Kroger reports earnings Friday morning. The grocery chain is having a relatively strong run on Wall Street lately. Its stock is up 35 percent in the last year, even as the broader market is lower. In the ultra-competitive market for grocery shoppers, Kroger has figured out how to get us to buy more stuff.

“Its strong financial performance has just defied or bucked every trend in this business,” says Meg Major of Progressive Grocer.

Analysts point to the company’s ability to use data to predict what shoppers want and investments in staff to provide better service. Its latest weapon: the biggest Kroger in history. A new Ohio store that opened this week will employ nearly 500 people, around the size of an Army battalion.