KR vs WMT vs IMKTA Stock Comparison

Kroger, Walmart and Ingles Markets Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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
1 win
WMT Walmart Inc.
$119.89 +8.5% 1M +12.2% 1Y
Market cap
$956.71B
P/E
43.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$735.84B
Div. yield
0.01%
Discount Stores Consumer Staples
7 wins
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
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Walmart leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Walmart 7, Ingles Markets 4, Kroger 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionKRWMTIMKTALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $40.48B $956.71B $1.66B WMT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 52.1x 43.3x 16.0x IMKTA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 12.6x 38.8x 14.6x KR
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -6.7% +6.2% +1.0% WMT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 0.6% 3.0% 1.9% WMT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.7% 16.1% 5.0% WMT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.4x 0.8x 1.9x WMT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.01% WMT
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -2.7% +12.2% +21.0% IMKTA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +10.7%/yr +19.4%/yr +5.5%/yr WMT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 30.0% 26.6% 25.3% IMKTA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 33/100 47/100 61/100 IMKTA

Percentile Scorecard

KRWMTIMKTA

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

AxisKRWMTIMKTA
Valuation 46 #22 of 40 10 #36 of 40 90 #5 of 40
Growth 8 #35 of 38 43 #22 of 38 49 #20 of 38
Profitability 31 #26 of 37 75 #10 of 37 44 #21 of 37
Financial Health 15 #34 of 40 64 #15 of 40 72 #12 of 40
Shareholder Returns 63 #11 of 28 44 #16 of 28 52 #14 of 28
Overall 33 47 61
  • KR ranked among 41 companies in Staples Retail
  • WMT 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

PeriodKRWMTIMKTASPY
1 month +15.9%+8.5%+5.8% -1.0%
3 months +17.4%+9.5%+2.4% +2.9%
6 months -0.7%-7.7%-3.1% +6.4%
Year to date +6.9%+7.6%+28.2% +11.4%
1 year -2.7%+12.2%+21.0% +13.1%
3 years +53.2%+120.3%+13.1% +79.4%
3 years, per year +15.3%+30.1%+4.2% +21.5%
5 years +66.0%+142.4%+30.9% +67.7%
5 years, per year +10.7%+19.4%+5.5% +10.9%
10 years +117.1%+426.3%+114.3% +255.2%
10 years, per year +8.1%+18.1%+7.9% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureKRWMTIMKTASPY
Volatility, 1Y 30.0%26.6%25.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 29.7%28.3%25.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.69-0.10-0.03 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.090.460.83 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -31.7%-26.0%-41.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -11.7%-10.7%-7.7% -2.5%
52-week high $75.60$134.20$95.23 $779.14
52-week low $55.53$100.61$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.

MultipleKRWMTIMKTA
P/E now vs peer median 52.1xmedian 21.6x 43.2xmedian 21.6x 16.1xmedian 21.6x
P/S now vs peer median 0.3xmedian 0.5x 1.3xmedian 0.5x 0.3xmedian 0.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 12.0xmedian 9.7x 20.9xmedian 9.7x 8.2xmedian 9.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 10.1xmedian 17.8x 70.4xmedian 17.8x 11.2xmedian 17.8x
P/B now vs peer median 6.7xmedian 3.0x 9.1xmedian 3.0x 1.0xmedian 3.0x
PEG now vs peer median -3.03median 1.06 2.55median 1.06 -0.70median 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 monthsKRWMTIMKTA
Revenue $137.15B $735.84B $5.42B
Gross profit $31.69B $185.66B $1.33B
Operating income $1.54B $32.28B $143.12M
Net income $798.00M $22.55B $103.99M
Free cash flow – $13.51B $149.58M
EPS (diluted) $1.28 $2.77 $4.44
Cash & equivalents $1.68B $11.53B –
Total debt $70.53B $191.72B $2.03B
Shares (diluted) 608.00M 7.98B 23.44M
Enterprise value $26.63B $913.14B $1.66B

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
MetricKRWMTIMKTA
P/E 52.1x 43.2x 16.1x
P/FCF 10.1x 70.4x 11.2x
P/Operating cash flow – 22.2x 6.7x
P/S 0.3x 1.3x 0.3x
P/B 6.7x 9.1x 1.0x
P/Tangible book 7.9x 9.1x 1.0x
EV/EBITDA 12.0x 20.9x 8.2x
EV/EBIT 35.6x 30.7x 15.2x
EV/Revenue 0.4x 1.3x 0.4x
EV/FCF – 73.3x 14.5x
EV/Operating cash flow – 23.1x 8.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -3.03 2.55 -0.70

Growth

14 metrics
MetricKRWMTIMKTA
Revenue growth (1Y) -6.7% 6.2% 1.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -2.5% 5.3% -2.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -6.7% 7.6% 7.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -0.7% 6.7% -1.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) -60.8% 11.4% 76.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -16.7% 14.0% -23.3%
Net income growth (1Y) -70.8% 2.9% 84.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -21.3% 16.3% -23.1%
EPS growth (1Y) -68.6% 3.9% 84.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -17.2% 16.9% -22.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 11.7% 48.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 4.3% -0.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – -1.8% 1,714%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -11.1% 28.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricKRWMTIMKTA
Gross margin 23.1% 25.2% 24.5%
EBITDA margin 3.3% 6.4% 4.9%
Operating margin 1.1% 4.4% 2.6%
Pretax margin 0.7% 4.0% 2.5%
Net margin 0.6% 3.0% 1.9%
FCF margin – 1.8% 2.8%
Operating cash flow margin – 5.8% 4.6%
Return on equity 13.5% 21.9% 6.2%
Return on assets 1.6% 7.7% 4.0%
Return on invested capital 5.7% 16.1% 5.0%
Return on capital employed 4.9% 18.3% 6.3%
Asset turnover 2.8x 2.5x 2.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 1.9x 2.4x
Stock comp / revenue – – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricKRWMTIMKTA
Debt / assets 34.3% 17.2% 19.0%
Debt / equity 2.9x 0.5x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.4x 0.8x 1.9x
Debt / FCF – 3.7x 3.3x
Liabilities / assets 88.2% 64.4% 36.0%
Equity / assets 11.8% 35.6% 64.0%
Interest coverage 153.9x 17.4x 7.7x
Current ratio 0.7x 0.8x 3.2x
Quick ratio 0.2x 0.2x –
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.1x –
Altman Z-score 4.13 6.26 4.52

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricKRWMTIMKTA
Dividend yield 2.2% 0.8% 0.8%
Net buyback yield – 0.7% –
Shareholder yield 2.2% 1.6% 0.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 34.1% 11.8%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 57.0% 8.2%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 8.3% 0.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 8.0% 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.

ConsensusKRWMTIMKTA
Forward P/E 12.6xFY2026 38.8xFY2026 14.6xFY2023
EPS, next fiscal year $5.30FY2026 $3.09FY2026 $6.02FY2023
EPS growth, next FY +9.3%FY2026 +17.0%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +7.5% +1.3% +9.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $159.97BFY2026 $719.70BFY2026 $4.91BFY2023
Revenue growth, next FY +8.3%FY2026 +0.9%FY2026 –
Revenue growth, the year after -6.9% +6.4% -3.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersKRWMTIMKTA
Held by institutions 85.6% 37.2% 97.6%
Institutions holding 1,319 4,408 236
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.0% +6.2% -0.2%
Institutions buying 668 2,092 116
Institutions selling 473 1,838 70
Buyers to sellers 1.41 1.14 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.

KRWMTIMKTA
KR 1.00 0.36 0.37
WMT 0.36 1.00 0.31
IMKTA 0.37 0.31 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, KR, WMT and IMKTA?

Walmart (WMT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Kroger (KR) $40.48B, Walmart (WMT) $956.71B, Ingles Markets (IMKTA) $1.66B.

Which stock is cheaper, KR, WMT and IMKTA?

Ingles Markets (IMKTA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Kroger (KR) 52.1x, Walmart (WMT) 43.3x, Ingles Markets (IMKTA) 16.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Kroger (KR) is cheapest (Kroger (KR) 12.6x, Walmart (WMT) 38.8x, Ingles Markets (IMKTA) 14.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Walmart (WMT) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Kroger (KR) -6.7%, Walmart (WMT) +6.2%, Ingles Markets (IMKTA) +1.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Walmart (WMT) has the highest net margin (Kroger (KR) 0.6%, Walmart (WMT) 3.0%, Ingles Markets (IMKTA) 1.9%). On return on invested capital, Walmart (WMT) leads (Kroger (KR) 5.7%, Walmart (WMT) 16.1%, Ingles Markets (IMKTA) 5.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Ingles Markets (IMKTA) returned the most: Kroger (KR) -2.7%, Walmart (WMT) +12.2%, Ingles Markets (IMKTA) +21.0%. Over five years, Walmart (WMT) compounded fastest (Kroger (KR) +10.7%/yr, Walmart (WMT) +19.4%/yr, Ingles Markets (IMKTA) +5.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Walmart (WMT) has the highest dividend yield: Kroger (KR) 0.00%, Walmart (WMT) 0.01%, Ingles Markets (IMKTA) 0.01%. Kroger (KR) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ingles Markets (IMKTA) has been the steadiest (Kroger (KR) 30.0%, Walmart (WMT) 26.6%, Ingles Markets (IMKTA) 25.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, KR, WMT 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, Walmart (WMT) 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.