Kroger Launches Biggest Price Cuts After 1% Sales Gain; Walmart Caps AI Usage
WMT•Kroger’s same-store sales excluding fuel rose 1% last quarter as CEO Greg Foran rolls out the largest price cuts in years to defend market share against Walmart, Costco and Amazon. Walmart capped employee usage of its in-house AI agent as usage-based pricing by major AI labs drives compute costs higher.
1. Kroger’s Price-Cutting Offensive
Kroger delivered a 1% rise in same-store sales excluding fuel last quarter, beating consensus estimates by 0.04 percentage point, and maintained full-year guidance as CEO Greg Foran implements the chain’s biggest price reductions in years to defend and grow share against rivals including Walmart. Elevated transportation costs and lower egg prices squeezed quarterly margins but the retailer plans broader price cuts and boosted service to attract value-conscious consumers.
2. Walmart’s AI Usage Limits
Walmart has placed a cap on employee access to its internal AI agent after OpenAI, Anthropic and Microsoft’s GitHub shifted to heavier usage-based pricing. The measure aims to control compute and data center expenses by limiting staff AI interactions to manage technology spending while maintaining digital efficiency.
