Whole Foods Market (WFMI) CEO John Mackey has been in the news so much this
quarter — including a nuanced, often harsh New Yorker profile — it’s hard to
remember that there’s a whole company steadily ringing up sales of natural body
products, organic food and assorted bags of junk in his shadow.
There is: Whole Foods reported earnings that fed analysts to bursting Tuesday,
with results for the fiscal first quarter 2010 exceeding expectations. Sales of
$2.6 billion soared 7% over the year-earlier quarter and earnings were $49.7
million or 32 cents per share, compared to analyst consensus of 26 cents per
share and 2009 earnings of 20 cents per share.
Fervor for the company is high and the stock is up over 200% in the past year.
By market close Tuesday WFMI was up another 77 cents to $30.52, and once
earnings were announced, extended-hours trading had the stock vaulting up $2.45
to $32.97. Whole Foods’ management was proud of the swing in today’s results
from those of the first 16 weeks of fiscal 2009, when the company was hit
unexpectedly with the full weight of the recession. After ordering gourmet
holiday perishables in grocery and fancy soaps and other luxuries in the Whole
Body department last year, the company was left with too much inventory and
spoilage amid plunging consumer traffic.
Photo Credit: Remi Thornton
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