Whole Foods (WFM) to Report Q3 Earnings: What to Expect? - Analyst Blog

Whole Foods Market, Inc. WFM is scheduled to release third-quarter fiscal 2015 results on Jul 29. The big question facing investors is, whether this retailer of natural and organic foods will be able to continue with its positive earnings surprise streak in the quarter to be reported.

The company’s past performance reveals that it has outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the trailing four quarters by an average of 4.8%. Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement.

Factors Influencing This Quarter

Whole Foods is gaining market share on account of national marketing and branding campaigns, and product launches. We believe that effective inventory management and improved store-level performance are helping the company to generate better sales. However, increasing competition and aggressive pricing may weigh on Whole Foods’ quarterly performance as more and more companies are entering as well as expanding their presence in the Organic & Natural food business.

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model does not conclusively show that Whole Foods is likely to beat earnings estimates this quarter. This is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1, 2 or 3 for this to happen. This is not the case here, as you will see below:

Zacks ESP: Whole Foods currently has an Earnings ESP of -2.22%. This is because the Most Accurate estimate stands at 44 cents, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at 45 cents.

Zacks Rank: Whole Foods carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). We caution against stocks with a Zacks Rank #4 and 5 (Sell-rated stocks) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions.

Stocks That Warrant a Look

Here are some companies you may want to consider as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements:

Dean Foods Company DF has an Earnings ESP of +3.85% and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Skechers USA Inc. SKX has an Earnings ESP of +2.02% and a Zacks Rank #1.

The Walt Disney Company DIS has an Earnings ESP of +2.16% and a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

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Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
 
WHOLE FOODS MKT (WFM): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
SKECHERS USA-A (SKX): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
DEAN FOODS CO (DF): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
DISNEY WALT (DIS): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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