Kroger beats same-store sales estimates on online boost

(Reuters) – Kroger Co reported a 14.6% rise in quarterly same-store sales on Friday, helped by a surge in online grocery sales as customers cooked more at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, sending the U.S. supermarket chain’s shares up 4%.

Analysts had expected second-quarter comparable-store sales to rise 10.96%, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

(Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)