Metro

MRU.TO

Grocery Stores · Consumer Defensive

Exchange

Toronto Stock Exchange

Winston Score

Winston is serious

Mixed quality — meaningful strengths and weaknesses.

Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through Jul 4, 2026

How the score breaks down

Quality

Mixed

Growth

Mixed

Cash Flow

Strong

Stability

Strong

Valuation

Good

Dividends

Good

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Winston Score History

The full picture

Metro Inc. is a Canadian grocery and pharmacy company. It runs supermarkets under the Metro, Super C, and Food Basics banners, and pharmacies under the Jean Coutu, Brunet, and Metro Pharmacy names. It is one of the three largest food retailers in Canada, operating mainly in Quebec and Ontario.

Metro makes money by selling groceries, household products, and prescription drugs directly to everyday shoppers in its stores. The company operates roughly 950 food stores and 640 pharmacies, almost entirely within Canada. Its moat comes from its strong regional brand loyalty in Quebec, its large store network, and the defensive nature of food and pharmacy spending. The main risk is margin pressure from competition with larger rivals like Loblaw and Sobeys, as well as from discount grocers and online delivery services that are growing quickly across Canada.

Growth Profile

For growth stock investors

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+1.4% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Slow revenue growth

EPS Growth

-32.4% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Earnings declining

Insider Activity

0.9%ownership

→ Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

C$429M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↑ Burn rate improving

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Growth context

Metro is growing revenue at 1% year-over-year. The Winston Score measures business quality today — these growth metrics show what could matter tomorrow.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

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Quality

Profit per sale

Gross Margin

18.8%

Thin — 18.8% gross margin

Profit after running costs

Operating Margin

8.4%

Modest — 8.4% operating margin

Return on the money invested

ROCE

15.9%

Strong — 15.9% return on capital

ROIC between 15% and 25%. Every dollar invested in the business earns 15 to 25 cents back per year.

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Growth

Sales growth

Sales YoY

+2.9%

Nearly flat sales (+2.9% YoY)

Profit growth

EPS YoY

-9.3%

Earnings shrinking (-9.3% YoY)

Slight earnings drop. Typical near a cyclical low.

How steady the profit is

EPS Consistency

5/8 quarters

Mixed — about half the quarters showed growth

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash

Cash Conversion

172%

Turns 172% of profit into real cash

Spare cash per sale

FCF Margin

4.9%

Thin free cash flow (4.9%)

FCF margin between 0% and 10%. Some cash from sales, but not a lot.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns

Debt / Equity

0.46

Conservative — low debt load (0.46)

Covers its interest

Interest Cover

14.81x

Comfortably covers interest (14.8x)

Interest coverage above 8. Profits cover interest many times over.

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Valuation

Price vs profit

P/E Ratio (TTM)

21.2x

no trend

Growth-priced — P/E 21.2

P/E above the market average. People are paying up for expected growth.

Cheaper or dearer next year

P/E vs Forward

+4.7

GROWING

Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (21.2 → 16.5)

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Dividends

Dividend

Dividend Yield

1.82%

no trend

Small dividend — 1.82% yield

Modest yield. The bulk of any return needs to come from price appreciation.

Dividend record

Dividend Growth

+10.2%

no trend

Dividend growing fast (10.2% YoY)

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