After weathering the fallout from its failed bid to merge with Albertsons, Kroger is regaining its financial footing.
Information in the grocer’s newly released annual report for its latest fiscal year, which ended on Jan. 31, 2026, shows that the company has made progress on boosting its sales.
Kroger’s private brands, growing e-commerce operations, data insights and store experiences have created a strong foundation for the company, CEO Greg Foran, who arrived in February, noted in a shareholder letter in the report. However, the grocer still has room to improve, including becoming more efficient, boosting the quality of its private brands, investing in affordability efforts and growing its brick-and-mortar and online footprints, Foran wrote.
Here’s a look at some notable numbers from the retailer’s fiscal year 2025 filing:
2.9%
Year-over-year increase in identical store sales without fuel
Kroger’s same-store sales growth nearly doubled in fiscal 2025 from the 1.5% increase that the grocer recorded in fiscal 2024. Kroger also saw modest identical store sales without fuel growth before the COVID-19 pandemic. The grocer recorded 2% and 1.8% increases in the financial metric for its 2019 and 2018 fiscal years, respectively.
$16 billion
E-commerce sales in fiscal 2025
The grocer’s e-commerce business crossed $16 billion in sales in fiscal 2025, up from the more than $13 billion it recorded in the prior fiscal year. Kroger noted that “strong” customer demand for delivery helped fuel its online sales growth.
This growth comes even as Kroger has made significant adjustments to its e-commerce network, including shuttering three automated fulfillment centers and focusing more on store-based fulfillment.
The grocer’s e-commerce business is one of its most important growth engines and connects to its retail media business, Foran wrote. Advertising not only adds incremental revenue but also allows the grocer to reinvest in lower prices for customers.
Foran noted that the company’s e-commerce business is “set to be profitable this year for the first time in the company’s history.”
403,000
Number of associates
While the number of workers dropped to 403,000 from 409,000 in fiscal 2024, the grocer noted that it is making wage investments. In 2025, the grocer boosted its average hourly wage to above $20, which is $1 more than the figure for 2024. With benefits taken into account, Kroger associates earned more than $26 per hour last year, on average, Kroger said.
Foran noted in his shareholder letter that associates play a key role in elevating the store experience by helping customers find what they are looking for. As the grocer works to tap technology, including artificial intelligence, the company is looking to tech as a way to complement what its workers do, he said.
“Used well, [technology] helps us understand the neighborhoods we serve, spot problems before they grow and give our associates simpler tools to do their jobs … Technology will not replace good operators, it will make good operators better. That’s how we intend to use it,” Foran wrote.
