Whole Foods Market Beats Analyst Estimates on EPS

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Whole Foods Market (NAS: WFM) reported earnings on Nov. 7. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Sep. 30 (Q4), Whole Foods Market met expectations on revenues and beat slightly on earnings per share.

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


Margins expanded across the board.

Revenue details
 Whole Foods Market recorded revenue of $2.91 billion. The 24 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected to see a top line of $2.90 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 24% higher than the prior-year quarter's $2.35 billion.

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 $0.60. The 26 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.59 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.60 for Q4 were 43% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.42 per share.

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 35.3%, 80 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 6.1%, 100 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 3.9%, 70 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $3.88 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.78.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $13.16 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.90.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 4,304 members out of 4,870 rating the stock outperform, and 566 members rating it underperform. Among 1,487 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 1,384 give Whole Foods Market a green thumbs-up, and 103 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 $103.65.

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The article Whole Foods Market Beats Analyst Estimates on EPS originally appeared on Fool.com.

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 recommend Whole Foods Market. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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