Grocery Outlet closes at $12.93 ahead of third-quarter results on November 10
Key Facts
Grocery Outlet (GO) closed at $12.93 on October 30, according to EL7 data, while results for fiscal 2026’s third quarter were still pending. The company announced on October 27 that results would be released after the market close on Tuesday, November 10, so it had not reported earnings for that quarter by October 31. This timing corrects the first draft’s account, which linked an assumed stock move to quarterly results that had not yet been released. EL7’s available data also does not establish that the stock rose on October 31, and does not include a high or low for the October 30 session. The only available trading figure is therefore that day’s closing price.
The results date follows a documented analyst upgrade on September 30, when B of A Securities raised its rating on the stock to Buy from Neutral and increased its price target to $15 from $12.50, according to an Investing.com report that attributed the information to Reuters. The report cited improving prospects for opportunistic merchandise and pricing across delivery platforms as reasons for the upgrade. Benzinga data shows an action on the same date, but records the prior price target as $13, compared with $15 after the upgrade. Neither source establishes that the upgrade occurred on October 31 or caused a stock move that day. The upgrade therefore remains context preceding the stock’s moves, rather than a substantiated explanation for the October 30 close.
The upgrade follows results for fiscal 2026’s second quarter, which an Investing.com report said beat analysts’ expectations. Adjusted earnings were $0.20 per share, versus expectations of $0.12, while revenue reached $1.19 billion, above an estimate of $1.17 billion. In the company’s statement on the same quarter, net sales rose 2.3% to $2.36 billion, but comparable-store sales fell 0.6%. The difference in revenue figures in the two sources reflects their respective reporting scopes: the results report gives net sales, while the Investing.com report cites revenue for comparison with analysts’ estimates. Second-quarter performance provides context for the upgrade, but does not represent the pending third-quarter results.
On operating profitability, the company reported an operating loss of $162.2 million in the first half of the fiscal year. The figure included a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $158 million, along with net restructuring charges of $23.6 million. The company says the charge is non-cash, while the restructuring charges relate to an improvement plan that includes closing underperforming stores. The plan included closing 36 stores, all of which the company said it had closed during the first half of fiscal 2026. It estimated net restructuring charges related to the plan at between $15 million and $24 million in fiscal 2026 and 2027, with the actions expected to be substantially complete by the first quarter of fiscal 2027.
In its fiscal 2026 guidance, Grocery Outlet set a sales range of $4.70 billion to $4.72 billion and a range of $0.51 to $0.55 for adjusted diluted earnings per share, according to its second-quarter results statement. The company describes its business as extreme-value retail, selling branded consumer goods and fresh products, primarily through a network of stores operated by independent operators. This operating plan and expected sales provide a framework for tracking third-quarter results alongside the closure of underperforming stores and restructuring. The company announced the results date on October 27, saying they would be released after the market close on November 10. It also scheduled a call to discuss the results for the same day at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time, according to its investor relations calendar.