Albertsons beats Q3 earnings estimates, issues upbeat profit guidance; stock up

Investing.com -- Albertsons (NYSE:ACI) shares popped 4% in premarket trading Wednesday after the grocery store chain operator reported third-quarter earnings above market estimates and issued upbeat annual profit guidance.

The company posted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.71 for the quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of $0.66 by $0.05. 

Revenue came in at $18.77 billion, just below the consensus estimate of $18.79 billion.

Albertsons reported an adjusted EBITDA of $1.07 billion, down 3.7% year-over-year but ahead of the $1.02 billion estimate. Gross profit margin stood at 27.9%, matching expectations and just below last year’s 28%.

For fiscal year 2025, Albertsons expects EPS between $2.25 and $2.31, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.26. 

The company forecasts identical sales growth of 1.8% to 2.0%, narrowing from the previous range of 1.8% to 2.2%. 

Adjusted EBITDA is projected between $3.95 billion and $3.99 billion, slightly raised from the prior guidance of $3.90 billion to $3.98 billion.

Albertsons maintains its capital expenditure outlook at $1.8 billion to $1.9 billion and anticipates an effective tax rate of 15% to 16%, down from the earlier projection of 23%.