Whole Foods Market Hits Estimates in Solid Quarter

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Whole Foods Market (NAS: WFM) reported earnings on Feb. 13. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Jan. 20 (Q1), Whole Foods Market met expectations on revenues and met expectations on earnings per share.

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


Margins increased across the board.

Revenue details
 Whole Foods Market booked revenue of $3.86 billion. The 22 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected revenue of $3.87 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 14% higher than the prior-year quarter's $3.39 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 $0.78. The 25 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ anticipated $0.77 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.78 for Q1 were 20% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.65 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 35.0%, 30 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 6.2%, 50 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 3.8%, 30 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $3.05 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.74.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $13.13 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 4,436 members out of 5,000 rating the stock outperform, and 564 members rating it underperform. Among 1,512 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 1,414 give Whole Foods Market a green thumbs-up, and 98 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 $103.71.

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The article Whole Foods Market Hits Estimates in Solid Quarter 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 recommends Whole Foods Market. The Motley Fool owns shares of 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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