Whole FoodsAP
Whole Foods investors should be worried.
The company on Wednesday reported second-quarter earningsthat were a mixed bag.
Earnings per share beat analyst expectations, but sales at stores open at least a year, or same-store sales, fell 3% — a larger drop than Wall street had forecast.
Total sales increased by 1.3% to $3.7 billion; however, that's "a very meager outcome," according to Carter Harrison, an analyst for the retail consulting firm Conlumino, considering that the company has opened 16 new stores this year.
Investors don't seem bothered though. Whole Foods shares rose more than 2% in early trading on Thursday.

Watch this number

One number should concern investors more than any other: the 2.1% drop in transactions.
Transactions are a direct measure of foot traffic, and while declines in same-store sales can be attributed in part to price cuts, there's little to explain a drop in traffic other than a loss of customers.
The 2.1% drop in transactions in the second quarter comes after a 1.6% drop in the first quarter and a 0.8% decline in the fourth quarter of 2015.
The trend is a clear indication that Whole Foods is losing customers.
Whole FoodsCompany data/Business Insider
The primary reason that Whole Foods is losing customers, analysts say, is that its prices are still too high relative to those of its competitors.
"As superior as Whole Foods is for fresh and wholesome foods, it remains eye-wateringly expensive," Harrison wrote in a recent note to clients. "Such price premiums are justified on unique and specialty items; however, on everyday items sold elsewhere there is no justification for the inflated prices Whole Foods charge — and consumers increasingly resent paying over the odds."
Whole Foods has promised to increase promotions and cut prices as a way to shed its "Whole Paycheck" image. But the company's efforts have been ineffective.
"The whole purpose of reducing prices should be to attract and keep more customers, with a consequent uplift to the sales line," Harrison wrote. "However, at present this dynamic is not working as effectively as it should."
Whole FoodsCompany data/Business Insider
Whole Foods, however, says it is making progress.
"Food retailing is evolving at an incredibly fast pace, and consumers have more options than ever before," John Mackey, co-CEO of Whole Foods, said in a release. "In addition to becoming more competitive on price, we are making measurable progress in fundamentally evolving our business and providing an enhanced experience for our customers across all platforms before, during, and after their visit."
The company has also said the smaller, cheaper format of its new store brand, called 365 by Whole Foods Market, will attract new customers.