Publix turns in 7.6% comp-sales gain for third quarter

Publix Super Markets kept up its strong sales growth pace in the fiscal 2022 third quarter but again saw instability in the stock market impact its bottom line.

For the quarter ended Sept. 24, net sales surged 9.2% to $13 billion from $11.9 billion in the 2021 third quarter, when sales climbed 7.8%, Publix reported Tuesday. The Lakeland, Fla.-based supermarket chain also saw sequential growth in Q3, as net sales edged up 0.8% from $12.9 billion in the 2022 second quarter.

Momentum in comparable-store sales continued as well. Third-quarter comp sales rose 7.6%, building on 6.3% growth a year ago and coming in line with a 7.8% gain in the 2022 second quarter.

In the year to date, Publix’s total sales came in at $39.2 billion, up 10.7% from $35.4 billion in the prior-year period, when the company posted a 5.2% increase. Comp sales for the nine months gained 9%, topping a 3.6% uptick in the year-ago span

As in the first two quarters of the fiscal year, investments pushed down Publix’s earnings results for the 2022 third quarter, impacting the company’s stock price. As of Nov. 1, the share price stood at $13.19, down from $13.84 on Aug. 1, when the retailer reported Q2 results.

Publix enacted a 5-for-1 stock split in mid-April, which adjusted the company’s 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.

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“Unfortunately, the stock market continues to be a challenge, but I could not be more proud of Publix’s response to Hurricane Ian,” Publix CEO Todd Jones said in a statement. “Our associates’ efforts to serve our customers, our communities and each other during this difficult time have been amazing.”

On the earnings side, third-quarter 2022 net income totaled $394.1 million, or 12 cents per share, down from $856.9 million, or 25 cents per share, a year ago. Excluding the impact of net unrealized gains on equity securities, net earnings would have been $808.9 million, or 24 cents per share, versus $802.5 million, or 23 cents per share, a year earlier, adjusted for the effect of the stock split, according to Publix.

The grocer reported nine-month net income of $1.6 billion, or 48 cents per share, compared with $3.4 billion, or 97 cents per share, in the 2021 period. Backing out net unrealized gains on equity securities, net earnings would have been $2.8 billion, or 81 cents per share, versus $2.6 billion, or 76 cents per share, in the prior-year period, adjusted for the stock split, the company said.

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Publix ended the 2022 third quarter with 1,308 stores in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia, up from 1,284 a year earlier.