Publix caps year of new territory with sound Q4 results

Publix’s sales for fourth quarter 2022 were $15.3 billion, a 22% increase from $12.6 billion in fourth quarter 2021. An additional week in the fourth quarter of 2022 increased sales by 8.1%. Comparable store sales in the final 2022 quarter increased 12.4%, while net earnings were $1.3 billion, compared to $1.1 billion in fourth quarter 2021, an increase of 21.6%. Excluding the impact of net unrealized losses on equity securities in 2022 and net unrealized gains on equity securities in 2021, net earnings in fourth quarter 2022 would have been $1.3 billion, compared to $960 million in 2021, an increase of 34.7%.

Publix’s sales for FY 2022 were $54.5 billion, a 13.6% increase from $48 billion in 2021. The additional week in 2022 increased sales by 2.1%. Comparable store sales for FY 2022 increased 9.9%.

Net earnings for FY 2022 were $2.9 billion, compared to $4.4 billion in 2021, a decrease of 33.9%. Excluding the impact of net unrealized losses on equity securities in 2022 and net unrealized gains on equity securities in 2021, net earnings for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2022 would have been $4 billion, compared to $3.6 billion in 2021, an increase of 12.7%.

These amounts are based on audited financial statements that will be filed March 2 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and made available on the company’s website at corporate.publix.com/stock.

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“I’m proud of our operating results and pleased with our stock price increase,” said Publix CEO Todd Jones. “I want to thank our associates for continuing to deliver premier customer service.”

In June 2022, Publix broke new ground with its first store location in Kentucky. The 55,701-square-foot Publix supermarket at 2500 Terra Crossing Blvd. in the Terra Crossing Shopping Center in Louisville, Ky., is expected to be completed in the 2023 fourth quarter. The store will bring the Lakeland, Fla.-based grocer into its eighth state. Publix noted that the first Louisville store also will house a drive-thru pharmacy and have an adjacent 3,200-square-foot Publix Liquors outlet — the first outside Florida — that will sell beer, wine and spirits.

“It’s an exciting day for Publix Super Markets as we break ground in our eighth state,” Publix CEO Todd Jones said in a statement. “When our founder, George Jenkins, opened the first Publix store, he wanted to create a better grocery store — one that kept associates and customers top of mind. More than 90 years later, we’ve kept true to our values, including supporting the communities in which we live and work. We look forward to sharing the Publix difference with Kentuckians.” 

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In addition, Publix signed a lease for another Kentucky store in the city of Lexington. The 55,701-square-foot supermarket will be located at the northwest corner of Man O’ War Boulevard and Harrodsburg Road in the Fountains at Palomar, a mixed-used development expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2024. The Publix store also will feature a drive-thru pharmacy and a neighboring 3,200-square-foot Publix Liquors outlet.

Publix, too, had announced plans for a second Louisville store. Situated at the northeast corner of Ballardsville and Brownsboro roads, the 55,701-square-foot supermarket is slated to go into operation in the 2024 first quarter and, like the other Kentucky locations, include a drive-thru Publix Pharmacy and an adjacent, 3,200-square-foot Publix Liquors.