Kroger Earnings: The Big Takeaways

Investors had high expectations heading into Kroger's (NYSE: KR) fourth-quarter earnings report, and they weren't disappointed. The supermarket giant's stock jumped following the announcement to reach a new all-time high even as many of its peers in the S&P 500 are down for the year.

Let's look at a few reasons behind the growing optimism that Wall Street has for this consumer staples business.

For the past year or so, Kroger has trailed Walmart (NYSE: WMT), its main competitor, in several key growth metrics. But that gap is closing right now. Comparable-store sales were up 14.3% on a two-year basis, which is only slightly below the industry leader's 15% boost.

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Source Fool.com