The Kroger Co (LTS:0JS2) Owner Earnings per Share (TTM): 1.03 (As of Apr. 2026) — 93% Below Median


LTS:0JS2 The Kroger Co LTS:0JS2
63 GF Score
Price $59.20
GF Value $66.97
Valuation Modestly Undervalued
! 1 Warning Sign
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What is The Kroger Co Owner Earnings per Share (TTM)?

The Kroger Co LTS:0JS2 +1.02% 63 Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) is 1.03 as of Apr. 2026, which is 93% below its 10-year median of 15.81. GuruFocus rates LTS:0JS2 with a GF Score™ of 63/100 and a GF Value™ of $66.97 (Modestly Undervalued). The stock has 1 warning sign investors should review. Among 176 Retail - Defensive companies, The Kroger Co ranks worse than 89.77% on this metric.

In 1986 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letter, Warren Buffett defined owner earnings as follows:

"These represent (a) reported earnings plus (b) depreciation, depletion, amortization, and certain other non-cash charges...less (c) the average annual amount of capitalized expenditures for plant and equipment, etc. that the business requires to fully maintain its long-term competitive position and its unit volume (If the business requires additional working capital to maintain its competitive position and unit volume, the increment also should be included in (c))...Our owner-earnings equation does not yield the deceptively precise figures provided by GAAP, since (c) must be a guess - and one sometimes very difficult to make. Despite this problem, we consider the owner earnings figure, not the GAAP figure, to be the relevant item for valuation purposes - both for investors in buying stocks and for managers in buying entire businesses...All of this points up the absurdity of the 'cash flow' numbers that are often set forth in Wall Street reports. These numbers routinely include (a) plus (b) - but do not subtract (c)."

The Kroger Co's Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) ended in Apr. 2026 was $1.03. It's Price-to-Owner-Earnings ratio for today is 57.48.


The historical rank and industry rank for The Kroger Co's Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) or its related term are showing as below:

LTS:0JS2' s Price-to-Owner-Earnings Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: 5.2   Med: 15.81   Max: 695.35
Current: 57.59


During the past 13 years, the highest Price-to-Owner-Earnings ratio of The Kroger Co was 695.35. The lowest was 5.20. And the median was 15.81.


LTS:0JS2's Price-to-Owner-Earnings is ranked worse than
89.77% of 176 companies
in the Retail - Defensive industry
Industry Median: 11.715 vs LTS:0JS2: 57.59

The Kroger Co's Earnings per Share (Diluted) for the three months ended in Apr. 2026 was $1.46. Its Earnings per Share (Diluted) for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Apr. 2026 was $1.70. It's PE Ratio (TTM) ratio for today is 34.82.

The Kroger Co's EPS without NRI for the three months ended in Apr. 2026 was $1.58. Its EPS without NRI for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Apr. 2026 was $4.95. It's PE Ratio without NRI ratio for today is 11.96.


Be Aware

Assumption: Companies usually do not report maintenance capital expenditures and growth capital expenditures separately. Here we use estimated numbers and average them over 5 years. The method to estimate maintenance capital expenditures can be found in above part 4.

Note: GuruFocus' Change In Working Capital is provided by Morningstar. It is calculated by adding the items under "Change in operating assets and liabilities" (may refer to a different name for different company) section in Cash Flow Statement from original financial report. And it includes non-current parts of assets and liabilities.


The Kroger Co Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) Related Terms


The Kroger Co Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) Historical Data

* Premium members only.

The historical data trend for The Kroger Co's Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) 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 Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) Chart

The Kroger Co Annual Data
Trend Jan17 Jan18 Jan19 Jan20 Jan21 Jan22 Jan23 Jan24 Jan25 Jan26
Owner Earnings per Share (TTM)
Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 3.03 0.07 5.19 3.46 1.68

The Kroger Co Quarterly Data
Jul21 Oct21 Jan22 Apr22 Jul22 Oct22 Jan23 Apr23 Jul23 Oct23 Jan24 Apr24 Jul24 Oct24 Jan25 Apr25 Jul25 Oct25 Jan26 Apr26
Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 3.13 3.85 -0.37 1.68 1.03

LTS:0JS2 vs SFM, ACI, WMK: Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) Comparison

For the Grocery Stores subindustry, The Kroger Co's Price-to-Owner-Earnings, along with its competitors' market caps and Price-to-Owner-Earnings 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 Price-to-Owner-Earnings vs Retail - Defensive Industry

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

* The bar in red indicates where The Kroger Co's Price-to-Owner-Earnings falls into.


LTS:0JS2
63GF Score
The Kroger Co LTS:0JS2
Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) is just one metric. See GF Score™, valuation, warning signs, and more.
View Full Analysis

The Kroger Co Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) Calculation

In 1986 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letter, Warren Buffett defined owner earnings as follows:

"These represent (a) reported earnings plus (b) depreciation, depletion, amortization, and certain other non-cash charges...less (c) the average annual amount of capitalized expenditures for plant and equipment, etc. that the business requires to fully maintain its long-term competitive position and its unit volume. (If the business requires additional working capital to maintain its competitive position and unit volume, the increment also should be included in (c))...Our owner-earnings equation does not yield the deceptively precise figures provided by GAAP, since (c) must be a guess - and one sometimes very difficult to make. Despite this problem, we consider the owner earnings figure, not the GAAP figure, to be the relevant item for valuation purposes - both for investors in buying stocks and for managers in buying entire businesses...All of this points up the absurdity of the 'cash flow' numbers that are often set forth in Wall Street reports. These numbers routinely include (a) plus (b) - but do not subtract (c)."

To make it simple, then you will have:

Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) = (Net Income + Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization + Change In Deferred Tax - 5Y Average of Maintenance Capital Expenditure + Change In Working Capital) / Shares Outstanding (Diluted Average)

The Kroger Co's Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) Calculation:

TTM / Last Quarter Average of Last 20 Quarters
Net Income 1,053
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization 3,853
Change In Deferred Tax -263
5Y Average of Maintenance Capital Expenditure 3,299
Change In Working Capital -711
Shares Outstanding (Diluted Average) 615

1. Start with "Net Income" from income statement. The Kroger Co's Net Income for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Apr. 2026 was $1,053 Mil.

2. "Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization" is from cashflow statement. The Kroger Co's Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Apr. 2026 was $3,853 Mil. This needs to be added back because company does not actually need to pay cash for it. It is a non-cash item.

3. Other non-cash charges usually include "Stock Based Compensation" and "Change In Deferred Tax":
However, to be conservative, GuruFocus will not add Stock Based Compensation back to net income. The Kroger Co's Change In Deferred Tax for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Apr. 2026 was $-263 Mil.

4. Average maintenance capital expenditure over a business/industry cycle: 5-Year Average Maintenance Capital Expenditure = $3,299 Mil

It is usually best to take a long-term average of maintenance capital expenditure. Ideally this would be as long as 10 years and include at least one economic downturn. However, since many companies do not have as long as 10-year history, here GuruFocus uses the latest 5 years data to do the calculation. To smooth out unusual years but reflect recent developments, we take an average of the 5 year maintenance capital expenditure.

The following shows how to get maintenance capital expenditure.

First, calculate the revenue change regarding to the previous quarter. If the revenue decreased from the previous quarter, then the Maintenance Capital Expenditure = Capital Expenditure (positive).
Second, if the revenue increased from the previous quarter, then calculate the percentage of Net PPE as of corresponding Revenue.
Growth Capital Expenditure = Percentage of Property, Plant and Equipment as of corresponding Revenue * Revenue Increase
Third, calculate Capital Expenditure (positive) - Growth Capital Expenditure.
If [Capital Expenditure (positive) - Growth Capital Expenditure] was negative, then the Maintenance Capital Expenditure = Capital Expenditure (positive).
If [Capital Expenditure (positive) - Growth Capital Expenditure] was positive, then the Maintenance Capital Expenditure = Capital Expenditure (positive) - Growth Capital Expenditure.
Fourth, get the average of the 5 years maintenance capital expenditure.

The Kroger Co's 5-Year Average Maintenance Capital Expenditure = $3,299 Mil

5. "Change In Working Capital" is from cashflow statement. The Kroger Co's Change In Working Capital for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Apr. 2026 was $-711 Mil.
Note: GuruFocus' Change in Working Capital is provided by Morningstar. It is calculated by adding the items under "Change in operating assets and liabilities" (may refer to a different name for different company) section in Cash Flow Statement from original financial report. And sometimes it includes non-current parts of assets and liabilities.

6. The Kroger Co's Shares Outstanding (Diluted Average) for the months ended in Apr. 2026 was 615.000 Mil.

The Kroger Co's Onwer Earnings Per Share for Apr. 2026 is calculated as:

Owner Earnings per Share (TTM)
=( Net Income+Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization+Change In Deferred Tax
=( 1053 +3853+-263
-5Y Avg of Maintenance CAPEX+Change In Working Capital )/Shares Outstanding (Diluted Average)
-3298.6059962249+-711)/615.000
=1.03

Price-to-Owner-Earnings=Current Price/Owner Earnings per Share (TTM)
=59.20/1.03
=57.48

* 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.

What does a Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) of 1.03 mean?
The Kroger Co (LTS:0JS2) has a Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) of 1.03 as of Apr. 2026. Warren Buffett defined owner earnings as reported earnings plus depreciation less average maintenance capital expenditure. View historical data on The Kroger Co. This is 93% below median its historical median of 15.81. Over the past decade, The Kroger Co's Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) has ranged from 5.20 to 695.35. According to the industry distribution chart, The Kroger Co ranks #158 out of 176 companies in the Retail - Defensive industry, placing it in the top 89.8%.
Is The Kroger Co's Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) too high?
The Kroger Co's current Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) of 1.03 is 93% below median its 10-year median of 15.81. Over the past 10 years, this metric has ranged from a low of 5.20 to a high of 695.35. The Retail - Defensive industry median Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) is 11.72. The Kroger Co's value of 1.03 is 91.2% below this industry median. Based on the distribution chart, The Kroger Co ranks #158 out of 176 companies in the Retail - Defensive industry, which is in the bottom quartile relative to peers. Overall, The Kroger Co has a GF Score™ of 63/100 and is considered Modestly Undervalued, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does The Kroger Co's Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) compare to SFM and ACI?
According to the Retail - Defensive industry distribution chart, The Kroger Co ranks #158 out of 176 companies for Owner Earnings per Share (TTM). This places The Kroger Co in the lower half of its industry. The industry median Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) is 11.72. The Kroger Co's value of 1.03 is 91.2% below this benchmark. Historically, The Kroger Co's own Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) has ranged from 5.20 to 695.35 over the past decade. While the company's 10-year median is 15.81 vs. the industry median of 11.72, The Kroger 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 Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) for a Retail - Defensive company?
The median Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) among Retail - Defensive companies is 11.72, based on 176 companies in the industry. Companies in the top quartile (top 25%) have a Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) significantly above this median, while those in the bottom quartile fall well below. However, Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. The Kroger Co's current Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) of 1.03 is 91.2% 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 Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) mean?
A high Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. Warren Buffett defined owner earnings as reported earnings plus depreciation less average maintenance capital expenditure. View historical data on The Kroger Co. For the Retail - Defensive industry, the median Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) is 11.72 — values significantly above this may indicate overvaluation, while values below may suggest a bargain or underlying issues. The Kroger Co's current Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) is 1.03, which is 93% below median its own 10-year median of 15.81. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is The Kroger Co stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, The Kroger Co (LTS:0JS2) is currently considered Modestly Undervalued. The stock's GF Value™ is $66.97, compared to a current price of $59.20 — trading 11.6% below its estimated fair value. The current Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) is 1.03, which is 93% below median its 10-year median of 15.81 and 91.2% below the Retail - Defensive industry median of 11.72. The Kroger Co's overall GF Score™ is 63/100 with 1 warning sign to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) calculated?
Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) is calculated from a company's financial statements. For The Kroger Co (LTS:0JS2), the current Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) is 1.03 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 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 $59.20 is trading 11.6% below its estimated GF Value™ of $66.97. GuruFocus considers The Kroger Co to be Modestly Undervalued.

Key valuation signals for LTS:0JS2:

  • Owner Earnings per Share (TTM): 1.03 (93% below median its 10-year median of 15.81)
  • GF Value™: $66.97 vs. price of $59.20 (11.6% below fair value)
  • GF Score™: 63/100 with 1 warning sign
  • Industry Position: 91.2% below the Retail - Defensive median (#158 of 176)

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.
63GF Score

Get the complete analysis for LTS:0JS2

Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) is just one metric. See GF Value™, 30-year financials, guru trades, warning signs, and more.

$59.20
Price
$66.97
GF Value