Publix Reports Higher Q2 Comps, Earnings

For its second quarter ended June 29, Publix Super Markets has posted sales of $9.3 billion, up 6.8 percent from the $8.8 billion the grocer posted for the year-ago period. Publix’s comparable-store sales for the Q2 2019 quarter increased 4.8 percent. The company estimates the sales increase from last year was 1.2 percent higher because of the effect of the Easter holiday occurring in the second quarter in 2019 and in the first quarter in 2018.

Publix’s net earnings for the quarter ended June 29 were $661.1 million, versus $616.2 million last year, a 7.3 percent increase. The company’s earnings per share for the three months ended June 29 rose to 92 cents per share, up from 84 cents per share for the year-ago period. Excluding the adverse effect of net unrealized gains on equity securities in 2019 and 2018, Publix’s net earnings for the quarter ended June 29 would have been $637 million, compared with $571 million last year, an increase of 11.6 percent, and earnings per share would have been 89 cents per share, versus 78 cents per share in 2018, according to the company.

For the six months ended June 29, Publix’s sales were $19 billion, a 5.5 percent uptick from the $18 billion posted last year. The grocer’s comps for the six-month period rose 3.3 percent.

Publix’s net earnings for the six months ended June 29 came to $1.6 billion, versus $1.3 billion for the year-ago period, an increase of 26.7 percent. Earnings per share for the six-month period increased to $2.29, up from $1.77 per share last year. Again excluding the impact of net unrealized gains on equity securities in 2019 and 2018, net earnings for the six months ended June 29 would have been $1.4 billion, versus $1.3 billion in 2018, an 8.1 percent rise, and earnings per share would have been $1.92 per share, up from $1.74 per share in 2018, the company noted.

The amounts above are based on unaudited financial statements that the grocer filed Aug. 1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

As of Aug. 1, Publix’s stock price declined from $44.75 per share to $44.10 per share. The company’s stock is not publicly traded and is sold only to current associates and members of the board of directors.

“I’m pleased that our Publix associates delivered good operating results,” said Todd Jones, CEO of the Lakeland, Fla.-based grocer. “We continue to provide premier service to help offset the challenges in the stock market.”

Privately owned and operated by its more than 200,000 employees, Publix has 1,222 stores in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia. The company is No. 5 on Progressive Grocer’s 2019 Super 50 list of the top grocers in the United States.