Unrealized losses on equity securities more than halved Publix Super Markets’ earnings last quarter.
The Lakeland-based grocery chain reported a 54% decrease in net earnings from $857 million last year to $394.1 million after ordering a 5-for-1 stock split in April.
After the split, Publix shares, which are not publicly traded and only available to current employees and board directors, decreased in value from $68.80 to $13.76 per share, according to the company. Publix shares increased to $14.91 in the month after the split but are now down to $13.19.
The stock market “continues to be a challenge,” Publix CEO Todd Jones said in a statement.
Excluding the impact of the split, Publix’s net earnings over the last nine months would have increased by 4.7% or $200 million over the same period last year. The grocer’s sales over the last nine months increased by 10.7% over last year to $39.2 billion. Publix sales and net earnings for the full year 2021 reached $48 billion and $4.4 billion, respectively.
Shareholders received five shares for every share owned as a result of the split in April in a bid to spur buying and increase the company’s overall liquidity. The last time Publix’s board of directors approved a stock split was in 2006 and, before that, in 1992.
Publix is the largest private company in Polk County, with 232,000 employees last year, 27,000 of which were local.