AUSTIN, Texas -- Austin-based Whole Foods Market reported record revenue and beat several Wall Street forecasts with its first-quarter earnings report Wednesday.
Whole Foods said revenue was $4.83 billion and earnings per share was 46 cents.
Thomson Reuters analysts had projected $4.81 billion in revenue and earnings per share of 40 cents.
In the same quarter last year, Whole Foods posted revenue of $4.67 billion with earnings per share of 46 cents.
Ahead of Wednesday's report, shares in Whole Foods closed down 19 cents, or less than 1 percent, to $28.87. The stock rose about 5 percent in after-hours trading.
Same-store sales fell 1.8 percent. Analysts had projected same-store sales to fall 2.1 percent, according to a survey by FactSet Research Systems Inc.
Same-store sales growth is a key metric in the grocery industry.
Whole Foods is coming off a challenging 2015 in which the organic foods giant saw its stock fall more than 40 percent. John Mackey, the co-founder and co-chief executive officer, has said this year will be different under a new game plan.
In the past several quarters, Whole Foods has been met with a hostile Wall Street reaction as it has missed expectations in earnings reports.
During its earnings call in November, the company laid out a new nine-point plan, which included reducing its workforce and expenses and evolving the brand while also getting "back to basics."
Whole Foods has said it would cut $300 million in expenses by 2017 as part of the plan. Other parts of the new strategy include raising awareness and marketing of Whole Foods' in-house brand, lowering prices and slowing growth.
After years as the organic foods leader, Whole Foods has seen traditional supermarkets and online retailers chip away at its market share.
The company has 91,000 workers in 436 stores worldwide.
Whole Foods said that later this year, it will begin opening its smaller 365 by Whole Foods Market stores.
Overall, Whole Foods has said, it will slow its aggressive store growth seen in recent years. However, the company says that with its 365 store format in the pipeline, it still sees a potential for 1,200 U.S. locations of both brands.
In the first quarter, the retailer opened three new stores, and it has added another two stores in the second quarter. It plans to add six additional stores in the second quarter.
Whole Foods recently signed a Whole Foods Market store lease for a 40,000-square-foot San Diego location and five leases for the 365 store brand, at an average of 30,000 square feet each.
Business on 02/11/2016