Whole Foods Sales Soar in Q4

Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods Market—and its subsequent move to lower prices concurrent with its takeover—appears to have put a jolt into the company’s sales.

A financial report filed by Whole Foods with the Securities and Exchange Commission—the company’s final such report now that it’s a part of the larger Amazon—indicates sales jumped by 4.4% in its fiscal fourth quarter. The period, which ended Sept. 24, included nearly a month of Whole Foods’ results following its acquisition.

The gain represented Whole Foods’ largest quarterly sales gain since the third quarter of 2015 and a sizeable sequential gain from the 0.6% sales gain in the third quarter.

Though it cannot be precisely determined how much of the sales were influenced by Amazon, Whole Foods’ new Seattle-based parent’s announcement to lower everyday prices on a variety of items at the deal closing captured widespread attention and by some measures increased traffic to Whole Foods stores by 17%.

For the fiscal year, Whole Foods said sales of $16 billion increased by 2%—ahead of the company’s most recent revision to its annual sales guidance of 1% to 1.5% growth for the year, issued in February. Comparable-store sales for the year of -1.5% also outperformed Whole Foods’ February estimates that comps would fall by as much as 2.5% for the year.