Publix still has the winning recipe

While Whole Foods and other food retailers struggle against increasingly stiff competition, Publix seems to be answering potential threats to its business with ease, if the company's second quarter results are any indication.

Publix reports that its sales for the second quarter were $8 billion, a 6% increase from last year’s $7.5 billion. Same store sales for the second quarter increased 4.1%.Net earnings were $482.7 million, compared to $404.1 million in 2014, an increase of 19.5%. Earnings per share for the second quarter increased to $0.62 for 2015, up from $0.52 per share in 2014.

“I’m very pleased that our Publix associates delivered excellent results,” said Publix CEO Ed Crenshaw. “Unfortunately, these results were not enough to offset challenges in the stock market.”

Effective Aug. 1, Publix’s stock price decreased from $42.10 per share to $42.00 per share. Publix stock is not publicly traded and is made available for sale only to current Publix associates and members of its board of directors.

Publix in recent years has focused on hybrid stores that combine some upscale offerings with a traditional grocery market, a move that's succeeding in taking market share from every end of the grocery spectrum from Walmart to Whole Foods.

Publix’s sales for the first half of 2015 were $16.3 billion, a 6.4% increase from last year’s $15.3 billion. Same store sales for the first half of 2015 increased 4.7%.Net earnings for the first half of 2015 were $1 billion, compared to $897.8 million in 2014, an increase of 14.9 percent. Earnings per share increased to $1.33 for the first half of 2015, up from $1.15 per share in 2014.

Publix is privately owned and operated by its 177,500 employees, with 2014 sales of $30.6 billion. Currently Publix has 1,103 stores in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina and North Carolina.