S&P revises Whole Foods to stable

Standard & Poor's said it revised the outlook on the Whole Foods Markets Inc. to stable from positive.

At the same time, the agency affirmed the BBB- corporate credit rating.

"The outlook revision reflects slower profit growth as a result of moderating same-store growth and recent price investments leading to lower margins. The trend will likely continue over the next couple of quarters, but beyond that point we expect Whole Foods to maintain profit growth rates in the high-single-digit or low-double-digit range," S&P credit analyst Charles Pinson-Rose said in a news release.

"We expect the growth in operating lease commitments and our debt adjustment to be comparable, which we based on the company's planned square footage growth. Accordingly, we now expect relatively stable credit protection measure going forward, whereas we previously forecasted moderate improvement."

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