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Albertsons Companies
(NYSE:ACI)
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Rating:49Neutral
Price Target:
$11.50
▼(-7.26% Downside)
Action:Reiterated
Date:10/01/26
The score is held back primarily by a leveraged balance sheet and extremely thin profitability, which reduce financial flexibility and raise downside risk if costs rise. Technical signals are also weak with the stock trading below major moving averages and negative momentum indicators. These are partially offset by strong recent cash generation, a high dividend yield, and a credible (but back-end weighted) productivity/transformation plan highlighted in guidance.
Positive Factors
Strong Cash Generation
Strong operating and free cash flow gives Albertsons internal funding for store modernization, technology, debt service and customer investments. This cash-generation base can support the transformation program and shareholder returns, although year-to-year conversion remains variable.
Negative Factors
Highly Leveraged Balance Sheet
Very high leverage reduces financial flexibility and increases Albertsons’ sensitivity to refinancing conditions, interest expense and operating setbacks. A thin equity base leaves less balance-sheet capacity to absorb weaker margins or sustain heavy investment while maintaining shareholder distributions.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Strong Cash Generation
Strong operating and free cash flow gives Albertsons internal funding for store modernization, technology, debt service and customer investments. This cash-generation base can support the transformation program and shareholder returns, although year-to-year conversion remains variable.
Read all positive factors
Albertsons Companies (ACI) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$5.92B
Dividend Yield5.25%
Average Volume (3M)7.78M
Price to Earnings (P/E)152.4
Beta (1Y)-0.05
Revenue Growth2.75%
EPS Growth-95.14%
CountryUS
Employees275,000
SectorConsumer Defensive
Sector Strength42
IndustryGrocery Stores
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)0.08
Shares Outstanding485,325,680
10 Day Avg. Volume7,420,150
30 Day Avg. Volume7,778,873
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio-0.59
Price to Book (P/B)5.31
Price to Sales (P/S)0.12
P/FCF Ratio18.51
Enterprise Value/Market Cap3.73
Enterprise Value/Revenue0.27
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit1.00
Enterprise Value/Ebitda6.83
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$13.00Price Target Upside4.84% Upside
Rating ConsensusHold
Number of Analyst Covering13
EPS Forecast (FY)1.8
Revenue Forecast (FY)$81.83B
Albertsons Companies Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
Albertsons Companies, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates in the food and drug retail industry in the United States. The company’s food and drug retail stores offer grocery products, general merchandise, health and beauty care products, pharm...
How the Company Makes Money
Albertsons primarily makes money by selling groceries and other consumer goods directly to customers through its network of retail stores and digital channels. Its core revenue stream is product sales across key categories such as fresh foods (e.g...
Albertsons Companies Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Jul 23, 2026
(Q1-2026)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Jan 12, 2027
Earnings Call Sentiment Neutral
The call balanced meaningful strategic progress and clear execution plans (ACI Edge, AI/tech investments, digital profitability, pharmacy and media growth, productivity gains) against near-term operational and macro headwinds (identical sales decline, pharmacy IRA impact, margin pressure, and increased investments that compress near-term earnings). Management provided concrete cost-savings targets and updated guidance while acknowledging execution risks and the timing of benefits, indicating a deliberate transformation with back-end weighted improvements.Positive Updates
Adjusted EBITDA and EPS
Adjusted EBITDA of $1.013 billion for Q1 and adjusted EPS of $0.42 per diluted share, demonstrating ongoing profitability while the company executes transformation initiatives.
Negative Updates
Same-Store (Identical) Sales Decline
Identical sales decreased 0.8% in Q1. Management noted the decline was concentrated in lower-income customer segments with softness in both units and basket.
Read all updates
Q1-2026 Updates
Positive
Negative
Adjusted EBITDA and EPS
Adjusted EBITDA of $1.013 billion for Q1 and adjusted EPS of $0.42 per diluted share, demonstrating ongoing profitability while the company executes transformation initiatives.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Albertsons updated fiscal 2026 guidance to identical sales of -0.5% to -1.5% (0% to +1% excluding a projected 150 bp full‑year pharmacy IRA headwind), adjusted EBITDA of $3.55–$3.625 billion, and adjusted EPS of $1.75–$1.85 (assumes about $600 million of share repurchases in FY26), with an effective tax rate of 24–25% and capex of $1.9–$2.0 billion. Management expects the ACI Edge to generate roughly $200 million of incremental annual run‑rate benefits (with about $50 million of transition costs over FY26–27) and is on track to capture more than one‑third of its three‑year $2.0 billion productivity target in FY26. For context, Q1 results included identical sales -0.8% (or +0.7% excluding ~100 bp IRA and ~50 bp deflation), adjusted EBITDA $1.013 billion, adjusted EPS $0.42, digital sales +13% with ~10.5% penetration and e‑commerce profitable, Q1 capex $522 million, interest expense $167 million, >$300 million returned to shareholders (~$225M buybacks, $84M dividends) and net debt/adjusted EBITDA of 2.3x.Albertsons Companies Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
46
Neutral
Balance Sheet
28
Negative
Cash Flow
62
Positive
| Breakdown | TTM | Feb 2026 | Feb 2025 | Feb 2024 | Feb 2023 | Feb 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | ||||||
| Total Revenue | 83.23B | 83.17B | 80.39B | 79.24B | 77.65B | 71.89B |
| Gross Profit | 22.08B | 20.90B | 22.26B | 22.05B | 21.76B | 20.72B |
| EBITDA | 3.23B | 3.41B | 4.08B | 4.53B | 4.85B | 4.87B |
| Net Income | 65.70M | 217.40M | 958.60M | 1.30B | 1.51B | 1.62B |
Balance Sheet | ||||||
| Total Assets | 26.92B | 26.77B | 29.31B | 28.79B | 28.75B | 30.77B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 293.40M | 198.60M | 339.20M | 212.00M | 477.20M | 2.97B |
| Total Debt | 15.70B | 15.30B | 14.18B | 14.24B | 15.01B | 15.30B |
| Total Liabilities | 25.30B | 24.93B | 25.92B | 26.05B | 27.14B | 27.75B |
| Stockholders Equity | 1.61B | 1.84B | 3.39B | 2.75B | 1.61B | 3.02B |
Cash Flow | ||||||
| Free Cash Flow | 701.70M | 527.30M | 749.40M | 628.20M | 700.00M | 1.91B |
| Operating Cash Flow | 2.48B | 2.37B | 2.68B | 2.66B | 2.85B | 3.51B |
| Investing Cash Flow | -1.71B | -1.68B | -1.89B | -1.75B | -1.98B | -1.54B |
| Financing Cash Flow | -625.90M | -782.20M | -684.10M | -1.18B | -3.37B | -789.50M |
Albertsons Companies Technical Analysis
Neutral
12.40
Price Trends
12.11
Positive
13.23
Negative
14.97
Negative
Market Momentum
-0.11
Negative
53.33
Neutral
82.15
Negative
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For ACI, the sentiment is Neutral. The current price of 12.4 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 12.01, above the 50-day MA of 12.11, and below the 200-day MA of 14.97, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of -0.11 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 53.33 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 82.15 is Negative, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Neutral sentiment for ACI.
Albertsons Companies Risk Analysis
Albertsons Companies disclosed 34 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Albertsons Companies reported the most risks in the "Production" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
Albertsons Companies Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (62)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
66 Neutral | $6.07B | 12.38 | 34.84% | ― | 7.20% | 7.23% | |
62 Neutral | $20.33B | 14.63 | -3.31% | 3.23% | 1.93% | -12.26% | |
62 Neutral | $1.59B | 15.41 | 6.30% | 0.77% | 1.02% | 84.32% | |
61 Neutral | $1.81B | 18.72 | 7.15% | 1.86% | 4.50% | -3.08% | |
54 Neutral | $36.40B | 32.96 | 17.16% | 2.34% | 1.58% | -53.21% | |
53 Neutral | $1.19B | -3.08 | -40.07% | ― | 5.12% | -4889.01% | |
49 Neutral | $5.92B | 152.38 | 2.91% | 5.25% | 2.75% | -95.14% |
* Consumer Defensive Sector Average
ACI
Albertsons Companies
12.19
-4.07
-25.02%
IMKTA
Ingles Markets
85.66
13.78
19.17%
KR
Kroger Company
61.64
-4.00
-6.10%
WMK
Weis Markets
72.99
6.04
9.02%
SFM
Sprouts Farmers
65.14
-41.45
-38.89%
GO
Grocery Outlet Holding
11.96
-3.15
-20.85%
Albertsons Companies Corporate Events
Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board Changes
Albertsons Expands Board, Names Interim Chief Financial Officer
Positive
Sep 30, 2026
On September 30, 2026, Albertsons Companies’ board announced the appointment of retail veterans William P. Boltz, Chris Drumgoole and Meg Ham as independent directors, effective October 14, 2026, expanding the board from 11 to 14 members. Th...
Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board Changes
Albertsons Names Meg Whitman Executive Chair to Drive Strategy
Positive
Sep 9, 2026
On September 8–9, 2026, Albertsons Companies appointed Meg Whitman to its Board of Directors and to the newly created role of Executive Chair, expanding the board from 10 to 11 members and naming former Chair Kim Fennebresque as Lead Indepen...
Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board ChangesShareholder Meetings
Albertsons Shareholders Approve Governance Changes at Annual Meeting
Positive
Aug 11, 2026
At the August 6, 2026 annual meeting of stockholders, Albertsons Companies’ investors elected all nominated directors to serve until the 2027 meeting and ratified Deloitte Touche LLP as the independent auditor for the fiscal year ending Feb...
Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board Changes
Albertsons Announces Planned Retirement of President and CFO
Neutral
Jul 23, 2026
On July 23, 2026, Albertsons Companies announced that President and Chief Financial Officer Sharon McCollam plans to retire later in 2026, marking a significant leadership transition at the U.S. food and drug retailer. McCollam, who joined Alberts...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.