After a year in which Whole Foods Market (WFM) found itself fending off competition from grocers large and small, management has had to come to terms with a number of short-term realities. In one representative instance, the company has scaled back its 2016 store opening schedule slightly, to ease the self-cannibalization that is contributing to declining same-store sales.
It's not unreasonable to suspect that the company's annual dividend increase may also be in line to be curbed. In the accompanying slideshow, we examine Whole Foods' dividend in the context of its revenue growth and financial position. To find out if management is likely to hike the dividend in 2016 or put further increases on hold, simply click through the presentation below:
