Hy-Vee Credit Rating & NNN Cap Rate (2026)

Hy-Vee Business Overview

Hy-Vee is a Midwestern supermarket chain founded in 1930, when Charles Hyde and David Vredenburg opened a small store in Beaconsfield, Iowa; the company name combines their names. It is headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa, and says it operates more than 550 retail locations across nine Midwestern states, with more than 75,000 employees and annual sales of more than $13 billion. Its locations include full-service supermarkets and other store formats.

How Hy-Vee Is Owned

Hy-Vee describes itself as employee-owned, but not through a single employee stock ownership plan covering every worker. According to the company, it is owned by direct stockholders (officers, district store directors and executive staff members) and by indirect stockholders: the more than 45,000 employees who participate in the Hy-Vee and Affiliates 401(k) Plan. Part of the company’s matching contribution to that plan goes to the Hy-Vee Stock Fund, which the company says is technically its largest shareholder. Employee ownership began in 1960, when the Employees’ Trust Fund was established; that fund was later reorganized into today’s profit sharing and 401(k) plan.

Hy-Vee Credit Profile

Our ratings database has no verified public credit rating for Hy-Vee from S&P, Moody’s or Fitch, so we do not treat it as investment grade in the ratings sense, and buyers or lenders that require a rated tenant may exclude it. As a private company it does not file financial statements with the SEC, so investors should ask for whatever financial information the seller or tenant can provide and rely on the lease guarantee, store performance and real estate as well as the brand. Its long operating history and size are positives, but they are not a substitute for a rating. Check ratings for comparable grocers in the tenant ratings database.

Source: No agency rating has been verified against a primary source. Ratings checked October 8, 2026.

Hy-Vee NNN Cap Rates

Live asking cap rates for Hy-Vee and other grocery tenants:

Active listings InvestmentGrade.com tracks with an asking cap rate (stated in the listing, or computed from its stated income and price when no rate is stated), listings last observed October 12, 2026. Asking cap rates are not closed-sale cap rates. The middle half is the range from the 25th to the 75th percentile of listings. The 10-year Treasury yield is 5.24% as of October 1, 2026 (FRED series DGS10). Ratings are the agency ratings in our ratings database for the entity shown, which may be a parent company; the rating type (for example issuer, senior unsecured debt, long-term debt or revenue bond ratings) varies by company and is shown on each tenant page. A rating applies to a lease only if the rated entity signs or guarantees it, so confirm the tenant and any guarantor in the lease. n/a means no verified rating is on file. Not shown because fewer than 3 active listings with a published cap rate were observed: Hy-Vee, Meijer, Publix.

The listings we track do not currently show a Hy-Vee median. Compare a Hy-Vee property with recent Hy-Vee sales and with listings for other grocers, keeping in mind that full-service supermarkets are large, higher-priced assets and that ground leases and building leases should be compared separately.

What to Check in a Hy-Vee Lease

• Tenant and guarantor: confirm that Hy-Vee, Inc. or a subsidiary signs the lease, and whether Hy-Vee, Inc. guarantees it.
• Ground lease or building lease: who owns the improvements and who pays for roof, structure and parking.
• Term and rent: remaining term, renewal options and the timing and size of rent increases, which vary by lease.
• Store performance: sales information if the seller can provide it, and competition from other grocers nearby.
• Re-use: large supermarket buildings can have fewer replacement tenants than smaller boxes; consider the site, access and whether the building could be divided.

Pros and Cons

Sources: Hy-Vee company overview and company history pages (hy-vee.com), accessed October 2026.