KROGER CO vs US FOODS HOLDING CORP., two Grocery stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Where KR and USFD diverge most: on implied growth (priced in), KR reads -1.5% and USFD reads +15.1%; on revenue growth, KR reads +1.5% and USFD reads +3.8%. The rest of the comparable metrics sit closer together. On valuation, today's KR price has a different growth bar priced in than USFD (-1.5% implied for KR vs +15.1% for USFD); the higher figure is the steeper assumption to clear, not a better or worse stock. What KR's price implies is a somewhat stretched bet versus history (whole-company basis). What USFD's price implies is a bet that sits within the historical range (whole-company basis). The bull and bear cases for each are in their full reports below.
| Metric | KR | USFD |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $61.63 | $97.36 |
| Market cap | $37.5B | $21.1B |
| Sector | Grocery | Grocery |
| Stage | Mature | Mature |
| Implied growth (priced in) | -1.5% | +15.1% |
| P/E | — | 30.0 |
| P/B | 6.41 | 4.92 |
| P/S | 0.25 | 0.52 |
| EV/EBITDA | 9.6 | 16.1 |
| Revenue growth | +1.5% | +3.8% |
| Gross margin | — | 18.2% |
| Operating margin | 2.8% | 4.2% |
| Net margin | 0.7% | 1.8% |
| Return on equity | 18.6% | 17.0% |
| Return on assets | 2.2% | 5.1% |
| Return on invested capital | 7.5% | 9.9% |
| FCF yield | 6.4% | 4.5% |
| Dividend yield | 2.2% | — |
| Debt / equity | 2.63 | 1.22 |
| Current ratio | 0.70 | 1.14 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 4.31 | 4.50 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 6 / 9 | 8 / 9 |
Each week boothcheck ranks the stocks whose prices are betting on the most. Read the most stretched bets archive →
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.