Shares of Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage (NGVC) are soaring 16.29% in pre-market trading on Friday, following the company's impressive third-quarter fiscal 2025 results and upward revision of its full-year guidance. The natural and organic grocery retailer's strong performance across key metrics has exceeded analyst expectations, driving investor enthusiasm and contributing to the significant stock price surge.

Natural Grocers 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. The company's revenue grew to $328.7 million, up 6.3% year-over-year, despite facing a temporary setback due to a cybersecurity incident affecting its main distributor. Notably, the company 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, now projecting 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 confidence in the company's growth prospects and contributed to the stock's pre-market rally.