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Publix builds on year-ago sales gains in second quarter

Earnings decline following pandemic-fueled surge last year

Russell Redman

August 2, 2021

2 Min Read
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Publix posted net and comparable sales increases of 3.9% and 2.3%, respectively, in the 2021 quarter after gains of around 20% a year earlier, when the pandemic hoisted consumer demand for groceries.Publix Super Markets

Sales edged up at Publix Super Markets in the fiscal 2021 second quarter despite a difficult comparison to double-digit gains driven by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic a year earlier.

For the quarter ended June 26, sales totaled $11.8 billion, up 3.9% from $11.4 billion in the 2020 quarter, Publix said Monday. Same-store sales rose 2.3% year over year. Those upticks came atop increases of 21.8% in sales and 19.9% in comparable-store sales a year ago, when consumer stockpiling behavior stoked demand in groceries and staple household items.

Fiscal 2021 first-half sales for Publix came in at $23.5 billion, rising 3.9% from $22.6 billion in the first six months of 2020. Comp-store sales grew 2.4%. Last year, when the COVID-19 outbreak occurred in the final few weeks of the first quarter, Publix saw first-half sales climb 18.9%, with same-store sales gaining 17.1%.

“Throughout the pandemic, our associates have continued to provide legendary customer service,” Publix CEO Todd Jones said in a statement. “I’m so thankful to serve alongside them in making shopping at Publix a pleasure.”

Earnings in the second quarter were down in the wake of big, pandemic-fueled increases from a year ago. Publix posted 2021 second-quarter net income of $1 billion, or $1.46 per share, compared with $1.4 billion, or $1.94 per share, in the prior-year period. Adjusted net earnings, excluding net unrealized gains on equity securities, were $920.3 million, or $1.33 per share, versus $978.3 million, or $1.39 per share, a year earlier, Publix said.

Related:H-E-B, Publix earn shopper kudos for pickup service

First-half net income for 2021 was $2.5 billion, or $3.62 per share, compared with $2 billion, or $2.89 per share, a year ago. On an adjusted basis, net earnings for the first six months were $1.8 billion, or $2.65 per share, versus $1.9 billion, or $2.74 per share, in 2020 first half.

As of Aug. 1, Publix’s stock price stood at $63.10 per share, up from $61.30 when the company reported first-quarter results on May 3 and from $60.20 at the fiscal 2020 year-end report on March 1. As an employee-owned company, the grocer doesn’t publicly trade its shares, which are available for sale only to Publix associates and board members.

Publix currently operates 1,273 stores in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia, up from 1,252 stores a year ago.

Read more about:

Publix Super Markets

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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