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An employee bags a customer's purchases at a Kroger store in Peoria, Illinois.
Kroger on Thursday reported quarterly earnings and revenue that fell short of analysts' expectations, sending its shares sharply lower in the premarket.
Shares of the company plunged 9 percent in premarket trading.
Here's what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:
Earnings per share: 48 cents, adjusted, vs. 52 cents expectedRevenue: $28.09 billion vs. $28.38 billion expectedThe grocer reported fiscal fourth-quarter net income of $259 million, or 32 cents per share, down from $854 million, or 96 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, Kroger earned 48 cents per share, missing the 52 cents per share expected by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.
Net sales dropped 9.5 percent to $28.09 billion, falling short of expectations of $28.38 billion.
Looking to fiscal 2019, the grocer is targeting identical sales growth, excluding fuel, between 2 percent and 2.25 percent. It expects to earn between $2.15 to $2.25 per share for the full year, a more optimistic range than expected by analysts. Wall Street was forecasting the company to earn $2.16 per share this year.
