 1930s did not spare the company and Kroger stock price had dropped to $25 by 1932. As the world recovered from WWII, so did Kroger stock. Kroger stock price soared by 50% to reach $60 within one year. Sales were on the rise as well and reached $1 billion by 1952. The acquisition of drug store chain SuperX sent Kroger stock price up to $99 in 1959 and added a pharmacy section to Kroger’s stores.

The Kroger Co. continued its expansion during the following decades. In 1983, Kroger merged with Dillon Companies Inc., thus considerably enlarging its operations in the U.S. The company’s success attracted several investors who wanted to take over the company, but the bid of $5 billion was turned down by the board of directors. As a result, Kroger Co. implemented a restructuring plan with a cash dividend and increased employee ownership. However, the company was forced to increase its debt for this endeavor. As a consequence, Kroger’s focus during the late eighties and early nineties was reducing its debt levels.

Having cut its debt burden considerably by 1994, the company focused once again on expansion. Between 1994 and 1997, Kroger spent several hundred million dollars every year in order to increase its number of stores. The company’s courage was paying off. In 1997, the company generated sales of $27 billion and a net income of impressive $444 million.

In May 1999, Kroger extended its business once again and merged with Fred Meyer, Inc. in a $13 billion deal. Kroger Co. thus became the largest retail grocery company in the United States. Shortly after the turn of the millennium, revenues had grown to $49 billion, while net income reached $877 million. High competition in the food retail sector slowed Kroger’s growth in subsequent years, but the company’s net revenue had grown to $70.2 billion in 2007.

The company was to further increase its sales. In fiscal 2016, they amounted to $115.3 billion, generated by 2,796 Kroger supermarkets. Kroger stock price reached a peak at $42.64 on December 29th, 2015. The year 2016 was the 12th consecutive year in which the company could increase its market share. However, Kroger stock price slowly decreased after the peak in 2015 and collapsed in June 2017. On June 14th, 2017, Kroger stock price closed at $30.28, while two days later, on June 16th, it was worth only $22.29 at the end of the trading day. Kroger stock fell by 26.39% within 48 hours. However, Kroger started catching up on the general market with strong results in Q3 2017. In November 2017 alone, Kroger stock price grew by 23.73%, climbing from $20.90 on November 1st to $25.86 on November 30th.

The Kroger Co. is one of the leaders in the U.S. retail food industry. The company has a solid base to tackle the upcoming challenges and seize the opportunities that the highly competitive market in the U.S. has to offer.