Lakeland-based Publix Super Markets Inc. announced on May 1 that its first-quarter sales were $15.8 billion, which represents a 5.1% increase compared with the same period last year when sales had reached $15.1 billion, the grocer said.
The sales numbers for comparable stores for the three months ended March 29 also increased by 4%, Publix said.
The company estimates the increase in sales for the three months ended March 29 compared with a year ago was 1% lower because of the effect of the Easter holiday falling within the second quarter in 2025 and in the first quarter in 2024.
Net earnings for the three months ended March 29 were $1 billion, compared with $1.4 billion in 2024, a decrease of 26%.
Earnings per share for the three months ended March 29 decreased to $0.31 per share, down from $0.41 per share in 2024.
Excluding the impact of net unrealized losses on equity securities in 2025 and net unrealized gains on equity securities in 2024, net earnings for the three months ended March 29 would have been $1.2 billion, compared with $1.1 billion in 2024, an increase of 9.3%.
“The earnings for Q1 were down from last year’s Q1 because of the downturn in the U.S. stock market,” according to Jennifer Wu Tucker, an accounting professor at the University of Florida.
“The company recorded an unrealized gain (because the stock market went up substantially in the first quarter of 2024) of $387 million for Q1 of 2024 but an unrealized loss of $223 million for Q1 of 2025 because of the stock market swing,” she said.
“This change due to the holdings of the company’s investments in other companies’ stocks (equity securities) is $610 million, accounting for about 60% of 2025 Q1’s net earnings ($1,011),” Wu Tucker said..
“This effect would be temporary if the U.S. stock market recovers and would be permanent otherwise,” she said.
The above information is from the non-GAAP financial measures section of the Publix press release. GAAP earnings of $1,011 is the official earnings number; Non-GAAP earnings of $1,177 is the unofficial number that the company believes is useful to outsiders.
Further, Publix continued to increase the quarterly dividend per share from $0.1075 last year to $0.1105 in the first quarter of 2025, suggesting that the grocer does not consider the above effect permanent or affecting the core of its business, she said.
The company also said in its “non-GAAP financial measures” that the stock market swing was temporary and should not affect its core business.
Earnings per share for the three months ended March 29 would have been $0.36 per share, compared with $0.33 per share in 2024.
These amounts are based on unaudited financial statements filed May 1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and made available on the company’s website at corporate.publix.com/stock.
Effective May 1, Publix’s stock price increased from $19.20 per share to $20.20 per share, the company said. Publix stock is not publicly traded and is made available for sale only to current Publix associates and members of its board of directors.
“I’m proud of our associates for continuing to make us a leader in our industry by providing premier service to our customers,” Publix CEO Kevin Murphy said in the release.
Publix was founded in 1930 in Winter Haven by George W. Jenkins. The grocer is the largest employee-owned company in the United States, employ over 260,000 people and operates 1,403 stores throughout the Southeast.
Publix is one of the 10 largest-volume supermarket chains in the country. Its sales in 2024 reached $59.7 billion.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Publix’s Q1 sales rise 15%, but lagging stock market drags down earnings. Still, stock price rises
Reporting by Paul Nutcher, Lakeland Ledger / The Ledger
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