DOJ Adds Walmart, Costco, Amazon to Beef Price Probe

The Justice Department has added eight major grocery chains to its beef affordability investigation.

The announcement came on Sept. 1 in a post from the department’s official X account. Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward sent the retailers the letters concerning recent increases in the retail price of beef.

The list includes Kroger, Publix, Walmart, Albertsons, Aldi, Ahold Delhaize USA, Costco, and Amazon.

The post states that the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division “has expanded its investigation to include 8 of the largest grocers when it comes to beef affordability.”

“Beef prices are a critical concern to Americans, and a priority for this Justice Department,” it reads.

Nothing more was released about what the letters demand or when answers are due.

President Donald Trump ordered the Justice Department to probe the packers in November 2025, pointing to possible collusion and price manipulation. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in May that the department had already analyzed more than 3 million documents. Ranchers, cattlemen, producers, and processors all received calls or were interviewed.

Beef prices at the checkout have hit consumer pocketbooks. Ground beef sat near $7 per pound in the second quarter of this year. That was up by about 70 percent since early 2021. Overall retail beef prices hit new records earlier in 2026.

The cattle herd itself is the smallest in decades amid drought, feed costs, and other pressures thinning the numbers. Ranchers’ cut of every retail dollar has fallen to historic lows, while the big processors posted strong profits.

Earlier this year, the department settled with Agri Stats, a data firm that shared detailed pricing and production numbers among the big processors. Officials said the practice cut competition and helped processors identify opportunities to push prices higher on chicken, pork, and turkey.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has repeatedly pointed to the tight hold the four packers have on the market. The administration has tried other moves as well—opening more land for grazing, adjusting import quotas on lean trimmings for ground beef, and pushing programs to rebuild cattle herds nationally.