Publix takes Q2 bottom-line hit despite 9.3% net sales gain

Publix Super Markets kept up robust sales growth in the fiscal 2022 second quarter but took a hit to the bottom line amid a volatile stock market.

In the second quarter ended June 25, sales totaled $12.9 billion, up 9.3% from $11.8 billion a year earlier, when the top line rose 3.9%, Publix said Monday. Same-store sales rose 7.8% year over year atop a 2.3% gain in the 2021 quarter.

Fiscal 2022 first-half sales for Publix came in at $26.2 billion, surging 11.4% from $23.5 billion a year ago, when the chain posted a 3.9% first-half increase. Comp-store sales for the six months climbed 9.7%, building on a 2.4% uptick in the 2021 half.

Publix started off strong in fiscal 2022, generating gains of 13.5% in net sales and 11.7% in comp-store sales for the first quarter.

The Lakeland, Fla.-based supermarket chain, however, noted that investments pulled down earnings results for the 2022 second quarter and, in turn, the company’s stock price. As of Aug. 1, the share price stood at $13.84, down from $14.91 on May 1, when the retailer reported Q1 results.

“Unfortunately, our results were not enough to offset challenges in the stock market,” Publix CEO Todd Jones said in a statement. “I continue to be proud of our associates for making shopping a pleasure at Publix.”

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Second-quarter net income was $628.4 million, or 18 cents per share, down from $1 billion in 2021, or 29 cents per share, in the 2021 quarter. Excluding the impact of net unrealized losses/gains on equity securities, net earnings for the quarter were $895.5 million, or 26 cents per share, versus $920.3 million, or 27 cents per share, a year ago.

Publix enacted a 5-for-1 stock split in mid-April, which adjusted the share price from $68.80 to $13.76 per share. An employee-owned company, Publix doesn’t publicly trade its shares, which are available for sale only to current Publix associates and board members.

For the six-month period, net income totaled $1.2 billion, or 37 cents per share, dropping from $2.5 billion, or 72 cents per share, in the 2021 first half. Backing out the net unrealized losses/gains on securities, net earnings were $1.9 billion, or 57 cents per share, versus $1.8 billion, or 53 cents per share, in the prior-year period.

Publix finished the 2022 second quarter with 1,298 stores in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia, up from 1,273 a year earlier.