Third-quarter sales climb at Publix, but the stock market remains a 'challenge'

Sales at Publix rose 9.2%, to $13 billion, during the third quarter, but the stock market remained a challenge for the employee-owned grocer, the company announced Tuesday.

Publix reported an uptick in net sales for the period ended Sept. 24, with a 7.6% increase in comparable-store sales for the Lakeland, Florida-based retailer.

Net earnings took a big dip, slipping to $394.1 million—down 54% versus the year-ago period of $856.9 million—and earnings per share decreased to 12 cents per share from 25 cents per share, adjusted for the effect of the 5-for-1 stock split that occurred on April 14, Publix said in a statement.

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 third quarter would have been $808.9 million, compared to $802.5 million in 2021, an increase of 0.8%, the grocer reported. Earnings per share would have been $0.24 per share, compared to $0.23 per share in 2021, adjusted for the effect of the stock split, Publix said in a statement.

Effective Tuesday, Publix’s stock price decreased from $13.84 per share to $13.19 per share. The stock is only available to current employees and members of the privately held company's board of directors.

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

Net earnings for the nine months ended Sept. 24 landed at $1.6 billion—compared to $3.4 billion in 2021—a decrease of 51.2%, the grocery retailer reported.

Earnings per share for the nine-month period dipped to 48 cents per share, down from 97 cents per share in 2021, adjusted for the effect of the stock split, Publix said.

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 nine months would have been $2.8 billion, compared to $2.6 billion in 2021, an increase of 4.7%, Publix reported. Earnings per share would have been 81 cents per share, compared to 76 cents per share in 2021, adjusted for the effect of the stock split, the grocer reported.

As one of the largest employee-owned grocers in the U.S., Publix employs more than 225,000 associates at its nearly 1,300 locations and is continuing its expansion in the Carolinas and Kentucky.