Albertsons cut its fiscal 2026 sales and earnings guidance on Thursday, citing weaker grocery demand and a more cautious consumer environment that pressured its first-quarter results.

The company now projects identical sales to decline between 0.5% and 1.5% for the full fiscal year, a reversal from its earlier forecast of flat sales to 1% growth. Albertsons also reduced its adjusted earnings outlook to a range of $1.75 to $1.85 per share, down from the prior guidance of $2.22 to $2.32. Adjusted EBITDA is now expected to land between $3.55 billion and $3.625 billion, compared with the previous range of $3.85 billion to $3.925 billion. Identical sales are a closely watched retail measure because they track performance at existing locations and help separate underlying demand from changes driven by store openings or closures.

For the quarter ended June 20, identical sales fell 0.8%. Net sales and other revenue edged up 0.2% to $24.94 billion, supported by higher fuel sales. Digital sales grew 13%, though the company noted that its core grocery business faced intensifying pressure from softer industry unit trends.

"In the first quarter, our digital and pharmacy businesses continued to deliver strong growth, while core grocery faced increasing pressure from softer industry unit trends and a more cautious consumer," CEO Susan Morris said in the company's earnings release.

Albertsons said it is accelerating investments in its customer value proposition and shopping experience ahead of anticipated productivity gains. "We are choosing to accelerate investments in our customer value proposition and the customer experience ahead of expected productivity benefits because we believe these actions will improve our growth trajectory, strengthen our competitive position, and create long-term shareholder value," Morris said. The timing puts a focus on whether those investments can support traffic and basket size while the company absorbs higher costs in areas such as delivery, handling, and fuel.

As part of that initiative, Albertsons announced an operational realignment dubbed ACI Edge. The restructuring consolidates the company's 11 divisions into four regions and places center-store merchandising under a single enterprise team. Albertsons said the changes are designed to speed up decision-making, enhance local execution, and centralize category management, supplier relationships, and merchandising strategy.

First-quarter net income dropped to $84.7 million, or 17 cents per share, from $236.4 million, or 41 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings fell to 42 cents per share from 55 cents. Gross margin contracted to 26.6% from 27.1%, which Albertsons attributed partly to higher delivery and handling costs tied to digital growth, as well as elevated fuel expenses.

In a separate announcement, Albertsons said Chief Financial Officer Sharon McCollam plans to retire later this year. McCollam will remain in her current position until a successor is appointed and will subsequently transition to an advisory role through February 27, 2027, to support the handover.

As of June 20, Albertsons operated 2,240 stores across 35 states and the District of Columbia.