Albertsons Wants Out of the Discount Aisle

Two months ago, Albertsons launched a strategic review, an odd move considering that it only made its debut in the public market less than two years ago. Tuesday’s share-price reaction to its quarterly earnings seems to justify the company’s decision.

By most indications, the second-largest grocery-chain operator—behind Kroger —exceeded Wall Street expectations. Its same-store sales grew 7.5% in the quarter ended Feb. 26 compared with a year earlier, much better than the 4.3% that analysts polled by FactSet were expecting. By comparison, Kroger saw same-store sales grow by 4% in its comparable quarter. Earnings of 79 cents a share were about 30% higher than analyst expectations.