Key Points
A prominent member of the C-suite more than doubled his position in the company.
He now owns more than 574,000 shares.
- 10 stocks we like better than Grocery Outlet ›
Grocery Outlet (NASDAQ: GO) has had its struggles lately, but you wouldn't know that from its stock's performance on Monday. Investors eagerly snapped up shares of the food retailer to send them to a more than 11% gain that trading session. The main catalyst in the rally was a chunky insider stock buy.
A major insider move
In a regulatory filing, Grocery Outlet divulged that its CEO and chairman, Jason Potter, purchased 286,097 shares of the company's common stock last Thursday, March 19. The price was $5.90 per share, for a total outlay of just under $1.7 million. The buy-in more than doubled his stake; it now stands at 574,366 shares.
Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue »
Image source: Getty Images.
Potter's move comes less than three weeks after Grocery Outlet published an earnings report that disappointed investors. Although its fiscal fourth quarter of 2025 saw the retailer grow net sales by almost 11% year-over-year (to $1.22 billion), much of that rise had to do with an extra week in that quarter compared to the year-ago period.
Comparable sales, a closely watched metric in the retail world, seemed more revealing. They fell by nearly 1% in the reported quarter. Meanwhile, despite a 29% rise in net income not under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) to $18.7 million, that line item came in under the consensus analyst estimate.
Strong buy... according to the CEO
Potter's bold move sent a strong enough signal to the market that he believes in the company's future. It also served as a reminder that those quarterly results weren't as disastrous as the market's initial reaction might have suggested.
Still, with a "business optimization plan" in place that includes 36 store closures, this doesn't feel like a company about to bounce into glorious success. I feel it's best to wait for signs of progress on that initiative before deciding whether to buy into Grocery Outlet as eagerly as its boss.
Should you buy stock in Grocery Outlet right now?
Before you buy stock in Grocery Outlet, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Grocery Outlet wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $495,179!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,058,743!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 898% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 183% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
*Stock Advisor returns as of March 23, 2026.
Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
