June 18, 2026

‍

Empire Company Limited (OTC: EMLAF) reported fourth-quarter and full-year fiscal 2026 results with higher sales, stronger quarterly earnings, improved adjusted EBITDA margin, and a 10.2% dividend increase.
‍

Empire is a Canadian food retail and real estate company best known for Sobeys, Safeway, FreshCo, Farm Boy, Foodland, IGA, Longo’s, Voilà, and other grocery and pharmacy banners.

‍

Q4 Results Showed Strong Earnings Growth

‍

Fourth-quarter sales increased 2.2% to C$7.81 billion from C$7.64 billion a year earlier.
‍

Net earnings and adjusted net earnings rose to C$212 million, or C$0.94 per share, from C$173 million, or C$0.74 per share, last year. That represented 27.0% EPS growth.
‍

Same-store sales increased 1.7%, while food same-store sales rose 1.5%. Gross margin was steady at 27.6%.
‍

Operating income increased 10.9% to C$347 million, while adjusted EBITDA rose to C$644 million. Adjusted EBITDA margin improved to 8.2% from 7.8%.

‍

Full-Year Results Were Mixed but Adjusted Earnings Improved

‍

For fiscal 2026, sales increased to C$31.95 billion from C$31.28 billion.
‍

Adjusted net earnings increased to C$747 million from C$711 million, while adjusted EPS rose to C$3.24 from C$2.98.
‍

Reported net earnings fell to C$198 million from C$700 million, mainly due to a large e-commerce impairment recorded earlier in the fiscal year.
‍

Empire said its e-commerce review is expected to improve annualized operating income by about C$95 million, with benefits beginning in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026 and continuing into fiscal 2027.

‍

Dividend and Capital Returns

‍

Empire raised its quarterly dividend to C$0.2425 per share, reflecting a 10.2% increase in the annualized dividend rate.
‍

This marks the company’s 31st consecutive year of dividend increases.
‍

The company also repurchased C$400 million of shares during fiscal 2026 and intends to renew its normal course issuer bid, subject to approval.

‍

Strategy and Outlook

‍

Empire recently launched a new three-year strategy focused on customers, stores, growth, and cost efficiency.
‍

The company plans to keep investing in store renovations, FreshCo expansion, e-commerce improvements, retail media, pharmacy, Scene+, and technology. Fiscal 2027 capital spending is expected to be about C$850 million, with roughly half allocated to store renovations and new store growth.
‍

Empire also expects to open about 15 new FreshCo stores across Western Canada, Ontario, and Atlantic Canada in fiscal 2027.

‍

The Bigger Picture

‍

Empire delivered a stronger fourth quarter, even as full-year reported earnings were affected by the e-commerce impairment.
‍

The company grew sales, improved adjusted earnings, expanded adjusted EBITDA margin, raised its dividend for the 31st straight year, and continued buying back stock. The key question is whether its store investments, cost discipline, e-commerce reset, and FreshCo expansion can support steady earnings growth in fiscal 2027.
‍

Platforms like LevelFields track earnings beats, layoffs, dividend increases, leadership changes, dividend updates, and stock reactions together, helping investors identify when grocery and consumer staples stocks are moving on real operating momentum.