Sprouts Farmers Market reports falling quarterly store sales and lowered outlook

Sprouts Farmers Market reported a slight decline in comparable store sales for its third quarter, as detailed by Supermarket News. Net sales for the 13 weeks ended September 27 totaled $2.3 billion, which represents a 5 percent increase compared with the same period in 2025. However, comparable store sales dropped by 0.9 percent during the quarter, while diluted earnings per share fell to $1.21 from $1.22 a year earlier. [1]

Supermarket News reported that the grocer cited a challenging consumer environment and a cyclospora disruption for the decline in store sales. Despite opening 15 new stores during the quarter, the grocer issued a weaker sales forecast for the fourth quarter. Chief executive officer Jack Sinclair stated that the company recognizes the need to improve performance and is taking action to strengthen execution and drive store traffic. [1]

The weak quarterly results and soft forecast caused investor sentiment to drop. Supermarket News reported that the grocer's stock price dropped by over 14 points by mid-day on Thursday. Kalkine.ca separately reported that shares fell by 22 percent following the weak fourth-quarter outlook. Following the earnings report, RBC Capital downgraded Sprouts Farmers Market to Sector Perform from Outperform and lowered its price target to $49, according to TradingView. Analysts cited by Seeking Alpha stated that the problems facing the retailer are structural rather than cyclical. [1][3][4][6]

Sprouts Farmers Market is a supermarket chain headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, that specializes in natural and organic foods, fresh produce, meat, and dairy products. The company employs 35,000 workers and operates more than 400 stores across 24 states. The recent earnings pressure follows wider headwinds across the grocery retail industry, as FTMQ Food reported earlier that major competitor Albertsons has faced declining sales growth for three consecutive quarters. [7][10]