Albertsons shares tumbled more than 20% after the grocery chain lowered its fiscal 2026 forecast, citing weak demand and cautious consumer spending. The company acknowledged that shoppers are scaling back grocery visits amid ongoing inflation pressures and higher costs in other areas such as gasoline. This environment has led Albertsons to reduce its expectations for the year across key financial metrics.

Chief Executive Officer Susan Morris highlighted that while the company's digital and pharmacy segments showed solid growth in the first quarter, its core grocery business faced significant challenges due to declining customer traffic and softer industry trends. To combat this, Albertsons announced plans to aggressively invest in improving the customer experience with the goal of reversing the slowdown and driving future growth.

The revised outlook includes an adjusted net income projection of $1.75 to $1.85 per share, down substantially from the prior range of $2.22 to $2.32 per share. Similarly, adjusted EBITDA guidance was lowered to between $3.55 billion and $3.625 billion compared to earlier estimates of $3.85 billion to $3.925 billion. The company also expects a decrease in identical sales by 0.5% to 1.5% for the year, indicating further pressure on comparable store performance.

Albertsons reported first-quarter net income of $84.7 million, or 17 cents per share, a notable drop from $236.4 million, or 41 cents per share, in the prior year period. Despite the headwinds in the near term, Morris emphasized the company’s focus on enhancing customer loyalty, improving traffic, and increasing unit sales to strengthen its overall business trajectory over time.