Albertsons cuts outlook as grocery shoppers pull back

Albertsons shares dropped nearly 15% Thursday after the grocery chain cut its fiscal 2026 outlook, a warning that shoppers are buying more carefully even at a business built around everyday essentials. For retail investors, the move shows how pressure on household budgets can hit even defensive-looking consumer stocks when customers make fewer trips or put fewer items in the cart.

The company said softer demand in its main grocery business and a more cautious consumer will weigh on earnings in the near term. CEO Susan Morris said in a company statement that Albertsons’ digital and pharmacy businesses kept growing in the first quarter, while core grocery came under more pressure from weaker industry unit trends and cautious shoppers.

Albertsons said it is “moving decisively” to invest in the customer experience, which the company said it believes can improve its growth path over time.

Lower guidance hits the stock

For the full fiscal year, Albertsons now expects net income of $1.75 to $1.85 per share. That is down from its prior forecast of $2.22 to $2.32 per share.

The company also reduced its adjusted EBITDA forecast to a range of $3.55 billion to $3.625 billion, compared with its earlier range of $3.85 billion to $3.925 billion. Adjusted EBITDA means earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, with certain items excluded. Investors use it as one way to compare operating performance, though it is not the same as net profit.

Albertsons also lowered its expectations for identical sales, a retail metric similar to comparable sales that tracks sales at stores operating across both periods being measured. The company now expects identical sales to decline 0.5% to 1.5% for the year, compared with its previous forecast of flat results to 1% growth.

First-quarter results show the pressure

In the fiscal first quarter, Albertsons said identical sales fell 0.8%. Net income was $84.7 million, or 17 cents per share, compared with $236.4 million, or 41 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.

For a grocery chain, unit trends matter because the business depends on steady, repeat purchases. If customers buy fewer items or visit less often, sales can weaken even if prices are higher than they used to be. That is the tension showing up in Albertsons’ guidance: demand is softer in the core grocery aisle, while other parts of the business, including pharmacy and digital, are still growing, according to the company.

The update comes as CNBC has reported broader signs that U.S. consumers are reducing grocery trips. Food inflation and tighter household budgets tied partly to high gasoline prices are among the factors pressuring spending, according to CNBC.

On a call with analysts, Morris said consumer pressure is weighing on near-term earnings, but said Albertsons aims to improve traffic, units, loyalty and the company’s overall business trajectory over time.

That leaves investors watching whether Albertsons’ spending on customer experience can bring shoppers back without adding too much cost at a moment when profit expectations have already been reset lower.

This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.