No matter who you are or where you live, one thing we all have in common is going to the grocery store. A lot of grocery stores in the United States are publicly traded companies on Wall Street. However, there is one grocery store that’s considered to be one of the biggest in the world that is still public. You can find Aldi or one of its subsidiaries in places like Germany, the United States, and China. One place you can’t find it is on the ticker screen.
The company was first started by two brothers in Germany. Karl and Theo Albrecht were as frugal as can be when the first store opened in the 1930s. The two brothers split the company in the 1960s when there wasn’t an agreement on whether the store should sell cigarettes. They became known as Aldi Nord and Aldi Sud. Today, they’re one of the most recognized brands in the world, with over 12,500 locations. With how influential they are in today’s society, just how much would they be worth if they decided to go public?
What Does Aldi Own?
Before we talk about the price it would get on Wall Street, it’s important to talk about the different companies they control. The biggest name in the United States is Trader Joe’s. Back in 1979, Theo Albrecht, who was the CEO at the time for Aldi, bought the company to add to his family’s investment portfolio. He never looked back after this purchase. Today, there are 560 stores and counting across the United States. Another company that’s going to be under Aldi’s control soon is Winn-Dixie.
This grocery chain is primarily in the southeastern part of the United States. It will most likely expand everywhere once Aldi fully takes control. These are two of the biggest grocery chains in the United States, and there are more around the world Aldi owns. The reason it’s important to consider these stores in the initial stock price is because it helps them have a constant flow of revenue.
How Much Would Aldi’s Stock Be Worth?
Now that we’ve discussed what Aldi owns, let’s get into the value of it on the stock market. Recent estimates put the valuation of the company at $50 billion at the very least. Not bad for what was once a corner store in Germany. It’s important to look at other grocery chains that have gone public to get a good estimation. Walmart (NYSE: WMT) is currently estimated to be worth around $420 billion. The Walmart stock is going for $156 per share as of November 2023. Kroger (NYSE: KR), another huge brand in the United States, is worth $30.9 billion. Their stock is trading for $42.66 as of November 2023. Even though it isn’t an exact science, these two companies helped us come up with a good number. We estimate the stock would open for around $47 per share.
The company is already worth more than Kroger, but not by much. If you divide 50 by 30, you get 1.67. Then you multiply that by 42.66, the current Kroger stock price, and you get $71. The reason it’s slightly lower is because doing the same method with Walmart gets you $18.57. The difference between these two companies is around $53. It’s important to take into account the fact that Walmart is worth a lot more than both Kroger and Aldi, so you have to bring that number down slightly. Since Aldi is worth slightly more than Kroger, that’s how we got the number we did.
If Aldi were to go public, it would be a great company to invest in. They have a proven track record of profit and don’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon in the acquisition of other companies. Even knowing how powerful they could become on the market, will Aldi ever actually go public?
Will Aldi Go Public?
It doesn’t look like Aldi is going to go public anytime soon. The company is still fully under the control of the Albrecht family, the descendants of the two brothers who first started the chain. It appears the company likes being a private company and doesn’t think it needs to go public. They don’t want to risk the rollercoaster that can be Wall Street. There are a lot of people who think they’d do well just because of their name. However, it makes sense to not want to risk what’s been working for almost 100 years. While most companies have at least some discussion of what might happen if they went public, there’s been so much talk amongst those close to Aldi. If they ever do decide to go public, it would make a great addition to any investment portfolio.
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