Empire CoEMLAF +0.33%78 Interest Coverage is 3.68 as of Apr. 2026, which is 1% above its 10-year median of 3.66. GuruFocus rates EMLAF with a GF Score™ of 78/100 and a GF Value™ of $34.55 (Fairly Valued). The stock has 3 warning signs investors should review. Among 254 Retail - Defensive companies, Empire Co ranks worse than 74.8% on this metric.
Interest Coverage is a ratio that determines how easily a company can pay interest expenses on outstanding debt. It is calculated by dividing a company's
Operating Income
by its Interest Expense. Empire Co's
Operating Income
for the
three
months ended in Apr. 2026 was $217 Mil. Empire Co's Interest Expense for the
three
months ended in Apr. 2026 was $-59 Mil.
Empire Co's interest coverage for the quarter that ended in Apr. 2026 was 3.68.
The higher the ratio, the stronger the company's financial strength is.
The historical rank and industry rank for Empire Co's Interest Coverage or its related term are showing as below:
EMLAF'
s Interest Coverage Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: 1.84 Med: 3.66 Max: 5.38
Current: 3.79
EMLAF's Interest Coverage is ranked worse than 74.8% of 254
companies
in the Retail - Defensive industry
Industry Median: 9.065
vs EMLAF: 3.79
Empire Co (OTCPK:EMLAF) Interest Coverage Explanation
Ben Graham requires that a company has a minimum interest coverage of 5 with the companies he invested. If the interest coverage is less than 2, the company is burdened by debt. Any business slow or recession may drag the company into a situation where it cannot pay the interest on its debt.
Interest Coverage is an important factor when GuruFocus ranks a company's overage Financial Strength .
Empire Co Interest Coverage Related Terms
Empire Co Interest Coverage Historical Data
* Premium members only.
The historical data trend for Empire Co's Interest Coverage 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.
Note: For Interest Coverage, "No debt" indicates no long-term debt. An indication of "No Debt" does not necessarily mean that the company has no long-term debt obligations; it could be due to missing data in the quarterly or annual report. Use caution when interpreting this information.
EMLAF vs KR, SFM, ACI: Interest Coverage Comparison
For the Grocery Stores subindustry, Empire Co's Interest Coverage, along with its competitors' market caps and Interest Coverage 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 Interest Coverage vs Retail - Defensive Industry
For the Retail - Defensive industry and Consumer Defensive sector, Empire Co's Interest Coverage distribution charts can be found below:
* The bar in red indicates where Empire Co's Interest Coverage falls into.
Interest Coverage is a ratio that determines how easily a company can pay interest expenses on outstanding debt. It is calculated by dividing a company's Operating Income (EBIT) by its Interest Expense:
* 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.
Empire Co (EMLAF) has a Interest Coverage of 3.68 as of Apr. 2026. Interest Coverage measures a company's capability to pay interest expenses on its debt. View historical data on Empire Co and its competitors. This is near median its historical median of 3.66. Over the past decade, Empire Co's Interest Coverage has ranged from 1.84 to 5.38. According to the industry distribution chart, Empire Co ranks #190 out of 254 companies in the Retail - Defensive industry, placing it in the top 74.8%.
Is Empire Co's Interest Coverage too high?
Empire Co's current Interest Coverage of 3.68 is near median its 10-year median of 3.66. Over the past 10 years, this metric has ranged from a low of 1.84 to a high of 5.38. The Retail - Defensive industry median Interest Coverage is 9.07. Empire Co's value of 3.68 is 59.4% below this industry median. Based on the distribution chart, Empire Co ranks #190 out of 254 companies in the Retail - Defensive industry, which is below the industry midpoint. Overall, Empire Co has a GF Score™ of 78/100 and is considered Fairly Valued, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Empire Co's Interest Coverage compare to KR and SFM?
According to the Retail - Defensive industry distribution chart, Empire Co ranks #190 out of 254 companies for Interest Coverage. This places Empire Co in the lower half of its industry. The industry median Interest Coverage is 9.07. Empire Co's value of 3.68 is 59.4% below this benchmark. Historically, Empire Co's own Interest Coverage has ranged from 1.84 to 5.38 over the past decade. While the company's 10-year median is 3.66 vs. the industry median of 9.07, Empire Co has consistently been below 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 Interest Coverage for a Retail - Defensive company?
The median Interest Coverage among Retail - Defensive companies is 9.07, based on 254 companies in the industry. Companies in the top quartile (top 25%) have a Interest Coverage significantly above this median, while those in the bottom quartile fall well below. However, Interest Coverage should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. Empire Co's current Interest Coverage of 3.68 is 59.4% below 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 Interest Coverage mean?
A high Interest Coverage can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. Interest Coverage measures a company's capability to pay interest expenses on its debt. View historical data on Empire Co and its competitors. For the Retail - Defensive industry, the median Interest Coverage is 9.07 — values significantly above this may indicate overvaluation, while values below may suggest a bargain or underlying issues. Empire Co's current Interest Coverage is 3.68, which is near median its own 10-year median of 3.66. 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 $34.55, compared to a current price of $36.43 — trading 5.4% above its estimated fair value. The current Interest Coverage is 3.68, which is near median its 10-year median of 3.66 and 59.4% below the Retail - Defensive industry median of 9.07. Empire Co's overall GF Score™ is 78/100 with 3 warning signs to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Interest Coverage calculated?
Interest Coverage is calculated from a company's financial statements. For Empire Co (EMLAF), the current Interest Coverage is 3.68 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 $36.43 is trading 5.4% above its estimated GF Value™ of $34.55.
GuruFocus considers Empire Co to be Fairly Valued.
Key valuation signals for EMLAF:
Interest Coverage: 3.68 (near median its 10-year median of 3.66)
GF Value™: $34.55 vs. price of $36.43 (5.4% above fair value)
Industry Position: 59.4% below the Retail - Defensive median (#190 of 254)
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.
78GF Score
Get the complete analysis for EMLAF
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