Kroger vs United Natural Foods
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Kroger and United Natural Foods side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Kroger is the larger business, with $147.6B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $31.2B for United Natural Foods, about 4.7 times as much.
- Kroger grew revenue faster (0.4%, against −2.0%).
- Kroger kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (1.3% operating margin, against 0.7%).
- Kroger turned more of its sales into free cash flow (2.3% FCF margin, against 1.0%).
- Kroger earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (7.6%, against 5.3%).
Who comes out ahead
Of the 10 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Kroger
KR
8/10
Revenue growthOperating marginNet marginFCF marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityNet debt / EBITDAShare count change
United Natural Foods
UNFI
2/10
5-year growthPiotroski F-score
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | KR FY25 | UNFI FY26 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $40.6B | $3.0B |
| Revenue | $147.6B | $31.2B |
| Free cash flow | $3.5B | $323M |
| Net income | $1.0B | $84.0M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 0.4% | −2.0% |
| 5-year growth | 2.2% | 2.9% |
| Share count change | −9.0% | 4.3% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | — | 13.5% |
| Operating margin | 1.3% | 0.7% |
| Net margin | 0.7% | 0.3% |
| FCF margin | 2.3% | 1.0% |
| Return on capital | 7.6% | 5.3% |
| Return on equity | 14.3% | 5.3% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $14.2B | $1.5B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 2.7x | 3.0x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $3.6B | $50.0M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 37.1x | — |
| Piotroski F-score | 4 | 6 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.