Sprouts Farmers Market expects comparable store sales for the fourth quarter to fall 2% to 4%, after a 0.9% decline in the third quarter, and shares dropped about 19% in Thursday morning trading. Net sales rose 5% to about $2.3 billion on a record 15 openings, but gross margin slipped to 38.2% from 38.7%, and operating income fell about 3%. Diluted EPS was $1.21 versus $1.22 a year earlier, with buybacks cutting the diluted share count by roughly 5% even as net income dropped about 6%. Management plans to use margin to lower prices to win back shoppers, and guides fourth-quarter EPS to $0.47 to $0.51 on a 13-week basis.
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