Market Poetry

By Market Poetry

There is one stock I’d never buy
It trades by the ticker W-F-M-I

It sells food for silly prices
Like organic prunes and fancy rices

Why people shop there I’ll never learn
They must have extra cash to burn

The shocking thing is to me
That their margins don’t beat W-M-T

Low net margins on food high-priced
Means SG&A must be sharply sliced

Differentiating its wares from the competition
Seems to me an impossible mission

Now let’s look at valuation
Its multiples among the highest in the nation

For years the P/E has been in the sky
From stocks like these I quickly shy

You know what happens when you chase a fad
It climbs for a bit, then ends bad

With that said I did not short sell
For madness, I’ve learned, can linger and dwell

On Whole Foods I did not take a position
So my colleagues taunted for lacking ambition

They told me I must be a nut
To watch it climb and sit on my butt

Then they’d whisper into my ear
About this stock they hold so dear,
“Whole Foods is not like the rest,
This stock is simply among the best!”

And I’d say, “To the sky does not grow the tree
Mark my words, one day you’ll see!”

Revenge, perhaps, I’ve had this morning
Down 24% on a guidance warning

Inside I want to say, “Hey punk!
You deserve it for buying overpriced junk!”

But instead towards their desks I’ll stray
And with a swallowed grin ask, “How’s it going today?”

Editor’s Note: The author holds no position in Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFMI). Counterpoint submissions are welcome! Visit marketpoetry.com for more poems.