IMKTA vs KR vs VLGEA Stock Comparison

Ingles Markets, Kroger and Village Super Market 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

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Village Super Market leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Village Super Market 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.

QuestionIMKTAKRVLGEALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $1.59B $40.41B $616.76M KR
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 15.2x 52.0x 11.8x VLGEA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 13.8x 12.4x — KR
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +1.0% -6.7% — IMKTA
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% +35.5% VLGEA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +3.8%/yr +10.5%/yr +13.9%/yr VLGEA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 25.2% 29.8% 34.4% IMKTA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 62/100 34/100 67/100 VLGEA

Percentile Scorecard

IMKTAKRVLGEA

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

AxisIMKTAKRVLGEA
Valuation 92 #4 of 40 49 #21 of 40 85 #7 of 40
Growth 49 #20 of 38 8 #35 of 38 30 #27 of 38
Profitability 46 #20 of 36 31 #25 of 36 –
Financial Health 72 #12 of 40 18 #33 of 40 82 #8 of 40
Shareholder Returns 52 #14 of 28 63 #11 of 28 70 #9 of 28
Overall 62 34 67
  • IMKTA ranked among 41 companies in Staples Retail
  • KR ranked among 41 companies in Staples Retail
  • VLGEA ranked among 41 companies in Staples Retail

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodIMKTAKRVLGEASPY
1 month -2.0%+8.5%-6.6% +0.7%
3 months -7.2%+14.0%-3.1% +3.7%
6 months -9.0%-3.1%-1.1% +7.1%
Year to date +21.4%+5.5%+20.4% +12.8%
1 year +19.8%-0.2%+35.5% +11.9%
3 years +2.8%+46.7%+74.9% +85.2%
3 years, per year +0.9%+13.6%+20.5% +22.8%
5 years +20.3%+64.8%+91.3% +67.6%
5 years, per year +3.8%+10.5%+13.9% +10.9%
10 years +102.7%+110.9%+41.9% +262.0%
10 years, per year +7.3%+7.8%+3.6% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureIMKTAKRVLGEASPY
Volatility, 1Y 25.2%29.8%34.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 25.2%29.5%40.0% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.04-0.71-0.33 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.79-0.011.03 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -41.0%-31.7%-22.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -12.6%-12.8%-9.7% -1.2%
52-week high $95.23$75.60$47.17 $779.14
52-week low $68.55$55.53$31.37 $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.

MultipleIMKTAKRVLGEA
P/E now vs peer median 15.2xmedian 22.1x 51.4xmedian 22.1x 11.7xmedian 22.1x
P/S now vs peer median 0.3xmedian 0.5x 0.3xmedian 0.5x 0.3xmedian 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 11.1xmedian 16.0x
P/B now vs peer median 0.9xmedian 2.8x 6.7xmedian 2.8x 1.2xmedian 2.8x
PEG now vs peer median -0.66median 1.07 -2.99median 1.07 6.63median 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 monthsIMKTAKRVLGEA
Revenue $5.42B $137.15B –
Gross profit $1.33B $31.69B –
Operating income $143.12M $1.54B –
Net income $103.99M $798.00M $52.45M
Free cash flow $149.58M – $55.06M
EPS (diluted) $4.44 $1.28 $2.83
Cash & equivalents – $1.68B $130.84M
Total debt $500.53M $17.00B $54.75M
Shares (diluted) 23.44M 608.00M 18.53M
Enterprise value $1.59B $26.56B $79.45M

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
MetricIMKTAKRVLGEA
P/E 15.2x 51.4x 11.7x
P/FCF 10.6x 10.1x 11.1x
P/Operating cash flow 6.3x – 5.6x
P/S 0.3x 0.3x 0.3x
P/B 0.9x 6.7x 1.2x
P/Tangible book 0.9x 7.8x 1.2x
EV/EBITDA 7.9x 11.9x –
EV/EBIT 14.5x 35.3x –
EV/Revenue 0.4x 0.4x –
EV/FCF 13.9x – 9.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 8.4x – 4.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.66 -2.99 6.63

Growth

14 metrics
MetricIMKTAKRVLGEA
Revenue growth (1Y) 1.0% -6.7% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -2.0% -2.5% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 7.1% -6.7% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -1.8% -0.7% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 76.4% -60.8% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -23.3% -16.7% –
Net income growth (1Y) 84.3% -70.8% -7.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -23.1% -21.3% 1.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 84.3% -68.6% -7.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -22.9% -17.2% 1.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 48.7% – 16.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -0.8% – 1.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 1,714% – 59.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 28.0% – -1.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricIMKTAKRVLGEA
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% – –
Return on equity 6.2% 13.5% –
Return on assets 4.0% 1.6% –
Return on invested capital 5.0% 5.7% –
Return on capital employed 6.3% 4.9% –
Asset turnover 2.1x 2.8x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.4x – 2.1x
Stock comp / revenue – – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricIMKTAKRVLGEA
Debt / assets 19.0% 34.3% 5.3%
Debt / equity 0.3x 2.9x 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.9x 3.4x –
Debt / FCF 3.3x – 1.0x
Liabilities / assets 36.0% 88.2% 49.0%
Equity / assets 64.0% 11.8% 51.0%
Interest coverage 7.7x 153.9x –
Current ratio 3.2x 0.7x 1.1x
Quick ratio – 0.2x 0.7x
Cash ratio – 0.1x 0.7x
Altman Z-score 4.46 4.12 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricIMKTAKRVLGEA
Dividend yield 0.8% 2.2% 2.3%
Net buyback yield – – –
Shareholder yield 0.8% 2.2% 2.3%
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.

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

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersIMKTAKRVLGEA
Held by institutions 97.6% 85.6% 66.9%
Institutions holding 237 1,320 151
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.2% +0.0% +2.8%
Institutions buying 116 668 79
Institutions selling 70 474 40
Buyers to sellers 1.66 1.41 1.98

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.

IMKTAKRVLGEA
IMKTA 1.00 0.38 0.44
KR 0.38 1.00 0.30
VLGEA 0.44 0.30 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, IMKTA, KR and VLGEA?

Kroger (KR) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ingles Markets (IMKTA) $1.59B, Kroger (KR) $40.41B, Village Super Market (VLGEA) $616.76M.

Which stock is cheaper, IMKTA, KR and VLGEA?

Village Super Market (VLGEA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ingles Markets (IMKTA) 15.2x, Kroger (KR) 52.0x, Village Super Market (VLGEA) 11.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Kroger (KR) is cheapest (Ingles Markets (IMKTA) 13.8x, Kroger (KR) 12.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

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

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 Village Super Market (VLGEA) returned the most: Ingles Markets (IMKTA) +19.8%, Kroger (KR) -0.2%, Village Super Market (VLGEA) +35.5%. Over five years, Village Super Market (VLGEA) compounded fastest (Ingles Markets (IMKTA) +3.8%/yr, Kroger (KR) +10.5%/yr, Village Super Market (VLGEA) +13.9%/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%, Village Super Market (VLGEA) 0.00%. Kroger (KR) and Village Super Market (VLGEA) 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%, Village Super Market (VLGEA) 34.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Village Super Market (VLGEA) 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.