Whole Foods Market Beats Up on Analysts Yet Again

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Whole Foods Market (NAS: WFM) reported earnings on May 2. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended April 8 (Q2), Whole Foods Market met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue expanded and GAAP earnings per share grew significantly.


Margins grew across the board.

Revenue details
Whole Foods Market reported revenue of $2.67 billion. The 19 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated revenue of $2.67 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 14% higher than the prior-year quarter's $2.35 billion.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.64. The 22 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.59 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.64 for Q2 were 25% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.51 per share.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 36.3%, 70 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 7.1%, 100 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 4.4%, 60 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $2.72 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.60.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $11.65 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.47.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 4,147 members out of 4,714 rating the stock outperform, and 567 members rating it underperform. Among 1,466 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 1,365 give Whole Foods Market a green thumbs-up, and 101 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Whole Foods Market is outperform, with an average price target of $87.18.

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At the time thisarticle was published Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio.The Motley Fool owns shares of Whole Foods Market. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Whole Foods Market. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days.

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