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Empire CoEMLAF 79 Debt-to-EBITDA is 3.01 as of Apr. 2026, which is 3% below its 10-year median of 3.11. GuruFocus rates EMLAF with a GF Score™ of 79/100 and a GF Value™ of $34.47 (Fairly Valued). The stock has 3 warning signs investors should review. Among 256 Retail - Defensive companies, Empire Co ranks worse than 77.73% on this metric.
Debt-to-EBITDA measures a company's ability to pay off its debt.
A high Debt-to-EBITDA ratio generally means that a company may spend more time to paying off its debt. According to Joel Tillinghast's BIG MONEY THINKS SMALL: Biases, Blind Spots, and Smarter Investing, a ratio of Debt-to-EBITDA exceeding four is usually considered scary unless tangible assets cover the debt.
The historical rank and industry rank for Empire Co's Debt-to-EBITDA or its related term are showing as below:
EMLAF'
s Debt-to-EBITDA Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: 1.89 Med: 3.11 Max: 4.38
Current: 4.38
During the past 13 years, the highest Debt-to-EBITDA Ratio of Empire Co was 4.38. The lowest was 1.89. And the median was 3.11.
EMLAF's Debt-to-EBITDA is ranked worse than 77.73% of 256
companies
in the Retail - Defensive industry
Industry Median: 2.215
vs EMLAF: 4.38
Empire Co (OTCPK:EMLAF) Debt-to-EBITDA Explanation
A high Debt-to-EBITDA ratio generally means that a company may spend more time to paying off its debt.
According to Joel Tillinghast's BIG MONEY THINKS SMALL: Biases, Blind Spots, and Smarter Investing, a ratio of Debt-to-EBITDA exceeding four is usually considered scary unless tangible assets cover the debt.
Empire Co Debt-to-EBITDA Related Terms
Empire Co Debt-to-EBITDA Historical Data
* Premium members only.
The historical data trend for Empire Co's Debt-to-EBITDA can be seen below:
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
For the Grocery Stores subindustry, Empire Co's Debt-to-EBITDA, along with its competitors' market caps and Debt-to-EBITDA data, can be viewed below:
* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.
Empire Co Debt-to-EBITDA vs Retail - Defensive Industry
For the Retail - Defensive industry and Consumer Defensive sector, Empire Co's Debt-to-EBITDA distribution charts can be found below:
* The bar in red indicates where Empire Co's Debt-to-EBITDA falls into.
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
In the calculation of annual Debt-to-EBITDA, the EBITDA of the last fiscal year is used. In calculating the annualized quarterly data,
the EBITDA data used here is four times the quarterly (Apr. 2026) EBITDA data.
Empire Co (EMLAF) has a Debt-to-EBITDA of 3.01 as of Apr. 2026. Debt-to-EBITDA ratio represents the ratio of total debt to total earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. View historical data on Empire Co. This is near median its historical median of 3.11. Over the past decade, Empire Co's Debt-to-EBITDA has ranged from 1.89 to 4.38. According to the industry distribution chart, Empire Co ranks #199 out of 256 companies in the Retail - Defensive industry, placing it in the top 77.7%.
Is Empire Co's Debt-to-EBITDA too high?
Empire Co's current Debt-to-EBITDA of 3.01 is near median its 10-year median of 3.11. Over the past 10 years, this metric has ranged from a low of 1.89 to a high of 4.38. The Retail - Defensive industry median Debt-to-EBITDA is 2.22. Empire Co's value of 3.01 is 35.9% above this industry median. Based on the distribution chart, Empire Co ranks #199 out of 256 companies in the Retail - Defensive industry, which is in the bottom quartile relative to peers. Overall, Empire Co has a GF Score™ of 79/100 and is considered Fairly Valued, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Empire Co's Debt-to-EBITDA compare to KR and SFM?
According to the Retail - Defensive industry distribution chart, Empire Co ranks #199 out of 256 companies for Debt-to-EBITDA. This places Empire Co in the lower half of its industry. The industry median Debt-to-EBITDA is 2.22. Empire Co's value of 3.01 is 35.9% above this benchmark. Historically, Empire Co's own Debt-to-EBITDA has ranged from 1.89 to 4.38 over the past decade. While the company's 10-year median is 3.11 vs. the industry median of 2.22, Empire Co has consistently been above the industry average. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good Debt-to-EBITDA for a Retail - Defensive company?
The median Debt-to-EBITDA among Retail - Defensive companies is 2.22, based on 256 companies in the industry. Companies in the top quartile (top 25%) have a Debt-to-EBITDA significantly above this median, while those in the bottom quartile fall well below. However, Debt-to-EBITDA should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. Empire Co's current Debt-to-EBITDA of 3.01 is 35.9% above the industry median. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high Debt-to-EBITDA mean?
A high Debt-to-EBITDA can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. Debt-to-EBITDA ratio represents the ratio of total debt to total earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. View historical data on Empire Co. For the Retail - Defensive industry, the median Debt-to-EBITDA is 2.22 — values significantly above this may indicate overvaluation, while values below may suggest a bargain or underlying issues. Empire Co's current Debt-to-EBITDA is 3.01, which is near median its own 10-year median of 3.11. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Empire Co stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Empire Co (EMLAF) is currently considered Fairly Valued. The stock's GF Value™ is $34.47, compared to a current price of $34.55 — trading 0.2% above its estimated fair value. The current Debt-to-EBITDA is 3.01, which is near median its 10-year median of 3.11 and 35.9% above the Retail - Defensive industry median of 2.22. Empire Co's overall GF Score™ is 79/100 with 3 warning signs to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Debt-to-EBITDA calculated?
Debt-to-EBITDA is calculated from a company's financial statements. For Empire Co (EMLAF), the current Debt-to-EBITDA is 3.01 as of Apr. 2026. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.
Is Empire Co (EMLAF) Overvalued in 2026?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Empire Co stock appears to be overvalued.
The current stock price of $34.55 is trading 0.2% above its estimated GF Value™ of $34.47.
GuruFocus considers Empire Co to be Fairly Valued.
Key valuation signals for EMLAF:
Debt-to-EBITDA: 3.01 (near median its 10-year median of 3.11)
GF Value™: $34.47 vs. price of $34.55 (0.2% above fair value)
Industry Position: 35.9% above the Retail - Defensive median (#199 of 256)
No single metric tells the full story. See the EMLAF stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.
Empire Co Ltd is a Canadian company whose key businesses are food retailing and related real estate. The Company's business operations were conducted through its two reportable segments: Food retailing and Investments and other operations. The Food retailing segment is comprised of three operating segments: Sobeys National, Farm Boy and Longo's. Food retailing consists of corporate and franchisee-owned retail food stores, and includes convenience and fuel stores, retail pharmacy stores and in-store pharmacies, as well as an e-commerce grocery-business, providing customers offerings in fresh and non-fresh grocery, fuel, pharmacy, health and beauty care and general merchandise. The Investments and other operations consists of investments in Crombie REIT, real estate partnership.
79GF Score
Get the complete analysis for EMLAF
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