Overview
- Albertsons reported a weak first quarter and on Thursday sharply lowered full-year fiscal 2026 guidance for adjusted EPS to $1.75–$1.85, adjusted EBITDA to $3.55–$3.625 billion, and identical sales to down 0.5%–1.5%.
- The guidance cut followed a quarter in which net income fell to $84.7 million and identical sales declined 0.8%, a drop the company said was concentrated among lower-income customers trading down to cheaper retailers and private-label items.
- Shares plunged in double-digit to about 20% declines after the outlook revision, prompting analysts to rapidly revise targets and raising investor concern about the grocer’s near-term trajectory.
- Albertsons launched ACI Edge, collapsing 11 operating divisions into four regional units and centralizing center-store merchandising, and said the plan should yield roughly $200 million of run-rate savings mainly in 2027; the company also announced CFO Sharon McCollam will retire and assist in a transition through February 2027.
- Digital and pharmacy sales grew—digital rose about 13% and e-commerce turned profitable—but those channels carry lower gross margins and higher delivery and handling costs that, together with pharmacy pricing changes, narrowed company gross margins and complicate near-term profit recovery.