Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NGVC) is experiencing a significant pre-market surge of 9.94% on Friday, following the release of its impressive third-quarter fiscal 2025 results and an upward revision of its full-year guidance. The natural and organic grocery retailer's strong performance across key metrics has exceeded analyst expectations, demonstrating robust growth in comparable store sales.

The company reported diluted earnings per share of $0.50 for Q3 FY2025, marking a substantial 25% increase from $0.40 in the same period last year and surpassing analyst estimates of $0.49. Revenue grew to $328.7 million, up 6.3% year-over-year, despite a temporary setback due to a cybersecurity incident affecting its main distributor. Notably, Natural Grocers achieved a remarkable 7.4% growth in daily average comparable store sales, driven by a 4.8% increase in transaction count and a 2.4% rise in average transaction size.

Based on these strong results, Natural Grocers has raised its fiscal 2025 outlook. The company now projects comparable store sales growth of 7.25% to 7.75% and diluted earnings per share of $1.90 to $1.95, up from previous estimates of 6.5% to 7.5% and $1.78 to $1.86, respectively. This positive outlook, combined with improved profitability metrics such as expanded gross and operating margins, has fueled investor enthusiasm and contributed to the stock's pre-market rally.