Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.03 EPS

Posted by Francis Steltz on May 15th, 2026

Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ:GO – Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.03, FiscalAI reports. Grocery Outlet had a negative net margin of 8.08% and a positive return on equity of 5.29%. The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.13 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Grocery Outlet updated its FY 2026 guidance to 0.450-0.550 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Grocery Outlet’s conference call:

Grocery Outlet said Q1 results were in line with guidance, with revenue up 3.6% to $1.17 billion, comparable sales down just 1% and traffic up about 2%, signaling sequential improvement through the quarter.
Management highlighted progress in restoring the brand’s value proposition, including a nearly 2 percentage point increase in opportunistic product mix since the start of the year, which they believe is starting to lift traffic and customer perception.
The company is continuing promotional investments of about $20 million in 2026 to bridge the gap while opportunistic supply rebuilds, with management expecting these promotions to taper in the second half of the year.
Grocery Outlet completed 36 planned store closures and expects the restructuring to improve the earnings profile by about $12 million on an annual run-rate basis, while also tightening new-store discipline and real-estate selection.
The quarter included a $158 million non-cash goodwill impairment and $18.2 million of restructuring charges, resulting in a net loss of $180.3 million, though adjusted EPS was $0.05 and adjusted EBITDA came in at the top end of guidance.

Grocery Outlet Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of Grocery Outlet stock opened at $7.67 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $758.74 million, a P/E ratio of -1.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a fifty day moving average of $7.13 and a 200 day moving average of $9.38. Grocery Outlet has a fifty-two week low of $5.66 and a fifty-two week high of $19.41.

Insider Buying and Selling at Grocery Outlet

In other Grocery Outlet news, Director Erik D. Ragatz purchased 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $5.75 per share, with a total value of $287,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 526,500 shares in the company, valued at $3,027,375. The trade was a 10.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven K. Wilson sold 4,721 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $6.06, for a total value of $28,609.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 120,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $728,236.26. This represents a 3.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 899,905 shares of company stock valued at $5,396,307 and sold 89,493 shares valued at $524,431. Insiders own 4.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Grocery Outlet

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 72,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $895,000 after buying an additional 739 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 30,320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $487,000 after buying an additional 1,591 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 27,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $336,000 after buying an additional 1,852 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 115,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,435,000 after buying an additional 1,957 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd grew its holdings in Grocery Outlet by 1,030.4% during the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 2,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 2,308 shares in the last quarter. 99.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Craig Hallum lowered shares of Grocery Outlet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Grocery Outlet from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Grocery Outlet from $7.00 to $9.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $7.00 price target (down from $18.00) on shares of Grocery Outlet in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Grocery Outlet from $6.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Grocery Outlet presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $10.32.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Grocery Outlet

Key Stories Impacting Grocery Outlet

Here are the key news stories impacting Grocery Outlet this week:

Positive Sentiment: Grocery Outlet beat Q1 estimates with EPS of $0.05 versus $0.02 expected and revenue of $1.17 billion versus $1.15 billion expected, which helped drive upbeat trading in the stock. Grocery Outlet first-quarter fiscal 2026 financial results
Positive Sentiment: Management said traffic improved and the company kept its 2026 outlook unchanged, which investors may view as a sign that operations are stabilizing despite still-weak comparable sales. Zacks report on Grocery Outlet Q1 earnings
Positive Sentiment: The company outlined second-quarter EPS guidance of $0.11 to $0.13 and said it is targeting about 100 store refreshes, reinforcing management’s plan to improve execution and store productivity. Seeking Alpha report on Q2 guidance and store refreshes
Neutral Sentiment: Several law firms issued reminders about a May 15 securities-class-action deadline tied to alleged investor harm, which adds headline risk but does not change the company’s operating results. Faruqi & Faruqi deadline alert
Negative Sentiment: The class-action updates could weigh on sentiment near term because they keep legal uncertainty in focus for GO shareholders. Pomerantz investor alert

Grocery Outlet Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: GO) is a specialty discount retailer that offers consumers deeply discounted groceries by purchasing excess inventory, closeouts, and overstocks from manufacturers and distributors. Headquartered in Emeryville, California, the company operates two primary banners—Grocery Outlet and Fresh2Go—with a combined footprint of more than 400 stores. Its product assortment spans fresh produce, meat, dairy, bakery items, household staples, natural and organic offerings, and select specialty products, all sold at significant markdowns compared to conventional supermarkets.

The company’s unique buying model enables it to source inventory through opportunistic purchases of surplus freight, discontinued items, and closeout deals, which it then passes on as savings to its customers.