Using slim net profit margins without factoring in capital expenditures like opening new stores and buying competitors and suppliers is naive at best and dishonest bootlicking at worst.

Data > Opinion.

I share this mindset. If you’re gonna criticize people, politicians, and companies we all have problems with, you NEED to be accurate. Because if you’re caught messing up, stretching the truth, or even baldly lying today, that’s a massive vulnerability that can be exploited tomorrow.

Thanks for this. Price gouging seems like a handwavy term used to offload responsibility of fixing real problems. Price of living is high, yes, we should fix that. But let’s not just say “oh it’s the grocery stores’ fault” and be on our way. Grocery stores have super narrow profit margins and compete hard. Here’s Costco’s for comparison as well.

Modern grocery chains make their money through the vertical integration of wholesale and distribution rather than in retail. They only make ~2% net profit through retail sales, but by that point they've already double dipped on their store brand items. That's how Target works. It's how Walmart works. It's how Whole Foods works. It's how Kroger and ShopRite work.

You're right, net earnings is after costs like this. C-suite gotta make sure to hit their targets to trigger massive pay packages. Also, you're not even looking at a full year of financials... for all we know Q1 could be an outlier. https://ir.kroger.com/news/news-details/2021/Kroger-Board-of-Directors-Approves-1-Billion-Share-Repurchase-Authorization/default.aspx

So when I asked the workers on the line scanning my groceries if their wages gone up 20% they’ll say that they paid more? Because they’re still hiring at $12.50 like they were three years ago. So where is the cost of labor?