I have never read an earnings release from Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFMI) prior to last night. I recommend those who have read plenty of them to read this one. The clarity and transparency is refreshing.In particular is the table which breaks down the age of stores, their comp growth rate and the return on invested capital. For example, for stores open for 11 years, Whole Foods stores show a same-store-sales growth rate of 3.8%, which is pretty good for a store open that long.
More impressive, however, is the ROIC for stores open eleven years is 77%.
Whole Foods' stock peaked at $78 in December 2005. It is now around $46, a big correction. Despite increased competition in the organic food space, Whole Foods has built a powerful brand name. In addition, its acquisition of Wild Oats was not a bad idea. Wild Oats has been restructuring the past few years and should not require too much work to integrate these stores.
It is time to do more work on Whole Foods. This looks to me like a good growth stock selling at a low valuation.
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