Kroger Co. KR, -0.84% reported first-quarter net income totaling $140 million, or 18 cents per share, down from $1.212 billion, or $1.52 per share, last year. Adjusted EPS was $1.19, down from $1.22 last year and ahead of the FactSet consensus for $1.01. Sales totaled $41.30 billion, down from $41.55 billion last year and also ahead of the FactSet consensus for $39.87 billion. Digital sales were up 16%, and have climbed 108% on a two-year stack basis. Identical sales without fuel fell 4.1%. The FactSet consensus was for a 6.6% decline. On a two-year stack, identical sales increased 14.9%. Kroger raised its full year adjusted EPS guidance to a range of $2.95 to $3.10 from $2.75 to $2.95 previously. The FactSet consensus is for $2.84. Kroger also announced a new $1 billion share buyback program after the expiration of the previous authorization last week. Kroger stock slipped 1.4% in Thursday premarket trading, but has rallied 18.2% for the year to date. The S&P 500 index SPX, -0.54% is up 12.5% for the period.
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