IMKTA vs KR Stock Comparison

Ingles Markets and Kroger Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
IMKTA Ingles Markets Inc
$87.88 +5.8% 1M +21.0% 1Y
Market cap
$1.66B
P/E
16.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.42B
Div. yield
0.01%
Grocery Stores Consumer Staples
7 wins
KR Kroger Co
$66.79 +15.9% 1M -2.7% 1Y
Market cap
$40.48B
P/E
52.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$137.15B
Div. yield
–
Grocery Stores Consumer Staples
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Ingles Markets leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Ingles Markets 7, Kroger 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionIMKTAKRLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $1.66B $40.48B KR
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 16.0x 52.1x IMKTA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 14.6x 12.6x 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% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +21.0% -2.7% IMKTA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +5.5%/yr +10.7%/yr KR
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 25.3% 30.0% IMKTA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 61/100 33/100 IMKTA

Percentile Scorecard

IMKTAKR

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

AxisIMKTAKR
Valuation 90 #5 of 40 46 #22 of 40
Growth 49 #20 of 38 8 #35 of 38
Profitability 44 #21 of 37 31 #26 of 37
Financial Health 72 #12 of 40 15 #34 of 40
Shareholder Returns 52 #14 of 28 63 #11 of 28
Overall 61 33
  • IMKTA ranked among 41 companies in Staples Retail
  • KR ranked among 41 companies in Staples Retail

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodIMKTAKRSPY
1 month +5.8%+15.9% -1.0%
3 months +2.4%+17.4% +2.9%
6 months -3.1%-0.7% +6.4%
Year to date +28.2%+6.9% +11.4%
1 year +21.0%-2.7% +13.1%
3 years +13.1%+53.2% +79.4%
3 years, per year +4.2%+15.3% +21.5%
5 years +30.9%+66.0% +67.7%
5 years, per year +5.5%+10.7% +10.9%
10 years +114.3%+117.1% +255.2%
10 years, per year +7.9%+8.1% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureIMKTAKRSPY
Volatility, 1Y 25.3%30.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 25.4%29.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.03-0.69 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.83-0.09 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -41.0%-31.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -7.7%-11.7% -2.5%
52-week high $95.23$75.60 $779.14
52-week low $68.55$55.53 $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.

MultipleIMKTAKR
P/E now vs peer median 16.1xmedian 21.6x 52.1xmedian 21.6x
P/S now vs peer median 0.3xmedian 0.5x 0.3xmedian 0.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 8.2xmedian 9.7x 12.0xmedian 9.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 11.2xmedian 17.8x 10.1xmedian 17.8x
P/B now vs peer median 1.0xmedian 3.0x 6.7xmedian 3.0x
PEG now vs peer median -0.70median 1.06 -3.03median 1.06

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 monthsIMKTAKR
Revenue $5.42B $137.15B
Gross profit $1.33B $31.69B
Operating income $143.12M $1.54B
Net income $103.99M $798.00M
Free cash flow $149.58M –
EPS (diluted) $4.44 $1.28
Cash & equivalents – $1.68B
Total debt $2.03B $70.53B
Shares (diluted) 23.44M 608.00M
Enterprise value $1.66B $26.63B

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
MetricIMKTAKR
P/E 16.1x 52.1x
P/FCF 11.2x 10.1x
P/Operating cash flow 6.7x –
P/S 0.3x 0.3x
P/B 1.0x 6.7x
P/Tangible book 1.0x 7.9x
EV/EBITDA 8.2x 12.0x
EV/EBIT 15.2x 35.6x
EV/Revenue 0.4x 0.4x
EV/FCF 14.5x –
EV/Operating cash flow 8.7x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.70 -3.03

Growth

14 metrics
MetricIMKTAKR
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%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -23.1% -21.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 84.3% -68.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -22.9% -17.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 48.7% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -0.8% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 1,714% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 28.0% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricIMKTAKR
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 –
Stock comp / revenue – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricIMKTAKR
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%
Equity / assets 64.0% 11.8%
Interest coverage 7.7x 153.9x
Current ratio 3.2x 0.7x
Quick ratio – 0.2x
Cash ratio – 0.1x
Altman Z-score 4.52 4.13

Shareholder Returns

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

ConsensusIMKTAKR
Forward P/E 14.6xFY2023 12.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $6.02FY2023 $5.30FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +9.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +9.3% +7.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.91BFY2023 $159.97BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY – +8.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -3.8% -6.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersIMKTAKR
Held by institutions 97.6% 85.6%
Institutions holding 236 1,319
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.2% +0.0%
Institutions buying 116 668
Institutions selling 70 473
Buyers to sellers 1.66 1.41

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.

IMKTAKR
IMKTA 1.00 0.37
KR 0.37 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, IMKTA and KR?

Kroger (KR) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ingles Markets (IMKTA) $1.66B, Kroger (KR) $40.48B.

Which stock is cheaper, IMKTA and KR?

Ingles Markets (IMKTA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Ingles Markets (IMKTA) 16.0x, Kroger (KR) 52.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Kroger (KR) is cheapest (Ingles Markets (IMKTA) 14.6x, Kroger (KR) 12.6x). 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 Ingles Markets (IMKTA) returned the most: Ingles Markets (IMKTA) +21.0%, Kroger (KR) -2.7%. Over five years, Kroger (KR) compounded fastest (Ingles Markets (IMKTA) +5.5%/yr, Kroger (KR) +10.7%/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%. Kroger (KR) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ingles Markets (IMKTA) has been the steadiest (Ingles Markets (IMKTA) 25.3%, Kroger (KR) 30.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do IMKTA and KR move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.37, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, IMKTA and KR?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Ingles Markets (IMKTA) 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.