IMKTA vs KR vs MUSA Stock Comparison

Ingles Markets, Kroger and Murphy USA Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
IMKTA Ingles Markets Inc
$83.22 -2.0% 1M +19.8% 1Y
Market cap
$1.59B
P/E
15.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.42B
Div. yield
0.01%
Grocery Stores Consumer Staples
4 wins
KR Kroger Co
$65.94 +8.5% 1M -0.2% 1Y
Market cap
$40.41B
P/E
52.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$137.15B
Div. yield
–
Grocery Stores Consumer Staples
3 wins
MUSA Murphy USA Inc.
$540.50 +6.5% 1M +37.8% 1Y
Market cap
$9.87B
P/E
14.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$23.26B
Div. yield
–
Convenience Stores Consumer Staples
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Murphy USA leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Murphy USA 4, Ingles Markets 4, Kroger 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionIMKTAKRMUSALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $1.59B $40.41B $9.87B KR
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 15.2x 52.0x 14.9x MUSA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 13.8x 12.4x 15.2x KR
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +1.0% -6.7% +20.2% MUSA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 1.9% 0.6% — IMKTA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.0% 5.7% — KR
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.9x 3.4x — IMKTA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +19.8% -0.2% +37.8% MUSA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +3.8%/yr +10.5%/yr +27.1%/yr MUSA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 25.2% 29.8% 39.9% IMKTA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 62/100 34/100 50/100 IMKTA

Percentile Scorecard

IMKTAKRMUSA

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

AxisIMKTAKRMUSA
Valuation 92 #4 of 40 49 #21 of 40 54 #19 of 40
Growth 49 #20 of 38 8 #35 of 38 78 #9 of 38
Profitability 46 #20 of 36 31 #25 of 36 94 #3 of 36
Financial Health 72 #12 of 40 18 #33 of 40 13 #35 of 40
Shareholder Returns 52 #14 of 28 63 #11 of 28 11 #25 of 28
Overall 62 34 50
  • IMKTA ranked among 41 companies in Staples Retail
  • KR ranked among 41 companies in Staples Retail
  • MUSA ranked among 41 companies in Staples Retail

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodIMKTAKRMUSASPY
1 month -2.0%+8.5%+6.5% +0.7%
3 months -7.2%+14.0%-12.4% +3.7%
6 months -9.0%-3.1%-8.1% +7.1%
Year to date +21.4%+5.5%+33.9% +12.8%
1 year +19.8%-0.2%+37.8% +11.9%
3 years +2.8%+46.7%+49.7% +85.2%
3 years, per year +0.9%+13.6%+14.4% +22.8%
5 years +20.3%+64.8%+231.7% +67.6%
5 years, per year +3.8%+10.5%+27.1% +10.9%
10 years +102.7%+110.9%+681.0% +262.0%
10 years, per year +7.3%+7.8%+22.8% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureIMKTAKRMUSASPY
Volatility, 1Y 25.2%29.8%39.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 25.2%29.5%40.5% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.04-0.71-0.69 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.79-0.010.95 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -41.0%-31.7%-35.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -12.6%-12.8%-13.3% -1.2%
52-week high $95.23$75.60$623.43 $779.14
52-week low $68.55$55.53$356.57 $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.

MultipleIMKTAKRMUSA
P/E now vs peer median 15.2xmedian 22.1x 51.4xmedian 22.1x 15.0xmedian 22.1x
P/S now vs peer median 0.3xmedian 0.5x 0.3xmedian 0.5x 0.4xmedian 0.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 7.9xmedian 9.5x 11.9xmedian 9.5x —median 9.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 10.6xmedian 16.0x 10.1xmedian 16.0x 17.2xmedian 16.0x
P/B now vs peer median 0.9xmedian 2.8x 6.7xmedian 2.8x 12.5xmedian 2.8x
PEG now vs peer median -0.66median 1.07 -2.99median 1.07 1.07median 1.07

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 monthsIMKTAKRMUSA
Revenue $5.42B $137.15B $23.26B
Gross profit $1.33B $31.69B –
Operating income $143.12M $1.54B $980.10M
Net income $103.99M $798.00M $663.30M
Free cash flow $149.58M – –
EPS (diluted) $4.44 $1.28 $35.75
Cash & equivalents – $1.68B $161.80M
Total debt $500.53M $17.00B –
Shares (diluted) 23.44M 608.00M 18.55M
Enterprise value $1.59B $26.56B $9.87B

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
MetricIMKTAKRMUSA
P/E 15.2x 51.4x 15.0x
P/FCF 10.6x 10.1x 17.2x
P/Operating cash flow 6.3x – 8.6x
P/S 0.3x 0.3x 0.4x
P/B 0.9x 6.7x 12.5x
P/Tangible book 0.9x 7.8x 15.2x
EV/EBITDA 7.9x 11.9x –
EV/EBIT 14.5x 35.3x –
EV/Revenue 0.4x 0.4x 0.4x
EV/FCF 13.9x – –
EV/Operating cash flow 8.4x – 8.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.66 -2.99 1.07

Growth

14 metrics
MetricIMKTAKRMUSA
Revenue growth (1Y) 1.0% -6.7% 20.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -2.0% -2.5% 2.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 7.1% -6.7% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -1.8% -0.7% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 76.4% -60.8% 38.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -23.3% -16.7% 7.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 84.3% -70.8% 40.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -23.1% -21.3% 8.1%
EPS growth (1Y) 84.3% -68.6% 45.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -22.9% -17.2% 14.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 48.7% – 40.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -0.8% – 16.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 1,714% – –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 28.0% – –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricIMKTAKRMUSA
Gross margin 24.5% 23.1% –
EBITDA margin 4.9% 3.3% –
Operating margin 2.6% 1.1% –
Pretax margin 2.5% 0.7% –
Net margin 1.9% 0.6% –
FCF margin 2.8% – –
Operating cash flow margin 4.6% – 4.9%
Return on equity 6.2% 13.5% 84.1%
Return on assets 4.0% 1.6% 12.9%
Return on invested capital 5.0% 5.7% –
Return on capital employed 6.3% 4.9% –
Asset turnover 2.1x 2.8x 4.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.4x – 1.7x
Stock comp / revenue – – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricIMKTAKRMUSA
Debt / assets 19.0% 34.3% –
Debt / equity 0.3x 2.9x –
Net debt / EBITDA 1.9x 3.4x –
Debt / FCF 3.3x – –
Liabilities / assets 36.0% 88.2% 84.7%
Equity / assets 64.0% 11.8% 15.3%
Interest coverage 7.7x 153.9x –
Current ratio 3.2x 0.7x 0.9x
Quick ratio – 0.2x –
Cash ratio – 0.1x –
Altman Z-score 4.46 4.12 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricIMKTAKRMUSA
Dividend yield 0.8% 2.2% 0.5%
Net buyback yield – – –
Shareholder yield 0.8% 2.2% 0.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) 11.8% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 8.2% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 0.0% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 0.0% – –

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.

ConsensusIMKTAKRMUSA
Forward P/E 13.8xFY2023 12.4xFY2026 15.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $6.02FY2023 $5.30FY2026 $35.60FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +9.3%FY2026 +43.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +9.3% +7.0% -7.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.91BFY2023 $160.02BFY2026 $22.85BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY – +8.4%FY2026 +17.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -3.8% -6.6% -5.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersIMKTAKRMUSA
Held by institutions 97.6% 85.6% 83.0%
Institutions holding 237 1,320 607
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.2% +0.0% -2.2%
Institutions buying 116 668 311
Institutions selling 70 474 190
Buyers to sellers 1.66 1.41 1.64

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.

IMKTAKRMUSA
IMKTA 1.00 0.38 0.12
KR 0.38 1.00 0.27
MUSA 0.12 0.27 1.00

Add a Peer

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, IMKTA, KR and MUSA?

Kroger (KR) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ingles Markets (IMKTA) $1.59B, Kroger (KR) $40.41B, Murphy USA (MUSA) $9.87B.

Which stock is cheaper, IMKTA, KR and MUSA?

Murphy USA (MUSA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ingles Markets (IMKTA) 15.2x, Kroger (KR) 52.0x, Murphy USA (MUSA) 14.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Kroger (KR) is cheapest (Ingles Markets (IMKTA) 13.8x, Kroger (KR) 12.4x, Murphy USA (MUSA) 15.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Murphy USA (MUSA) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Ingles Markets (IMKTA) +1.0%, Kroger (KR) -6.7%, Murphy USA (MUSA) +20.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ingles Markets (IMKTA) has the highest net margin (Ingles Markets (IMKTA) 1.9%, Kroger (KR) 0.6%). On return on invested capital, Kroger (KR) leads (Ingles Markets (IMKTA) 5.0%, Kroger (KR) 5.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Murphy USA (MUSA) returned the most: Ingles Markets (IMKTA) +19.8%, Kroger (KR) -0.2%, Murphy USA (MUSA) +37.8%. Over five years, Murphy USA (MUSA) compounded fastest (Ingles Markets (IMKTA) +3.8%/yr, Kroger (KR) +10.5%/yr, Murphy USA (MUSA) +27.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Ingles Markets (IMKTA) 0.01%, Kroger (KR) 0.00%, Murphy USA (MUSA) 0.00%. Kroger (KR) and Murphy USA (MUSA) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ingles Markets (IMKTA) has been the steadiest (Ingles Markets (IMKTA) 25.2%, Kroger (KR) 29.8%, Murphy USA (MUSA) 39.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, IMKTA, KR and MUSA?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Murphy USA (MUSA) leads on 4. 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.