AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFM) on Wednesday reported fiscal first-quarter net income of $157 million.
On a per-share basis, the Austin, Texas-based company said it had net income of 46 cents.
The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 12 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 40 cents per share.
The grocery chain posted revenue of $4.83 billion in the period, which also beat Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $4.81 billion.
Whole Foods shares have dropped 14 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index has declined slightly more than 9 percent. In the final minutes of trading on Wednesday, shares hit $28.87, a decrease of 46 percent in the last 12 months.