Why Sprouts Farmers Market Stock Surged This Past Week
Shares of Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ: SFM) popped 14% last week, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, after the grocery chain announced healthy growth in sales and profits.
Sprouts' net sales rose 5% year over year to $1.6 billion in its fiscal third quarter ended Oct. 2. New store openings and higher sales at existing locations drove the gains. Sprouts opened one new store during the quarter, bringing its total count to 379 locations across 23 states as of Oct. 2. That's up from 366 stores at the end of the third quarter of 2021. The company's comparable store sales, meanwhile, increased by 2.4%.
Notably, Sprouts' e-commerce sales jumped 19%, accounting for over 11% of its total sales. The company's profitability also continued to improve. Its gross margin increased 90 basis points (one basis point equals 0.01%) to 36.7% due, in part, to less promotional activity. All told, Sprouts' earnings per share, which were boosted by stock repurchases, climbed 9% to $0.61.
Source Fool.com
