KR vs MUSA vs IMKTA Stock Comparison

Kroger, Murphy USA and Ingles Markets Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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
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

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.

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

Percentile Scorecard

KRMUSAIMKTA

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

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

Price Performance

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

Returns

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

Risk

MeasureKRMUSAIMKTASPY
Volatility, 1Y 29.8%39.9%25.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 29.5%40.5%25.2% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.71-0.69-0.04 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.010.950.79 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -31.7%-35.8%-41.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -12.8%-13.3%-12.6% -1.2%
52-week high $75.60$623.43$95.23 $779.14
52-week low $55.53$356.57$68.55 $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.

MultipleKRMUSAIMKTA
P/E now vs peer median 51.4xmedian 22.1x 15.0xmedian 22.1x 15.2xmedian 22.1x
P/S now vs peer median 0.3xmedian 0.5x 0.4xmedian 0.5x 0.3xmedian 0.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.9xmedian 9.5x —median 9.5x 7.9xmedian 9.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 10.1xmedian 16.0x 17.2xmedian 16.0x 10.6xmedian 16.0x
P/B now vs peer median 6.7xmedian 2.8x 12.5xmedian 2.8x 0.9xmedian 2.8x
PEG now vs peer median -2.99median 1.07 1.07median 1.07 -0.66median 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 monthsKRMUSAIMKTA
Revenue $137.15B $23.26B $5.42B
Gross profit $31.69B – $1.33B
Operating income $1.54B $980.10M $143.12M
Net income $798.00M $663.30M $103.99M
Free cash flow – – $149.58M
EPS (diluted) $1.28 $35.75 $4.44
Cash & equivalents $1.68B $161.80M –
Total debt $17.00B – $500.53M
Shares (diluted) 608.00M 18.55M 23.44M
Enterprise value $26.56B $9.87B $1.59B

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

Growth

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

Profitability

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

Financial Health

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

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricKRMUSAIMKTA
Dividend yield 2.2% 0.5% 0.8%
Net buyback yield – – –
Shareholder yield 2.2% 0.5% 0.8%
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.

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

Institutional Ownership

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

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.

KRMUSAIMKTA
KR 1.00 0.27 0.37
MUSA 0.27 1.00 0.13
IMKTA 0.37 0.13 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, KR, MUSA and IMKTA?

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

Which stock is cheaper, KR, MUSA and IMKTA?

Murphy USA (MUSA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Kroger (KR) 52.0x, Murphy USA (MUSA) 14.9x, Ingles Markets (IMKTA) 15.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Kroger (KR) is cheapest (Kroger (KR) 12.4x, Murphy USA (MUSA) 15.2x, Ingles Markets (IMKTA) 13.8x). 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: Kroger (KR) -6.7%, Murphy USA (MUSA) +20.2%, Ingles Markets (IMKTA) +1.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

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

Which stock has performed better?

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

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Kroger (KR) 0.00%, Murphy USA (MUSA) 0.00%, Ingles Markets (IMKTA) 0.01%. 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 (Kroger (KR) 29.8%, Murphy USA (MUSA) 39.9%, Ingles Markets (IMKTA) 25.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.