Dive Brief:
- Publix Executive Chairman Todd Jones plans to retire on May 31, the supermarket chain announced Monday.
- Jones will remain with the Florida-based retailer as chairman of its board of directors.
- Publix announced Jones’ retirement a few days after reporting that its sales growth has lost momentum and its net earnings have declined.
Dive Insight:
Jones is preparing to leave his position as executive chairman of Publix after serving in various roles over a 46-year career with the company that began in 1980, when he became a front-service clerk at a store in New Smyrna Beach, Florida.
He was named president of Publix in 2008, ascended to the position of CEO and president in 2016, and became executive chairman in 2024. Kevin Murphy replaced Jones in the chief executive role at the beginning of 2024.
“In addition to being an outstanding operator and mentor, Todd has led with integrity and a deep commitment to our mission that will have lasting impact. We are grateful he will continue to provide leadership to Publix as our chairman,” Publix CEO Kevin Murphy said in a statement.
Publix, which runs over 1,400 stores in eight states, has steadily added locations in recent years. The company announced last month that it signed leases for three new stores in Kentucky.
On Friday, Publix reported that its sales for the first quarter of 2026 were up 2% compared with the same period a year ago, to $16.1 billion. By comparison, sales were up by more than 5% year over year during the first quarter of 2025 and rose almost 3% in the fourth quarter of last year.
The retailer attributed the slowdown in its quarterly sales growth to recent changes in how the federal government pays for certain drug prices. Albertsons also recently reported that its sales were adversely affected by those changes, which stem from the Inflation Reduction Act, a law that permits the government to negotiate prescription drug prices.
Publix also said Friday that its net earnings for the first quarter fell more than 20% year over year, to just under $800 million. Excluding the effect of net unrealized losses on equity securities in 2026 and 2025, net earnings in Q1 would have declined only 3% and come in at $1.1 billion.
Still, Publix increased its stock price by about 4% as of May 1, to $20.45 per share. Publix’s stock is not publicly traded, and only employees and members of the board of directors can buy shares in the company.
