Exhibit 99.1

Kroger Reports Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2022 Results

Announces Growth Expectations for 2023

Fourth Quarter Highlights

Fiscal 2022 Highlights

CINCINNATI, March 2, 2023 – The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) today reported its fourth quarter and fiscal year 2022 results, provided 2023 guidance and updated investors on how Leading with Fresh and Accelerating with Digital continues to position Kroger for long-term sustainable growth.

(1) Identical sales withot fuel would have grown 6.7% in the 4th quarter and 5.8% in fiscal 2022 if not for the reduction in pharmacy sales from Kroger’s termination of its agreement with Express Scripts effective December 31, 2022. This terminated agreement had no material impact on profitability.

Comments from Chairman and CEO Rodney McMullen

“Kroger achieved exceptional results in 2022 as we executed on our Leading with Fresh and Accelerating with Digital strategy, building on record years in 2020 and 2021.

We appreciate our associates for remaining customer-focused, delivering the products customers want, when and how they want them, with zero compromise on quality, convenience and selection. Our associates enable our success, and we are committed to investing in theirs by continuing to improve wages, comprehensive benefits and career development opportunities.

Providing affordable food is even more essential at a time when inflation is affecting so many of our customers’ lives. We do this by delivering fresh products at a great value, trusted Our Brands items, and personalized promotions.

Our proven go-to-market strategy enables Kroger to successfully navigate many operating environments. We believe that by delivering value for our customers, investing in our associates and serving our communities, Kroger will continue to achieve attractive and sustainable total returns for our shareholders.”

Fourth Quarter Financial Results

* Without fuel and adjustment items, if applicable. Identical sales without fuel would have grown 6.7% in the 4th quarter if not for the reduction in pharmacy sales from Kroger’s termination of its agreement with Express Scripts effective December 31, 2022. This terminated agreement had no material impact on profitability.

** Included in our EPS and Operating Profit this quarter was a $164 million goodwill and fixed asset impairment charge relating to Vitacost.com and $160 million charge for the fair value of interest rate hedges associated with proposed merger financing.

Total company sales were $34.8 billion in the fourth quarter, compared to $33.0 billion for the same period last year. Excluding fuel, sales increased 5.9% compared to the same period last year.

Gross margin was 21.8% of sales for the fourth quarter. The FIFO gross margin rate, excluding fuel, decreased 1 basis point compared to the same period last year. This result reflected Kroger’s ability to effectively manage higher product cost inflation through strong sourcing practices and lower supply chain costs, while maintaining competitive pricing and helping customers manage their budgets.

The LIFO charge for the quarter was $234 million, compared to a LIFO charge of $20 million for the same period last year, driven by higher product cost inflation primarily in grocery.

The Operating, General & Administrative rate decreased 56 basis points, excluding fuel and adjustment items, compared to the same period last year. The decrease in OG&A rate was driven by sales leverage, continued execution of cost savings initiatives and the cycling of several one-time expenses, partially offset by planned investments in associates.

Fiscal 2022 Financial Results

* Without fuel and adjustment items, if applicable. Identical sales without fuel would have grown 5.8% in Fiscal 2022 if not for the reduction in pharmacy sales from Kroger’s termination of its agreement with Express Scripts effective December 31, 2022. This terminated agreement had no material impact on profitability.

Total company sales were $148.3 billion in 2022, compared to $137.9 billion for the same period last year. Excluding fuel, sales increased 5.2% compared to the same period last year.

Gross margin was 21.4% of sales for 2022. The FIFO gross margin rate, excluding fuel, decreased 9 basis points compared to the same period last year. This result reflected Kroger’s ability to effectively manage higher product cost inflation through strong sourcing practices, while maintaining competitive prices and helping customers manage their budgets.

The LIFO charge for 2022 was $626 million, compared to a LIFO charge of $197 million for the same period last year, driven by higher product cost inflation.

The Operating, General & Administrative rate decreased 19 basis points, excluding fuel and adjustment items, compared to the same period last year. The decrease in OG&A rate was driven by sales leverage and the continued execution of cost savings initiatives partially offset by planned investments in associates.

Capital Allocation Strategy

Kroger expects to continue to generate strong free cash flow and remains committed to investing in the business to drive long-term sustainable net earnings growth, as well as maintaining its current investment grade debt rating. The Company expects to continue to pay its quarterly dividend and expects this to increase over time, subject to board approval. Kroger has paused its share repurchase program to prioritize de-leveraging following the proposed merger with Albertsons.

Kroger’s net total debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio is 1.57, compared to 1.63 a year ago (Table 5). The company’s net total debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio target range is 2.30 to 2.50.

Full-Year 2023 Guidance*

* Without adjusted items, if applicable. Kroger is unable to provide a full reconciliation of the GAAP and non-GAAP measures used in 2023 guidance without unreasonable effort because it is not possible to predict certain of our adjustment items with a reasonable degree of certainty. This information is dependent upon future events and may be outside of our control and its unavailability could have a significant impact on 2023 GAAP financial results.

** The tax rate reflects typical tax adjustments and does not reflect changes to the rate from the completion of income tax audit examinations or changes in tax laws, which cannot be predicted.

*** Adjusted free cash flow excludes planned payments related to the restructuring of multi-employer pension plans.

Comments from CFO Gary Millerchip

“Kroger’s 2022 results demonstrate the strength of our value creation model. In 2023, we expect to build on this momentum and deliver revenue and EPS growth on top of the record results achieved over the past three years.

We expect to grow revenue by continuing to invest in our customers through competitive pricing and personalization, fresh products and a better shopping experience. Building on our significant investments over the past four years, we will also continue to increase associate wages. We will fund these investments through product mix improvements, cost saving initiatives and growth in our alternative profit businesses.

Looking forward, we believe Kroger is well positioned to successfully operate in an evolving economic environment and continue to deliver attractive total returns for our shareholders.”

Fourth Quarter 2022 Highlights

Leading with Fresh

Accelerating with Digital

Associate Experience

Live Our Purpose

About Kroger

At The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), we are dedicated to our Purpose: to Feed the Human Spirit™. We are, across our family of companies nearly half a million associates who serve over eleven million customers daily through a seamless digital shopping experience and retail food stores under a variety of banner names, serving America through food inspiration and uplift, and creating #ZeroHungerZeroWaste communities by 2025. To learn more about us, visit our newsroom and investor relations site.

Kroger's fourth quarter 2022 ended on January 28, 2023.

Note: Fuel sales have historically had a low gross margin rate and operating expense rate as compared to corresponding rates on non-fuel sales. As a result, Kroger discusses the changes in these rates excluding the effect of fuel.

Please refer to the supplemental information presented in the tables for reconciliations of the non-GAAP financial measures used in this press release to the most comparable GAAP financial measure and related disclosure. As noted above, Kroger is unable to provide a full reconciliation of the GAAP and non-GAAP measures used in its guidance without unreasonable effort because it is not possible to predict certain of our adjustment items with a reasonable degree of certainty. This information is dependent upon future events and may be outside of our control and its unavailability could have a significant impact on GAAP financial results.

This press release contains certain statements that constitute "forward-looking statements" about the future performance of the company. These statements are based on management's assumptions and beliefs in light of the information currently available to it. Such statements are indicated by words or phrases such as "achieve," “believe,” "committed," "continue," "expect," "future," "guidance," “positions,” "target," and “will.” Various uncertainties and other factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. These include the specific risk factors identified in "Risk Factors" in our annual report on Form 10-K for our last fiscal year and any subsequent filings, as well as the following:

Kroger's ability to achieve sales, earnings, incremental FIFO operating profit, and adjusted free cash flow goals may be affected by: the risks relating to or arising from our proposed transaction with Albertsons announced in October 2022, including, among others, our ability to consummate the proposed transaction, including on the terms of the merger agreement, on the anticipated timeline, and/or with the required regulatory approvals; COVID-19 pandemic related factors, risks and challenges; labor negotiations; potential work stoppages; changes in the unemployment rate; pressures in the labor market; changes in government-funded benefit programs; changes in the types and numbers of businesses that compete with Kroger; pricing and promotional activities of existing and new competitors, including non-traditional competitors, and the aggressiveness of that competition; Kroger's response to these actions; the state of the economy, including interest rates, the current inflationary environment and future potential inflationary and/or deflationary trends and such trends in certain commodities, products and/or operating costs; the geopolitical environment including the war in Ukraine; unstable political situations and social unrest; changes in tariffs; the effect that fuel costs have on consumer spending; volatility of fuel margins; manufacturing commodity costs; supply constraints; diesel fuel costs related to Kroger's logistics operations; trends in consumer spending; the extent to which Kroger's customers exercise caution in their purchasing in response to economic conditions; the uncertainty of economic growth or recession; stock repurchases; changes in the regulatory environment in which Kroger operates; Kroger's ability to retain pharmacy sales from third party payors; consolidation in the healthcare industry, including pharmacy benefit managers; Kroger's ability to negotiate modifications to multi-employer pension plans; natural disasters or adverse weather conditions; the effect of public health crises or other significant catastrophic events; the potential costs and risks associated with potential cyber-attacks or data security breaches; the success of Kroger's future growth plans; the ability to execute our growth strategy and value creation model, including continued cost savings, growth of our alternative profit businesses, and our ability to better serve our customers and to generate customer loyalty and sustainable growth through our strategic pillars of fresh, our brands, personalization, and seamless; and the successful integration of merged companies and new partnerships. Our ability to achieve these goals may also be affected by our ability to manage the factors identified above. Our ability to execute our financial strategy may be affected by our ability to generate cash flow.

Kroger's effective tax rate may differ from the expected rate due to changes in tax laws, the status of pending items with various taxing authorities, and the deductibility of certain expenses.

Kroger assumes no obligation to update the information contained herein unless required by applicable law. Please refer to Kroger's reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a further discussion of these risks and uncertainties.

Note: Kroger's quarterly conference call with investors will broadcast live at 10 a.m. (ET) on March 2, 2023 at ir.kroger.com. An on-demand replay of the webcast will be available at approximately 1 p.m. (ET) on Thursday, March 2, 2023.

4th Quarter 2022 Tables Include:

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Contacts: Media: Erin Rolfes (513) 762-1304; Investors: Rob Quast (513) 762-4969

Table 1.

THE KROGER CO.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(in millions, except per share amounts)

(unaudited)

Table 2.

THE KROGER CO.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(in millions)

(unaudited)

Table 3.

THE KROGER CO.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(in millions)

(unaudited)

Table 4. Supplemental Sales Information

(in millions, except percentages)

(unaudited)

Items identified below should not be considered as alternatives to sales or any other GAAP measure of performance.  Identical sales is an industry-specific measure and it is important to review it in conjunction with Kroger's financial results reported in accordance with GAAP.  Other companies in our industry may calculate identical sales differently than Kroger does, limiting the comparability of the measure.

IDENTICAL SALES (a)

Table 5.  Reconciliation of Net Total Debt and

Net Earnings Attributable to The Kroger Co. to Adjusted EBITDA

(in millions, except for ratio)

(unaudited)

The items identified below should not be considered an alternative to any GAAP measure of performance or access to liquidity.  Net total debt to adjusted EBITDA is an important measure used by management to evaluate the Company's access to liquidity.  The items below should be reviewed in conjunction with Kroger's financial results reported in accordance with GAAP.

The following table provides a reconciliation of net total debt.

The following table provides a reconciliation from net earnings attributable to The Kroger Co. to adjusted EBITDA, as defined in the Company's credit agreement, on a rolling four quarter basis.

Table 6. Net Earnings Per Diluted Share Excluding the Adjustment Items

(in millions, except per share amounts)

(unaudited)

The purpose of this table is to better illustrate comparable operating results from our ongoing business, after removing the effects on net earnings per diluted common share for certain items described below.  Adjusted net earnings and adjusted net earnings per diluted share are useful metrics to investors and analysts because they present more accurately year-over-year comparisons for net earnings and net earnings per diluted share because adjusted items are not the result of normal operations.  Items identified in this table should not be considered alternatives to net earnings attributable to The Kroger Co. or any other GAAP measure of performance.  These items should not be reviewed in isolation or considered substitutes for the Company's financial results as reported in accordance with GAAP.  Due to the nature of these items, as further described below, it is important to identify these items and to review them in conjunction with the Company's financial results reported in accordance with GAAP.

The following table summarizes items that affected the Company's financial results during the periods presented.

Table 6. Net Earnings Per Diluted Share Excluding the Adjustment Items (continued)

(in millions, except per share amounts)

(unaudited)

Table 7. Operating Profit Excluding the Adjustment Items

(in millions)

(unaudited)

The purpose of this table is to better illustrate comparable operating results from our ongoing business, after removing the effects on operating profit for certain items described below.  Adjusted FIFO operating profit is a useful metric to investors and analysts because it presents more accurately year-over year comparisons for operating profit because adjusted items are not the result of normal operations.  Items identified in this table should not be considered alternatives to operating profit or any other GAAP measure of performance.  These items should not be reviewed in isolation or considered substitutes for the Company's financial results as reported in accordance with GAAP.  Due to the nature of these items, as further described below, it is important to identify these items and to review them in conjunction with the Company's financial results reported in accordance with GAAP.

The following table summarizes items that affected the Company's financial results during the periods presented.

Table 8.  Adjusted Free Cash Flow

(in millions)

(unaudited)

Adjusted free cash flow is an important performance measure used by management, and management believes it is also a useful metric for investors and analysts to evaluate the Company's ability to generate additional funding from business operations available for dividends, managing debt levels, share repurchases and other strategic investments.  Adjusted free cash flow is one of the key financial indicators of the Company's business performance and the Company also uses adjusted free cash flow to evaluate the Company's senior management.  However, adjusted free cash flow is not a measure of financial performance or liquidity under GAAP and, therefore, should not be considered an alternative to net earnings (loss) or net cash provided by operating activities as an indicator of the Company's performance or liquidity.   Although free cash flow is a relatively standard term, numerous methods exist for calculating free cash flow. As a result, the method used by the Company's management to calculate adjusted free cash flow may differ from methods other companies use to calculate free cash flow.

The following table sets forth a reconciliation of net cash provided by operating activities to adjusted free cash flow.