Grocery Outlet Reports Strong Second Quarter Earnings of More Than $20M

Emeryville, California-based Grocery Outlet, which recently opened its newest location in Idaho, reported on Tuesday second quarter earnings of $20.1 million—an increase of 2.3% compared to a year ago.

During its second quarter, Grocery Outlet opened seven new stores, ending the quarter with 425 stores in eight states: California, Washington, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Idaho, Nevada, New Jersey and Maryland. The company said it is looking to add 28 net new stores across all of its markets this year.

“Based on our comp trends and new store openings, we expect third-quarter net sales of approximately $875 million, and we are raising our fiscal 2022 sales guidance to between $3.46 billion and $3.48 billion,” said Charles Bracher, CFO of Grocery Outlet, during the earnings call.

A destination for bargain-seeking shoppers during these inflationary times, Grocery Outlet said second-quarter net sales totaled $897.7 million for the quarter ending July 2—up 15.7% from $775.5 million a year earlier.

Same-store sales increased by 11.2% and on a three-year stacked basis increased by 17.9%, Grocery Outlet reported.

Encouraged by the health of the grocery retailer’s supply pipeline, net income increased by 2.3% to $20.1 million, or 20 cents per diluted share, Grocery Outlet said.

“We are extremely pleased with our second quarter performance and the continued momentum in our business,” said Eric Lindberg, CEO of Grocery Outlet, in a statement. “Our mission of touching lives for the better has always been firmly rooted in providing customers access to affordable quality food at unbeatable savings. As consumers are faced with record levels of inflation, our business is well-positioned to help them stretch their budgets. I would like to thank our talented independent operators and team members for their tireless commitment to that mission."

Looking to continue its growth, Lindberg said during the earnings call that the company is making “progress on our new initiatives to expand customer reach and increase share of wallet including e-commerce, SKU expansion [and] development of our mobile app.” During the earnings call, company executives also mentioned exploring new ways to expand its famed treasure trove beyond the four walls of its stores.

"We delivered strong second quarter results, exceeding both our top- and bottom-line expectations, which is a testament to our value-oriented model and our hard-working team,” said Bracher in a statement. “Our increased full year outlook reflects solid first half performance, ongoing momentum in the current quarter, and continued reinvestments in our business in support of our long-term objectives."