Big day for the retail sector! Natural grocer Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:$WFM) was scheduled to report their third quarter results after today’s closing bell, but after a J.P. Morgan Securities LLC analyst released parts of the company’s earnings numbers in a research note, WFM decided to release its full earnings.
Quick Summary:
- Earnings Per Share: 36 cents adjusted versus 33 cents expected, according to Thomson Reuters
- Revenue: $3.73 billion versus $3.72 billion, according to Thomson Reuters
- United States same-store sales: down 1.9% versus down 2.2% expected, according to StreetAccount
On July 26, Whole Foods released their results for the 12-week third quarter, which ended on July 2, 2017. For the quarter, total sales jumped 0.6% to a record $3.7 billion, and same-store sales dropped 1.9%, which is a narrower than expected decline. Wall Street believed that Whole Foods same-store sales would drop 2.2% in the quarter, according to StreetAccount.
“Our comparable store sales improved sequentially on a one- and two- year basis in the third quarter, and that momentum has accelerated 220 basis points in the fourth quarter, resulting in positive overall comps for the first three weeks,” CEO John Mackey said in a statement.
Net income in the third quarter dropped to $106 million (33 cents per share) from $120 million (37 cents a share) a year ago. However, on an adjusted basis, the Texas-based company earned 36 cents per share, which beat the 33 cents per share projected by a Thomson Reuters survey.
In addition, Whole Foods beat Wall Street’s estimates of $3.72 billion in revenue. For the third quarter, revenue hit $3.73 billion.
Last but not least, in the report, Whole Foods did not make any changes to its outlook due to the acquisition bid from Amazon (NASDAQ:$AMZN). They also won’t be holding an earnings conference call. Both companies predict that the deal will close in the second half of 2017.
In Wednesday’s trading, Whole Foods shares are up 0.2% and up 36% for the year to date.
Featured Image: twitter
