Is KR a high-quality business?

AlphaMadera's AlphaQuality grade scores The Kroger Co. on six pillars — profitability, capital efficiency, balance-sheet strength, growth durability, cash generation, and shareholder yield. The composite letter grade reflects how KR compares to a Buffett-style quality bar.

What is The Kroger Co.'s AlphaQuality grade?

AlphaQuality assigns a letter grade (A through F) to KR based on a six-pillar quantitative model. The live page shows the composite grade plus each pillar's individual score with the underlying metrics.

What makes KR a quality stock?

AlphaQuality looks at return on capital, free-cash-flow margins, debt-to-equity, revenue stability, dividend and buyback policy, and operating-margin trend. Stocks scoring well across all six pillars earn higher grades — the methodology favors compounders over cyclicals.

KR - The Kroger Co.

Price: -- -- | CONSENSUS: Buy DETAILS | PRICE TARGET: $74.45 DETAILS

AlphaQuality

Quantitative six-pillar business-quality grade

Stable Earnings Power

AlphaQuality — archetype-weighted quantitative grade

C+ 59.6 / 100 composite

Composite Grade

Composite of six pillars weighted for stable earnings power businesses. Purely quantitative — no stock price or analyst input.

Profitability

Weight: 20%

C- 48.1

5yr Avg ROIC 8.3% 52/100
Operating Margin Trend -0.26 pp/yr 40/100

Capital Efficiency

Weight: 15%

A+ 98.7

5yr Avg ROE 32.9% 100/100
5yr Share-Count CAGR -3.5% 96/100

Growth Quality

Weight: 15%

D- 32.7

5yr Revenue CAGR 1.7% 34/100
5yr EPS CAGR -8.2% 4/100
Revenue-Growth Years (5) 4/5 80/100

Cash Generation

Weight: 15%

C+ 58.4

5yr FCF Margin 1.8% 34/100
5yr FCF/NI Conversion 1.60x 89/100

Balance Sheet

Weight: 20%

C 53.1

Net Debt / EBITDA 3.49x 40/100
Interest Coverage (EBIT/Int) 2.88x 43/100
Altman Z-Score 3.56 88/100

Stability

Weight: 15%

B 72.7

EPS Volatility (σ/μ) 0.29 58/100
Piotroski F-Score 8 89/100
Negative-Revenue Years (5) 1/5 80/100

5 of 5 gurus held; 1 added; 3 trimmed.

Holders: 5
Avg Δ position: +50.6%
New buys: 0
Full exits: 0

Cooperman increased +346%
Greenblatt decreased -58%
Wood decreased -24%

How this is calculated

AlphaQuality grades six pillars from 0-100 and weights each by archetype:

Profitability (20%) — 5yr Avg ROIC, Operating Margin Trend
Capital Efficiency (15%) — 5yr Avg ROE, 5yr Share-Count CAGR
Growth Quality (15%) — 5yr Revenue CAGR, 5yr EPS CAGR, Revenue-Growth Years (5)
Cash Generation (15%) — 5yr FCF Margin, 5yr FCF/NI Conversion
Balance Sheet (20%) — Net Debt / EBITDA, Interest Coverage (EBIT/Int), Altman Z-Score
Stability (15%) — EPS Volatility (σ/μ), Piotroski F-Score, Negative-Revenue Years (5)

We deliberately ignore stock price, analyst targets, and consensus ratings so the grade is suitable for backtesting forward returns. A minimum of 5 fiscal years of audited statements is required; distressed and highly leveraged infrastructure businesses are declared ungradable rather than forced into a numeric score.