Kroger 10-Q 2023-08-12

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

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FORM 10-Q

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☒	QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

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For the quarterly period ended August 12, 2023

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☐	TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

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For the transition period from to

Commission file number 1-303

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The Kroger Co.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

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Ohio	​	31-0345740
(State or other jurisdiction of	​	(I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization)	​	Identification No.)

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1014 Vine Street**,** Cincinnati**,** Ohio 45202

(Address of principal executive offices)

(Zip Code)

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(513) 762-4000

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

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Unchanged

(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)

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Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

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Title of each class	Trading Symbol	Name of each exchange on which registered
Common, $1.00 Par Value	KR	New York Stock Exchange

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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15 (d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

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Large accelerated filer	☒	​	Accelerated filer	☐
Non-accelerated filer	☐	​	Smaller reporting company	☐
​	​	​	Emerging growth company	☐

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If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒.

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There were 719,315,778 shares of Common Stock ($1 par value) outstanding as of September 12, 2023.

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PART I – FINANCIAL INFORMATION

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Item 1.	Financial Statements.

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THE KROGER CO.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(unaudited)

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​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
​	​	Second Quarter Ended					​	Two Quarters Ended					​
​	​	August 12,		​	August 13,		​	August 12,		​	August 13,		​
(In millions, except per share amounts)		2023			2022			2023			2022
Sales	​	$	33,853	​	$	34,638	​	$	79,018	​	$	79,238	​
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Operating expenses	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
Merchandise costs, including advertising, warehousing, and transportation, excluding items shown separately below	​		26,475	​		27,392	​		61,555	​		62,343	​
Operating, general and administrative	​		6,935	​		5,417	​		14,328	​		12,414	​
Rent	​		206	​		191	​		470	​		448	​
Depreciation and amortization	​		716	​		684	​		1,674	​		1,574	​
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Operating profit (loss)	​		(479)	​		954	​		991	​		2,459	​
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Other income (expense)	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
Interest expense	​	​	(93)	​	​	(127)	​	​	(247)	​	​	(303)	​
Non-service component of company-sponsored pension plan benefits	​	​	8	​	​	11	​	​	17	​	​	26	​
Gain (loss) on investments	​	​	367	​	​	103	​	​	290	​	​	(429)	​
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Net earnings (loss) before income tax expense	​		(197)	​		941	​		1,051	​		1,753	​
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Income tax expense (benefit)	​		(18)	​		209	​		268	​		356	​
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Net earnings (loss) including noncontrolling interests	​		(179)	​		732	​		783	​		1,397	​
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	​		1	​		1	​		1	​		3	​
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Net earnings (loss) attributable to The Kroger Co.	​	$	(180)	​	$	731	​	$	782	​	$	1,394	​
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Net earnings (loss) attributable to The Kroger Co. per basic common share	​	$	(0.25)	​	$	1.01	​	$	1.08	​	$	1.92	​
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Average number of common shares used in basic calculation	​		719	​		716	​		718	​		720	​
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Net earnings (loss) attributable to The Kroger Co. per diluted common share	​	$	(0.25)	​	$	1.00	​	$	1.07	​	$	1.89	​
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Average number of common shares used in diluted calculation	​		719	​		725	​		725	​		730	​

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The accompanying notes are an integral part of the Consolidated Financial Statements.

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THE KROGER CO.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)

(unaudited)

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​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
​		Second Quarter Ended					​	Two Quarters Ended					​
​	​	August 12,		​	August 13,		​	August 12,		​	August 13,		​
(In millions)		2023			2022			2023			2022
Net earnings (loss) including noncontrolling interests	​	$	(179)	​	$	732	​	$	783	​	$	1,397	​
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Other comprehensive (loss) income	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
Change in pension and other postretirement defined benefit plans, net of income tax(1)	​	​	(3)	​	​	(1)	​	​	(7)	​	​	(1)	​
Unrealized gains and losses on cash flow hedging activities, net of income tax(2)	​		105	​		—	​		196	​		—	​
Amortization

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The following analysis should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements.

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CAUTIONARY STATEMENT

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This discussion and analysis contains certain forward-looking statements about our future performance. These statements are based on management’s assumptions and beliefs in light of the information currently available to it. Such statements are indicated by words such as “achieve,” “affect,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “committed,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “future,” “guidance,” “intended,” “maintain,” “may,” “model,” “opportunity,” “plan,” “position,” “program,” “reaffirm,” “strategy,” “target,” “trend,” “will,” and “would,” and similar words or phrases. These forward-looking statements are subject to uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially. These include the specific risk factors identified in “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for our last fiscal year and any subsequent filings, as well as those identified in this Form 10-Q.

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Various uncertainties and other factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. These include:

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	●	The extent to which our sources of liquidity are sufficient to meet our requirements may be affected by the state of the financial markets and the effect that such condition has on our ability to issue commercial paper at acceptable rates. Our ability to borrow under our committed lines of credit, including our bank credit facilities, could be impaired if one or more of our lenders under those lines is unwilling or unable to honor its contractual obligation to lend to us, or in the event that global pandemics, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic (including any variant), natural disasters or weather conditions interfere with the ability of our lenders to lend to us. Our ability to refinance maturing debt may be affected by the state of the financial markets.

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	●	Our ability to achieve sales, earnings and incremental FIFO operating profit goals may be affected by: the risks relating to or arising from our proposed nationwide opioid litigation settlement, including our ability to finalize and effectuate the settlement, the scope and coverage of the ultimate settlement and the expected financial or other impacts that could result from the settlement; our proposed transaction with Albertsons Companies, Inc. (“Albertsons”) announced in October 2022, including, among others, our ability to consummate the proposed transaction and related divestiture plan, including on the terms of the merger agreement and divestiture plan, on the anticipated timeline, and/or with the required regulatory approvals; COVID-19 pandemic related factors, risks and challenges; labor negotiations; potential work stoppages; changes in the unemployment rate; pressures in the labor market; changes in government-funded benefit programs; changes in the types and numbers of businesses that compete with us; pricing and promotional activities of existing and new competitors, including non-traditional competitors, and the aggressiveness of that competition; our response to these actions; the state of the economy, including interest rates, the current inflationary environment and future potential inflationary and/or deflationary trends and such trends in certain commodities, products and/or operating costs; the geopolitical environment including the war in Ukraine; unstable political situations and social unrest; changes in tariffs; the effect that fuel costs have on consumer spending; volatility of fuel margins; manufacturing commodity costs; supply constraints; diesel fuel costs related to our logistics operations; trends in consumer spending; the extent to which our customers exercise caution in their purchasing in response to economic conditions; the uncertainty of economic growth or recession; stock repurchases; changes in the regulatory environment in which we operate; our ability to retain pharmacy sales from third party payors; consolidation in the healthcare industry, including pharmacy benefit managers; our ability to negotiate modifications to multi-employer pension plans; natural disasters or adverse weather conditions; the effect of public health crises or other significant catastrophic events; the potential costs and risks associated with potential cyber-attacks or data security breaches; the success of future growth plans; the ability to execute our growth strategy and value creation model, including continued cost savings, growth of our alternative profit businesses, and our ability to better serve our customers and to generate customer loyalty and sustainable growth through our strategic pillars of fresh, Our Brands, personalization, and seamless; and the successful integration of merged companies and new partnerships.

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	●	Our ability to achieve these goals may also be affected by our ability to manage the factors identified above. Our ability to execute our financial strategy may be affected by our ability to generate cash flow.

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	●	Our adjusted effective tax rate may differ from the expected rate due to changes in tax laws, the status of pending items with various taxing authorities, and the deductibility of certain expenses.

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Statements elsewhere in this report and below regarding our expectations, projections, beliefs, intentions or strategies are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. While we believe that the statements are accurate, uncertainties about the general economy, our labor relations, our ability to execute our plans on a timely basis and other uncertainties described in this report and other reports that we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission could cause actual results to differ materially. We assume no obligation to update the information contained in this report unless required by applicable law.

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OUR VALUE CREATION MODEL – DELIVERING CONSISTENT AND ATTRACTIVE TOTAL SHAREHOLDER RETURN

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Kroger’s proven value creation model is allowing us to deliver today and invest for the future. The foundation of our value creation model is our omnichannel food retail business, which is built on Kroger’s strategic assets: our stores, digital ecosystem, Our Brands and our data. These assets, when combined with our go-to-market strategy, deliver a compelling value proposition for our customers. We are building long-term customer loyalty by differentiating in Fresh, Our Brands, Personalization and our seamless shopping experience to drive sustainable sales growth in our retail supermarket business, including fuel and health and wellness. This, in turn, generates the data and traffic that enables our fast growing, high operating margin alternative profit businesses. We are evolving from primarily a food retailer into a more diverse, food first business that we expect will consistently deliver net earnings growth in the future. This will be achieved by:

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	●	Growing identical sales without fuel. Our plan involves maximizing growth opportunities in our supermarket business and is supported by continued strategic investments in our customers, associates, and our seamless ecosystem to ensure we deliver a full, friendly and fresh experience for every customer, every time. As more and more customers incorporate ecommerce into their permanent routines, we expect digital sales to grow at a double-digit rate – a faster pace than other food at home sales – over time; and

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| | ● | Expanding operating margin, through a balanced model where strategic price investments for our customers, investments in our associates’ wages and benefits and investments in technology that deliver a better associate and customer experience are offset

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There have been no material changes in our exposure to market risk from the information provided in Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 28, 2023.

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The Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer, together with a disclosure review committee appointed by the Chief Executive Officer, evaluated Kroger’s disclosure controls and procedures as of the quarter ended August 12, 2023, the end of the period covered by this report. Based on that evaluation, Kroger’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that Kroger’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15(d)-15(e) of the Exchange Act) were effective as of the end of the period covered by this report to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

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The Company is in the process of implementing a broad, multi-year, technology transformation project to modernize mainframe, middleware and legacy systems to achieve better process efficiencies across customer service, merchandising, sourcing, payroll and accounting through the use of various solutions. During the quarter ended August 12, 2023, the Company implemented additional human resources modules for learning, talent, onboarding and compensation. Additional phases of the technology transformation project will continue to be implemented over the next several years. There have been no material additional implementations of modules during the quarter ended August 12, 2023. As the Company’s technology transformation project continues, the Company continues to emphasize the maintenance of effective internal controls and assessment of the design and operating effectiveness of key control activities throughout development and deployment of each phase and will evaluate as additional phases are deployed.

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There were no changes in Kroger’s internal control over financial reporting that materially affected, or were reasonably likely to materially affect, Kroger’s internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended August 12, 2023.

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PART II - OTHER INFORMATION

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Incorporated by reference herein is information regarding certain legal proceedings in which we are involved as set forth under “Litigation” contained in Note 6 – “Commitments and Contingencies” in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 1 of Part I of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

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Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds.

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(c)

ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

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​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	Approximate
​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	Dollar Value of
​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	Shares that May
​	​	​	​	​	​	​	Total Number of	​	Yet Be
​	​	​	​	​	​	​	Shares Purchased	​	Purchased
​	​	Total Number	​	Average		​	as Part of Publicly	​	Under the Plans
​	​	of Shares	​	Price Paid Per		​	Announced Plans	​	or Programs(4)
Period(1)		Purchased(2)		Share(2)			or Programs(3)		(in millions)
First four weeks	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
May 21, 2023 to June 17, 2023		121,700		$	47.18		121,700		$	1,000	​
Second four weeks	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
June 18, 2023 to July 15, 2023		768,662		$	46.82		111,700		$	1,000	​
Third four weeks	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
July 16, 2023 to August 12, 2023		149,902		$	47.47		149,800		$	1,000	​
Total		1,040,264		$	46.95		383,200		$	1,000	​

(1)	The reported periods conform to our fiscal calendar composed of thirteen 28-day periods. The second quarter of 2023 contained three 28-day periods.

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(2)

Includes (i) shares repurchased under a program announced on December 6, 1999 to repurchase common shares to reduce dilution resulting from our employee stock option and long-term incentive plans, under which repurchases are limited to proceeds received from exercises of stock options and the tax benefits associated therewith (“1999 Repurchase Program”) and (ii) 657,064 shares that were surrendered to the Company by participants under our long-term incentive plans to pay for taxes on restricted stock awards.

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(3)	Represents shares repurchased under the 1999 Repurchase Program.

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(4)

On September 9, 2022, our Board of Directors approved a $1.0 billion share repurchase program to reacquire shares via open market purchase or privately negotiated transactions, block trades, or pursuant to trades intending to comply with Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “September 2022 Repurchase Program”). The amounts shown in this column reflect the amount remaining under the September 2022 Repurchase Program as of the specified period end dates. Amounts available under the 1999 Repurchase Program are dependent upon option exercise activity. The September 2022 Repurchase Program and the 1999 Repurchase Program do not have an expiration date but may be suspended or terminated by our Board of Directors at any time. No shares have been repurchased under the September 2022 authorization. During the third quarter of 2022, we paused our share repurchase program to prioritize de-leveraging following the proposed merger with Albertsons.

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(c)

In the second quarter of 2023, no director or officer (as defined in Exchange Act Rule 16a-1(f)) of the Company adopted or terminated a Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement or non-Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement for the purchase or sale of securities of the Company, within the meaning of Item 408 of Regulation S-K.

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EXHIBIT 2.1	-	Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of October 13, 2022, by and among the Company, Parent and Merger Sub, is hereby incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 of the Company’s 8-K filed with the SEC on October 14, 2022.
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EXHIBIT 3.1	-	Amended Articles of Incorporation are hereby incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 of the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended May 22, 2010, as amended by the Amendment to Amended Articles of Incorporation, which is hereby incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 of the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended May 23, 2015.
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EXHIBIT 3.2	-	The Company’s regulations are hereby incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 of the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on June 27, 2019.
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EXHIBIT 4.1	-	Instruments defining the rights of holders of long-term debt of the Company and its subsidiaries are not filed as Exhibits because the amount of debt under each instrument is less than 10% of the consolidated assets of the Company. The Company undertakes to file these instruments with the SEC upon request.
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EXHIBIT 10.1	-	Term Loan Agreement, dated as of November 9, 2022, by and among the Company, the lenders from time to time party thereto, and Citibank, N.A., as administrative agent for the lenders, is hereby incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 of the Company’s 8-K filed with the SEC on November 10, 2022.
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EXHIBIT 10.2	-	Amendment No. 1 to Credit Agreement, dated as of November 9, 2022, by and among the Company, the lenders party thereto, and Bank of America, N.A., as paying agent to the Amended and Rested Credit Agreement, dated as of July 6, 2021, is hereby incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 of the Company’s 8-K filed with the SEC on November 10, 2022.
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EXHIBIT 31.1*	-	Rule 13a—14(a) / 15d—14(a) Certifications — Chief Executive Officer.
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EXHIBIT 31.2*	-	Rule 13a—14(a) / 15d—14(a) Certifications — Chief Financial Officer.
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EXHIBIT 32.1*	-	Section 1350 Certifications.
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EXHIBIT 101.INS*	-	XBRL Instance Document - the instance document does not appear in the Interactive Data File because its XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document.
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EXHIBIT 101.SCH*	-	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document.
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EXHIBIT 101.CAL*	-	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document.
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EXHIBIT 101.DEF*	-	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document.
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EXHIBIT 101.LAB*	-	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document.
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EXHIBIT 101.PRE*	-	XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document.
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EXHIBIT 104	-	Cover Page Interactive Data File - The cover page interactive data file does not appear in the Interactive Data File because its XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document.
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*Filed herewith	​	​
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SIGNATURES

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Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

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​	THE KROGER CO.
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Dated: September 15, 2023	By:	/s/ W. Rodney McMullen
​	​	W. Rodney McMullen
​	​	Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
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Dated: September 15, 2023	By:	/s/ Gary Millerchip
​	​	Gary Millerchip
​	​	Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

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