The Kroger Co (LTS:0JS2) Debt-to-EBITDA : (As of Aug. 2026)

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LTS:0JS2 The Kroger Co LTS:0JS2
65 GF Score
Price $60.62
GF Value $67.89
Valuation Modestly Undervalued
! 2 Warning Signs
View Full Analysis

What is The Kroger Co Debt-to-EBITDA?

Debt-to-EBITDA measures a company's ability to pay off its debt.

The Kroger Co's Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation for the quarter that ended in Aug. 2026 was $2,502 Mil. The Kroger Co's Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation for the quarter that ended in Aug. 2026 was $21,656 Mil. The Kroger Co's annualized EBITDA for the quarter that ended in Aug. 2026 was $7,484 Mil. The Kroger Co's annualized Debt-to-EBITDA for the quarter that ended in Aug. 2026 was 3.23.

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 The Kroger Co's Debt-to-EBITDA or its related term are showing as below:

LTS:0JS2' s Debt-to-EBITDA Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: 2.16   Med: 3.1   Max: 4.29
Current: 4.19

During the past 13 years, the highest Debt-to-EBITDA Ratio of The Kroger Co was 4.29. The lowest was 2.16. And the median was 3.10.

LTS:0JS2's Debt-to-EBITDA is ranked worse than
74.14% of 263 companies
in the Retail - Defensive industry
Industry Median: 2.15 vs LTS:0JS2: 4.19

The Kroger Co  (LTS:0JS2) Debt-to-EBITDA Explanation

In the calculation of Debt-to-EBITDA, we use the total of Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation and Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation divided by EBITDA. In some calculations, Total Liabilities is used to for calculation.


Be Aware

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 Kroger Co Debt-to-EBITDA Related Terms


The Kroger Co Debt-to-EBITDA Historical Data

* Premium members only.

The historical data trend for The Kroger 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.

The Kroger Co Debt-to-EBITDA Chart

The Kroger Co Annual Data
Trend Jan17 Jan18 Jan19 Jan20 Jan21 Jan22 Jan23 Jan24 Jan25 Jan26
Debt-to-EBITDA
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The Kroger Co Quarterly Data
Oct21 Jan22 May22 Aug22 Oct22 Jan23 May23 Aug23 Oct23 Jan24 May24 Aug24 Oct24 Jan25 May25 Aug25 Oct25 Jan26 May26 Aug26
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LTS:0JS2 vs SFM, ACI, WMK: Debt-to-EBITDA Comparison

For the Grocery Stores subindustry, The Kroger 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.


The Kroger Co Debt-to-EBITDA vs Retail - Defensive Industry

For the Retail - Defensive industry and Consumer Defensive sector, The Kroger Co's Debt-to-EBITDA distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where The Kroger Co's Debt-to-EBITDA falls into.


LTS:0JS2
65GF Score
The Kroger Co LTS:0JS2
Debt-to-EBITDA is just one metric. See GF Score™, valuation, warning signs, and more.
View Full Analysis

The Kroger Co Debt-to-EBITDA Calculation

Debt-to-EBITDA measures a company's ability to pay off its debt.

The Kroger Co's Debt-to-EBITDA for the fiscal year that ended in Jan. 2026 is calculated as

Debt-to-EBITDA=Total Debt / EBITDA
=(Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation + Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation) / EBITDA
=(2467 + 22225) / 5948
=4.15

The Kroger Co's annualized Debt-to-EBITDA for the quarter that ended in Aug. 2026 is calculated as

Debt-to-EBITDA=Total Debt / EBITDA
=(Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation + Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation) / EBITDA
=(2502 + 21656) / 7484
=3.23

* 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 (Aug. 2026) EBITDA data.

Is The Kroger Co (LTS:0JS2) Overvalued in 2026?

Based on GuruFocus' analysis, The Kroger Co stock appears to be undervalued. The current stock price of $60.62 is trading 10.7% below its estimated GF Value™ of $67.89. GuruFocus considers The Kroger Co to be Modestly Undervalued.

Key valuation signals for LTS:0JS2:

  • Debt-to-EBITDA:
  • GF Value™: $67.89 vs. price of $60.62 (10.7% below fair value)
  • GF Score™: 65/100 with 2 warning signs

No single metric tells the full story. See the LTS:0JS2 stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.


The Kroger Co Business Description

Address 1014 Vine Street, Cincinnati, OH, USA, 45202-1100
Founded in 1883, Kroger is the largest pure-play supermarket operator in the United States, operating roughly 2,700 stores across more than 30 banners. Kroger's business is primarily grocery-led (roughly 78% of sales), spanning fresh food and private-label offerings, complemented by fuel centers (9%) and pharmacies (12%). The firm also generates income from advertising, data analytics, and manufacturing.
65GF Score

Get the complete analysis for LTS:0JS2

Debt-to-EBITDA is just one metric. See GF Value™, 30-year financials, guru trades, warning signs, and more.

$60.62
Price
$67.89
GF Value