It's been a pretty great week for The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) shareholders, with its shares surging 14% to US$55.97 in the week since its latest annual results. Revenues of US$150b were in line with forecasts, although statutory earnings per share (EPS) came in below expectations at US$2.96, missing estimates by 9.0%. The analysts typically update their forecasts at each earnings report, and we can judge from their estimates whether their view of the company has changed or if there are any new concerns to be aware of. So we collected the latest post-earnings statutory consensus estimates to see what could be in store for next year.

Following last week's earnings report, Kroger's 19 analysts are forecasting 2025 revenues to be US$148.6b, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Per-share earnings are expected to jump 39% to US$4.19. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$148.9b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$4.21 in 2025. So it's pretty clear that, although the analysts have updated their estimates, there's been no major change in expectations for the business following the latest results.

The consensus price target rose 8.9% to US$56.18despite there being no meaningful change to earnings estimates. It could be that the analystsare reflecting the predictability of Kroger's earnings by assigning a price premium. That's not the only conclusion we can draw from this data however, as some investors also like to consider the spread in estimates when evaluating analyst price targets. There are some variant perceptions on Kroger, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at US$70.00 and the most bearish at US$46.00 per share. There are definitely some different views on the stock, but the range of estimates is not wide enough as to imply that the situation is unforecastable, in our view.

Looking at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can make sense of these forecasts is to see how they measure up against both past performance and industry growth estimates. We would highlight that revenue is expected to reverse, with a forecast 1.0% annualised decline to the end of 2025. That is a notable change from historical growth of 4.9% over the last five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in the same industry are forecast to see their revenue grow 4.5% annually for the foreseeable future. So although its revenues are forecast to shrink, this cloud does not come with a silver lining - Kroger is expected to lag the wider industry.

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away is that there's been no major change in sentiment, with the analysts reconfirming that the business is performing in line with their previous earnings per share estimates. On the plus side, there were no major changes to revenue estimates; although forecasts imply they will perform worse than the wider industry. There was also a nice increase in the price target, with the analysts clearly feeling that the intrinsic value of the business is improving.

Following on from that line of thought, we think that the long-term prospects of the business are much more relevant than next year's earnings. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Kroger going out to 2027, and you can see them free on our platform here..

Before you take the next step you should know about the 1 warning sign for Kroger that we have uncovered.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.