Whole Foods Looks Awful Right Now

[Wingnut]

Whole Foods Market  (WFM) shares fell as much as 4% but rebounded slightly in after-hours trading Wednesday after the struggling grocer reported disappointing first quarter earnings and lowered its 2017 guidance.

Revenues increased 1.9% year-over-year to $4.92 billion, while same-store sales fell 2.4%. Analysts expected Whole Foods to report revenues of about $4.98 billion, according to FactSet. Earnings per share of 30 cents fell short of the expected 39 cents.

Whole Foods also absorbed a non-cash charge of $34 million, or 6 cents a share, related to store closures, and an additional charge of $13 million, or 3 cents a share, as part of former co-CEO Walter Robb's departure in November. Excluding these charges, Whole Foods' earnings would have been 39 cents a share, in line with consensus estimates. The store closures will cause an additional $30 million, or 6 cents a share, in the second quarter.

Shares traded down about 50 cents to $28.75 in after-hours trading after ending Wednesday up 32 cents, or 1%.

https://www.thestreet.com/story/13995425/1/whole-foods-sinks-as-store-closures-weigh-on-first-quarter-earnings.html

[geronl]

Earnings per share of 30 cents fell short of the expected 39 cents

That's a huge shortfall

[truth_seeker]

For 40 years that I can recall, American business was criticized for the emphasis on short term profits.

Yet this article deals ONLY with one fiscal quarter, comparing actual to somebody's forecast, aka "guidance."

Guidance is the new term, for figures about which the article makes no mention of who, how, etc.

This in the age of Boards made up of gender and race selected Directors. Soon boards may feel pressure to appoint gender ambiguous members, to sit alongside those appointed for their race/ethnicities, etc.

Is "guidance" the latest estimate by the company? Is it the latest estimate by stock analysts?

Why don't they just state facts like these?

[Frank Cannon]

William Blair analyst Ryan Domyancic noted last month that natural and organic foods are more widely available at conventional grocery stores,

Yeah, and the grocery store doesn't sell rotten overpriced garbage like my local Whole Foods either.

[truth_seeker]

William Blair analyst Ryan Domyancic noted last month that natural and organic foods are more widely available at conventional grocery stores,

Yeah, and the grocery store doesn't sell rotten overpriced garbage like my local Whole Foods either.

My area has very many food stores.

--National/regional conventional supermarkets, Albertsons, Vons, Stater Bros., Ralphs, etc.

--Trader Joe's

--Aldi (new, expanding)

--Sprouts, Whole Foods, "health foods/natural" specialty outlets

--Walmart/Sam's Club & Costo Co. (big box discounter)

--Luxury expensive grocers like Gelson's (regional)

--Food is also available in chain drug stores (CVS, Walgreen) and Big Lots

--Ethnic stores, like Italian, Asian, Hispanic grocers

[Frank Cannon]

My area has very many food stores.

--National/regional conventional supermarkets, Albertsons, Vons, Stater Bros., Ralphs, etc.

--Trader Joe's

--Aldi (new, expanding)

--Sprouts, Whole Foods, "health foods/natural" specialty outlets

--Walmart/Sam's Club & Costo Co. (big box discounter)

--Luxury expensive grocers like Gelson's (regional)

--Food is also available in chain drug stores (CVS, Walgreen) and Big Lots

--Ethnic stores, like Italian, Asian, Hispanic grocers

In my area Aldi is a ghetto store where you can buy cheap name brand stuff that's about a week past it's sell by. You also have to put a quarter in the shopping carts to use them. They're a punch line around here.

[mountaineer]

You do know that you get the quarter back after you return the shopping cart at Aldi, don't you? The Aldis I patronize occasionally are very nice, clean and have good quality items at a very good price. I live near a very small town, so I do most of my shopping at the closest grocery store, which is Kroger.

I visit Pittsburgh every few weeks and have heard that a Whole Foods just opened in one of the more prosperous suburbs there. It's less than a mile from the Trader Joe's that opened a few years ago. I'll check it out in a few weeks. I've visited the TJ's in that area and gotten a few items, but their produce never looked great and was way more expensive than Kroger.