WFM

Surveying the Retail Landscape: Dollar General, Kroger, and Costco

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On Thursday, Dollar General (DG), Kroger (KR) and Costco (COST) reported quarterly results. Dollar General’s third-quarter report showed same-store sales advancing 4.4%, which propelled total sales 10.5% higher during its third quarter (ending November 1). Kroger’s third-quarter report showed 3.5% identical supermarket sales growth, without fuel, during the period ending November 9, while Costco’s fiscal first-quarter results (ending December 1) revealed same-store sales expansion of 3% during the quarter. Dollar General’s quarterly performance not only bested that of Kroger and Costco, but it also stood head-and-shoulders above that of Wal-Mart (WMT), which reported a comparable store sales decline in Walmart US and only a 1.1% increase at Sam’s club, and Target’s (TGT) third-quarter performance, where US comparable store sales advanced only … Read more

Surveying 3Q Performance Across the Retail Spectrum

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Sears There’s not much to say about Sears’ (SHLD) operational performance during its third quarter (results issued Thursday), except that it was atrocious. The firm lost more money in the most recently-reported quarter ($534 million) than it did through the first nine months of last fiscal year ($441 million). CEO Eddie Lampert has his hands full with the company’s multi-year transformation, but we think investors are hanging on to shares largely on hopes the firm will be able to monetize its real-estate portfolio in the future. Image Source: Sears But it seems that (lately) too many investors have been buying into this line of thinking, and the ‘real estate’ thesis continues to proliferate among investor psyches, particularly (now) with J.C. … Read more

Whole Foods’ Fiscal 2014 Outlook Disappoints

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Natural and organic foods grocer Whole Foods (WFM) reported lower-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results Wednesday. Total sales advanced 2% from the 13-week period last year and 10.8% on a comparative 12-week basis, but comparable store sales growth of 5.9% during the quarter came in below our estimates. The firm’s ‘two-year comps’ trend (shown in table below) has slowed from the previous sequential three quarters, and it looks as though the slowdown has continued into the first quarter of fiscal 2014. Image Sorce: Whole Foods The firm’s gross profit increased 37 basis points to 35.6% of sales in the quarter, and store contribution improved 43 basis points, to 10.3% of sales. Diluted earnings per share advanced 7% from the fourth quarter last … Read more

Kroger: The Model for Competing with Wal-Mart and Target?

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Thursday morning, grocery giant Kroger (click ticker for report: ) reported strong second quarter results, proving it is possible for a traditional retailer to do battle with Wal-Mart (click ticker for report: ) and Target (click ticker for report: ). Revenue increased 4.6% year-over-year to $22.7 billion, modestly exceeding consensus estimates. Earnings per share jumped 18% year-over-year to $0.60, a penny above consensus expectations. Free cash flow year-to-date was solid at $1.5 billion, equal to 2.9% of revenue. Source: Company Filings As one can see from the chart shown above, Kroger has dramatically outperformed Safeway (click ticker for report: ) during the past two years as competition from the likes of Wal-Mart, Target, and Meijer has intensified. Kroger’s same-store sales … Read more

Whole Foods Remains the Best Grocer

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Last week, organic grocery store chain Whole Foods (click ticker for report: ) reported wonderful third quarter results, again outperforming its peers. Revenue surged 12% year-over-year to $3.1 billion, in-line with consensus estimates. Earnings per share rose 20% year-over-year to $0.38, also in-line with consensus expectations. Free cash flow totaled $115 million, equal to 4% of sales. How Did Whole Foods’ Peers Do? The grocery business certainly is not a bull market. Competitor SuperValu (click ticker for report: ) reported weak results for its fiscal year 2014 first quarter. Revenue from continuing operations declined 1.5% year-over-year to $5.2 billion, as retail food same-store sales declined 3% year-over-year while Save-A-Lot same-store sales declined 1.5% year-over-year. Continuing operations also posted a loss … Read more

Amazon’s Expansion Knows No Bounds

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On Tuesday, we received a variety of information about Amazon’s (click ticker for report: ) expansion into different product lines. The company is looking to expand its AmazonFresh same-day grocery delivery service and could enter as many as 40 markets this year. Additionally, the firm entered into the highest streaming content contract ever, purchasing the rights to stream over 4,000 episodes of Viacom (click ticker for report: ) TV shows. Let’s dig into the details. AmazonFresh For years, people have speculated that the end-game for Amazon was to build so many warehouses that it could effectively offer same-day shipping on any product and compete with brick-and-mortar shops on the basis of time. Thus, the expansion of AmazonFresh comes as little … Read more

Whole Foods’ Stellar Growth Continues

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Health-focused grocery store chain Whole Foods (click ticker for report: ) posted a strong second quarter. Sales growth remained robust, as the firm grew sales 13% year-over-year to $3 billion, roughly in-line with consensus expectations. Earnings per share rose 19% year-over-year to $0.76 per share, modestly exceeding consensus estimates. Free cash flow remained relatively strong at $326 million year-to-date, marginally higher than the $303 million the firm generated during the same time period in the prior year. New store growth remains solid, as Whole Foods added 6 new locations during the year. With just 349 stores in the US, we think the firm remains a long way from its market potential of well over 1,000 domestically. In fact, same-store sales … Read more

Roundy’s: A Cheap Stock in a Terrible Industry

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After going public in early 2012, we profiled Midwestern grocery chain Roundy’s (click ticker for report: ). Earnings momentum has moved materially against the company, and as we predicted, the firm had to slash its enormous dividend payout. In a typical post-IPO period, management was optimistic about future prospects, and competition in the firm’s core Wisconsin market looked weak at best. What CEO Bob Mariano didn’t see coming was that Wal-Mart (click ticker for report: ) would enter Wisconsin in a big way, Woodman’s would keep growing, and Roundy’s-owned Copps would be thrown into a major price war, crushing same-store sales and margins. Our initial thesis included a stable, or even slightly declining core business, but not the 3.6% decline … Read more

Search Dividend Reports by Company Name: Q to Z

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Going forward, please use the ‘Symbol’ search box to download stock and dividend reports of companies you are interested in. The ‘Symbol’ search box can be found in our website header. Image shown from above. Use the active search box in the website header above. Learn more about your membership >>  Note: We have now discontinued this list. Please use the ‘Symbol’ search box in the website header for stock and dividend reports. Please read about our Valuentum Dividend Cushion score (ratio) here. Just having access to this valuable metric alone could save your income portfolio thousands of dollars! The past meets the future as we showcase the Valuentum Dividend Cushion scores of Dividend Aristocrats in this article (click here). The dividend reports below … Read more

Strong Growth Continues at Whole Foods Market

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Whole Foods Market (click ticker for report: WFM) continues to stand out among grocers, reporting yet another stellar quarter. During its fiscal year 2012 third quarter, the grocery store chain, known for its healthier product offerings, saw same-store sales increase 8.2% in spite of the Easter and 4th of July shift. Total sales surged nearly 14% compared to the same period a year ago to $2.7 billion, which was in-line with expectations. Earnings per share grew 26% year-over-year to $0.63, which was slightly more than the Street expected. As a result of strong earnings growth, the firm generated $401.3 million in free cash flow during its third quarter. This is quite different from its older competitors—namely SuperValu (click ticker for … Read more