Whole Foods was once a $4.25 stock 13 years ago. Now it is a $94 stock. Let me do the math for you: the stock has increased over 2,200% in 13 years--a 26.89% CAGR. Do you realize that for 13 years now people have been complaining about the stock being overpriced? During those 13 years the stock price increased at a 26.89% CAGR. Why? Because sales increased at a 33.52% CAGR and net profits increased at a 40.82% CAGR during that same 13 year time period. The simple fact is that Whole Foods has grown sales and earnings faster than its stock price has grown over the last 13 years. The stock has always traded at a high PE multiple because of its rapid growth and people (especially the shorts) have always bitched about it.

Guess what? Whole Foods is going to continue to trade at a high PE multiple so long as it continues to rapidly grow. Get over it! 13 years from now Whole Foods will be a $800+ stock before splits (18% CAGR) because the company is going to keep on strongly growing for another 10+ years. Whole Foods is a tremendous growth stock and over the long-term that growth is going to continue to make all but the luckiest market timing shorts lose alot of money, just as they have lost a ton of money over the last 13 years.

Whole Foods is not a cyclical business nor is it a tech stock. Whole Foods is a food retailer and as a food retailer it has very predictable cash flows that don't vary very much from month to month or year to year. Only labor unions going out on strike can radically harm a food retailer's cash flow and Whole Foods doesn't have any unions.

What therefore does the future hold for this company? Many more successful stores resulting in much higher cash flows. Higher cash flows results in higher stock prices. That is what the future holds for Whole Foods. Wait and see.