-=Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM) reported earnings on Thur 2 Nov 2017 (b/o)

Sprouts Farmers Market beats by $0.05, beats on revs; raises FY17 guidance above consensus

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.23 per share, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.18; revenues rose 16.4% year/year to $1.21 bln vs the $1.18 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • Comparable store sales growth of 4.6%
  • Gross profit for the quarter increased 19% to $346 million
  • Direct store expense  for the quarter increased 15% to $250 million, or 20.7% of sales, compared to 20.9% in the same period in 2016.
  • Opened 8 new stores during quarter
• Co issuesupside guidance for FY17, sees EPS of $0.98-0.99 (prior $0.88-0.92) vs. $0.93 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY17 revs of $4.633-4.653 bln (prior $4.572-4.613 bln) vs. $4.62 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  • Increases comp sales growth to +2.5-3% (prior +1.5-2%)
  • Reaffirms guidance that co will open 32 new stores in 2017.