High-Stakes Food Fight

Get ready for another big week of earnings. On Wednesday, you have Krispy Kreme (NYSE: KKD  ) , CMS Energy (NYSE: CMS  ) , and Comverse Technology (Nasdaq: CMVT  ) posting their financials. A day later, it will be Oracle's (Nasdaq: ORCL  ) turn to clue in the investing community.

On Friday, it's Apollo Group (Nasdaq: APOL  ) at the plate. The post-secondary educator has been on a tear in recent years as folks try to adapt to a changing workplace. The stock has been a nifty five-bagger since we recommended it in TMF Select (now Motley Fool Hidden Gems) nearly three years ago.

Yet, all this might pale in the presence of Kroger (NYSE: KR  ) and Albertson's (NYSE: ABS  ) when the two release their quarterly numbers on Tuesday. Along with Safeway (NYSE: SWY  ) , the three grocers were big news this year, most recently putting an end to a painful five-month strike in California.

Shares of all three have climbed over the past year, but there is no denying that the strike crimped earnings in the near term, while the longer-term ramifications of a muddied labor battle remain to be seen. Companies like Whole Foods Market (Nasdaq: WFMI  ) gained market share in the impacted areas, and it will be interesting to hear how Kroger and Albertson's have fared this month.

Supermarket stocks used to be dependable all-weather producers. Investors sacrificed profit margins in exchange for steady performance in good times and bad. However, as Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT  ) expands its grocery store offerings, and warehouse clubs like Costco (Nasdaq: COST  ) undercut traditional chains, it's become a challenging sector to navigate.

Kroger and Albertson's may have survived one battle, but the war wages on.

Can the traditional supermarket chain be saved? Where have you been doing your grocery shopping these days? What do natural food stores, warehouse clubs, and big-box discount department stores offer that the old-school players can't? More importantly, have you thought about what you're making for dinner tonight? All this and more -- in the Recipes discussion board. Only on Fool.com.

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz enjoys food. How else do you think he became TMF Edible? He does not own shares in any companies mentioned in this story.