Which Is a Better Investment, Grocery Outlet Holding Corp or Sprouts Farmers Market Inc Stock?

By Jenna Brashear
September 02, 2026
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Sifting through countless of stocks in the Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Grocery Outlet Holding Corp., Sprouts Farmers Market or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Grocery Outlet Holding Corp., Sprouts Farmers Market and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Grocery Outlet Holding Corp., Sprouts Farmers Market and Inc.

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. operates as a retailer of consumables and fresh products sold through independently operated stores in the United States. It offers perishable department products, including dairy and deli; produce and floral; and meat and seafood. The company also provides non-perishable department products, such as non-perishable grocery, general merchandise, health and beauty care, frozen foods, and beer and wine. It operates stores in California, Washington, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Idaho, Maryland, Nevada, North Carolina, New Jersey, Georgia, Ohio, Alabama, Delaware, Kentucky, and Virginia. The company was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Emeryville, California.

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the retailing of fresh, natural, and organic food products in the United States. The company offers healthy grocery stores; and lifestyle-friendly ingredients such as organic, plant-based, keto, paleo, non-GMO, and gluten-free. The company also offers perishable product categories, including produce, meat and meat alternatives, seafood, deli, bakery, floral, and dairy alternatives; and non-perishable product categories, such as grocery, vitamins and supplements, bulk items, frozen foods, beer and wine, and natural health and body care. It sells its products under the Sprouts brand. The company was founded in 1943 and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.

Latest Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail and Grocery Outlet Holding Corp., Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. Stock News

As of September 1, 2026, Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. had a $1.2 billion market capitalization, compared to the Consumer Staples Distribution & Retail median of $5.4 million. Grocery Outlet Holding Corp.’s stock is up 19.1% in 2026, down 1.5% in the previous five trading days and down 33.13% in the past year.

Currently, Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. does not have a price-earnings ratio. Grocery Outlet Holding Corp.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $4.7 billion with a -8.0% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 1.1%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $0.545 per share for the current fiscal year. Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. does not currently pay a dividend.

As of September 1, 2026, Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. had a $7.5 billion market cap, putting it in the 73rd percentile of all stocks. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc.’s stock is down 1.8% in 2026, down 9.9% in the previous five trading days and down 42.5% in the past year.

Currently, Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 15.5. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $9.0 billion with a 5.6% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 4.7%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $5.558 per share for the current fiscal year. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.

How We Compare Grocery Outlet Holding Corp., Sprouts Farmers Market and Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Grocery Outlet Holding Corp., Sprouts Farmers Market and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Grocery Outlet Holding Corp., Sprouts Farmers Market and Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company Ticker Value
Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. GO C
Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. SFM C

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. has a Value Score of 43, which is Average. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a Value Score of 49, which is Average.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Grocery Outlet Holding Corp., Sprouts Farmers Market or Inc. has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Grocery Outlet Holding Corp., Sprouts Farmers Market or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to value.

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp., Sprouts Farmers Market and Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company Ticker Quality
Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. GO C
Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. SFM B

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. has a Quality Score of 56, which is Average. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a Quality Score of 80, which is Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Quality Grade breakdown above, Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a better overall quality grade than Grocery Outlet Holding Corp.. For investors who are looking for companies with higher quality than others in the same industry, Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolios. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp., Sprouts Farmers Market and Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company Ticker Earnings Estimate
Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. GO A
Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. SFM C

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 81, which is Very Positive. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 49, which is Neutral.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: Grocery Outlet Holding Corp.

As you can clearly see from the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. has a better Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade than Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc.. For those who are specifically looking for companies with better short-term prospects when compared to other companies in the same industry, Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Don’t Forget Your Free Special Report on How A+ Grades Can Help You Make Investment Decisions

Other Grocery Outlet Holding Corp., Sprouts Farmers Market and Inc. Grades

In addition to Quality, Estimate Revisions and Value, A+ Investor also provides grades for Growth and Momentum.

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Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Grocery Outlet Holding Corp., Sprouts Farmers Market and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Grocery Outlet Holding Corp., Sprouts Farmers Market or Inc. Stock?

Overall, Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. stock has a Value Score of 43, Estimate Revisions Score of 81 and Quality Score of 56.

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 49, Estimate Revisions Score of 49 and Quality Score of 80.

Comparing Grocery Outlet Holding Corp., Sprouts Farmers Market and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

Learn More About A+ Investor

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.



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