ACI vs SFM vs NGVC Stock Comparison

Albertsons Companies, Sprouts Farmers Market and Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ACI Albertsons Companies, Inc.
$13.16 +13.0% 1M -28.7% 1Y
Market cap
$6.19B
P/E
190.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$77.19B
Div. yield
–
Grocery Stores Consumer Staples
2 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Sprouts Farmers Market leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Sprouts Farmers Market 7, Albertsons Companies 2, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionACISFMNGVCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $6.19B $4.51B $666.40M ACI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 190.4x 9.1x 14.0x SFM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 11.5x 15.1x SFM
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -5.1% +5.3% +2.0% SFM
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 0.0% 5.4% 3.5% SFM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 4.2% 32.8% 21.0% SFM
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — -0.2x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.02% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -28.7% -41.9% -23.7% NGVC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -15.7%/yr +22.9%/yr +19.9%/yr SFM
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 39.6% 52.7% 41.1% ACI
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 36/100 73/100 69/100 SFM

Percentile Scorecard

ACISFMNGVC

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisACISFMNGVC
Valuation 64 #15 of 40 74 #11 of 40 69 #13 of 40
Growth 3 #37 of 38 54 #18 of 38 68 #13 of 38
Profitability 23 #28 of 36 89 #5 of 36 69 #12 of 36
Financial Health 3 #39 of 40 56 #18 of 40 74 #11 of 40
Shareholder Returns 89 #4 of 28 93 #3 of 28 67 #10 of 28
Overall 36 73 69
  • ACI ranked among 41 companies in Staples Retail
  • SFM ranked among 41 companies in Staples Retail
  • NGVC ranked among 41 companies in Staples Retail

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodACISFMNGVCSPY
1 month +13.0%-2.3%-2.0% +0.9%
3 months +9.0%-21.7%-8.5% +5.9%
6 months -20.1%-12.8%+8.5% +8.5%
Year to date -23.4%-22.2%+20.2% +13.3%
1 year -28.7%-41.9%-23.7% +12.4%
3 years -39.4%+42.7%+143.9% +88.1%
3 years, per year -15.4%+12.6%+34.6% +23.5%
5 years -57.5%+180.0%+147.3% +68.2%
5 years, per year -15.7%+22.9%+19.9% +11.0%
10 years —+179.8%+150.8% +263.4%
10 years, per year —+10.8%+9.6% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureACISFMNGVCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 39.6%52.7%41.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 45.5%59.4%43.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.240.00-0.35 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.73-0.80-0.58 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -70.1%-65.5%-64.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -29.5%-41.9%-23.7% -0.9%
52-week high $18.66$106.80$39.50 $779.14
52-week low $11.02$62.00$23.71 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleACISFMNGVC
P/E now vs peer median 196.1xmedian 21.7x 11.6xmedian 21.7x 14.6xmedian 21.7x
P/S now vs peer median 0.1xmedian 0.5x 0.6xmedian 0.5x 0.5xmedian 0.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 9.3x 6.5xmedian 9.3x 7.1xmedian 9.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 11.3xmedian 17.1x 17.0xmedian 17.1x 30.6xmedian 17.1x
P/B now vs peer median 4.3xmedian 2.9x 3.8xmedian 2.9x 2.9xmedian 2.9x
PEG now vs peer median -2.82median 1.02 0.42median 1.02 0.43median 1.02

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsACISFMNGVC
Revenue $77.19B $9.11B $1.34B
Gross profit $20.93B $3.52B $398.34M
Operating income $452.80M $665.34M $63.25M
Net income $32.50M $496.17M $47.64M
Free cash flow – $337.26M $22.71M
EPS (diluted) $0.07 $5.30 $2.05
Cash & equivalents $282.00M $228.66M $17.47M
Total debt $35.41B – $1.45M
Shares (diluted) 488.20M 93.67M 23.26M
Enterprise value $5.24B $3.55B $587.88M

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricACISFMNGVC
P/E 196.1x 11.6x 14.6x
P/FCF 11.3x 17.0x 30.6x
P/Operating cash flow – 8.3x 9.8x
P/S 0.1x 0.6x 0.5x
P/B 4.3x 3.8x 2.9x
P/Tangible book -10.5x 4.3x 3.0x
EV/EBITDA – 6.5x 7.1x
EV/EBIT 33.7x 8.3x 10.7x
EV/Revenue 0.2x 0.6x 0.5x
EV/FCF – 16.4x 29.9x
EV/Operating cash flow – 8.0x 9.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -2.82 0.42 0.43

Growth

14 metrics
MetricACISFMNGVC
Revenue growth (1Y) -5.1% 5.3% 2.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -0.7% 9.5% 6.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -5.9% 4.6% 1.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -1.5% 10.9% 7.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) -70.6% -0.6% 8.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -40.0% 23.1% 31.9%
Net income growth (1Y) -96.7% -3.4% 9.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -71.3% 23.7% 34.6%
EPS growth (1Y) -96.2% 1.8% 9.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -69.5% 27.6% 33.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – -1.2% 10.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 12.8% 15.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – -26.3% -34.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 8.4% 27.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricACISFMNGVC
Gross margin 27.1% 38.6% 29.6%
EBITDA margin – 9.3% 7.1%
Operating margin 0.6% 7.3% 4.7%
Pretax margin 0.0% 7.3% 4.5%
Net margin 0.0% 5.4% 3.5%
FCF margin – 3.7% 1.7%
Operating cash flow margin – 7.6% 5.3%
Return on equity 2.0% 32.7% 20.3%
Return on assets 0.1% 11.3% 6.9%
Return on invested capital 4.2% 32.8% 21.0%
Return on capital employed 2.5% 18.3% 12.0%
Asset turnover 2.9x 2.1x 2.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 1.4x 1.5x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.3% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricACISFMNGVC
Debt / assets 34.3% – 0.2%
Debt / equity 6.5x – 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA – – -0.2x
Debt / FCF – – 0.1x
Liabilities / assets 94.7% 65.7% 65.2%
Equity / assets 5.3% 34.3% 34.8%
Interest coverage – – 23.4x
Current ratio 0.8x 1.0x 1.1x
Quick ratio 0.2x 0.3x 0.2x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.3x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 3.03 3.91 3.57

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricACISFMNGVC
Dividend yield 5.0% – 2.0%
Net buyback yield – 7.4% –
Shareholder yield 5.0% 7.4% 2.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 27.5%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 57.8%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 24.5%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 13.0%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusACISFMNGVC
Forward P/E – 11.5xFY2026 15.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year – $5.39FY2026 $2.00FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +1.5%FY2026 -7.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +16.0% +19.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year – $9.10BFY2026 $1.40BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY – +3.3%FY2026 +5.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after – +6.8% +0.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersACISFMNGVC
Held by institutions 93.5% 100.0% 40.0%
Institutions holding 447 642 158
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.7% +8.8% +6.1%
Institutions buying 234 318 90
Institutions selling 163 237 39
Buyers to sellers 1.44 1.34 2.31

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

ACISFMNGVC
ACI 1.00 0.26 0.37
SFM 0.26 1.00 0.35
NGVC 0.37 0.35 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ACI, SFM and NGVC?

Albertsons Companies (ACI) is the largest by market capitalisation: Albertsons Companies (ACI) $6.19B, Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM) $4.51B, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NGVC) $666.40M.

Which stock is cheaper, ACI, SFM and NGVC?

Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Albertsons Companies (ACI) 190.4x, Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM) 9.1x, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NGVC) 14.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM) is cheapest (Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM) 11.5x, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NGVC) 15.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Albertsons Companies (ACI) -5.1%, Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM) +5.3%, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NGVC) +2.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM) has the highest net margin (Albertsons Companies (ACI) 0.0%, Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM) 5.4%, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NGVC) 3.5%). On return on invested capital, Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM) leads (Albertsons Companies (ACI) 4.2%, Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM) 32.8%, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NGVC) 21.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NGVC) returned the most: Albertsons Companies (ACI) -28.7%, Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM) -41.9%, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NGVC) -23.7%. Over five years, Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM) compounded fastest (Albertsons Companies (ACI) -15.7%/yr, Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM) +22.9%/yr, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NGVC) +19.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Albertsons Companies (ACI) 0.00%, Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM) 0.00%, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NGVC) 0.02%. Albertsons Companies (ACI) and Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Albertsons Companies (ACI) has been the steadiest (Albertsons Companies (ACI) 39.6%, Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM) 52.7%, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NGVC) 41.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ACI, SFM and NGVC?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM) leads on 7. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.