US supermarket chain Kroger appoints new CEO, shares rise / Photo: Daniel L. Locke / Shutterstock
US supermarket chain Kroger has appointed Greg Foran, formerly head of Walmart's US division, as its new CEO. The decision puts an end to nearly a year of uncertainty about Kroger's leadership, Barron's points out, recalling that the company's previous CEO resigned back in March 2025 - following an investigation that found his personal behavior inconsistent with Kroger's business ethics. Since then, the company has been led temporarily by Ron Sargent.
On the background of this news Kroger shares added 8.4% at the moment and became one of the leaders of growth in S&P 500 on February 9, notes Barron's. At the time of publication, the securities of the supermarket chain slightly corrected and traded in the plus by almost 5% against the previous closing.
Details
Ron Sargent, who has led the company as interim CEO since March 2025, will remain at Kroger as chairman, the company said in a release. Sargent called Kroger's new CEO "an executive who knows how to manage large retailers, improve store performance and lead high-performing teams."
Foran, prior to taking the Kroger post, spent six years at Walmart US, where, among other things, he introduced online ordering and self-delivery services and accelerated the digital transformation of the business, Walmart said in a statement. He later served as CEO of Air New Zealand.
Former Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen left the company last March after an investigation revealed his personal behavior was inconsistent with the company's ethical policies.
Context
Walmart now controls about 21% of the US grocery retail market against 8.5% for Kroger, which makes the company one of the network's key competitors, Yahoo Finance writes, citing Numerator research. The change in Kroger's CEO comes amid the company's attempts to strengthen its position in e-commerce, with Kroger facing difficulties in achieving sales targets and rising costs, Barron's notes.
Last December, Kroger reported adjusted earnings of $1.05 per share for its fiscal third quarter, beating analysts' forecasts. However, total sales of $33.9 billion came in below expectations, Barron's points out. In addition, the company reported a quarterly operating loss of $1.5 billion, compared to a profit of $828 million in the same period last year.
How the market reacts
MarketWatch data show that analysts are divided in their assessments of the future of Kroger shares: 13 recommend buying the company's securities; 14 advise taking a neutral position (recommendation - "hold"), and only one analyst is in favor of selling Kroger shares. The average target price for the company's stock is $72.8, which implies an increase of another 7.9% from the closing level of February 8.
R5 Capital CEO Scott Mushkin believes Kroger needs significant capital investment in its store chain, which is showing signs of aging, writes Grocery Dive.
This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor
