Whole Foods 4Q profit tumbles, sales fall short of Street
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Whole Foods Market Inc. on Wednesday reported that its latest quarterly profit fell by more than half, as the grocer faces intense competition, with organic foods becoming more widely available.
The earnings included $80 million in charges for restructuring and asset impairment costs, which analysts sometimes exclude in their predictions.
The average estimate of 14 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 35 cents per share.
Whole Foods also announced plans to return more money to shareholders.