How did NGVC's revenue and expenses trend in Q1 2025?

Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Inc. (NGVC) demonstrated robust growth in revenue and effective expense management in Q1 2025, as evidenced by the following key points:

1. Revenue Growth: NGVC reported a 9.4% increase in total revenue for Q1 2025, reaching $330.2 million. This growth was driven by a $26.7 million increase in comparable store sales and a $2.9 million increase in new store sales, despite a $1.1 million decrease due to store closures. The company's gross profit improved by 11.3% to $98.8 million, with a gross margin improvement of 50 basis points to 29.9%, attributed to store occupancy cost leverage and higher product margins.
2. Segmental Analysis: The company's revenue was primarily generated from the Grocery and Dietary Supplements segments, with NGVC earning $878.26 million from Grocery and $243.95 million from Dietary Supplements. The Other segment contributed $119.37 million and $61.53 million, respectively.

3. Expense Management: Specific details about NGVC's expenses for Q1 2025 are not available. However, the company's net income rose by 28.1% to $9.9 million, with diluted earnings per share of $0.43. This suggests that the company was able to effectively manage its expenses relative to the revenue growth, as evidenced by the increase in net income and operating margin.
4. Operating Performance: NGVC's operating income rose by 23.6% to $13.3 million, with an operating margin of 4.0%. Adjusted EBITDA, a key performance metric, increased by 21.7% to $22.8 million, reflecting effective expense management and robust sales growth.

In conclusion, NGVC's revenue trend in Q1 2025 was strongly positive, with significant growth driven by strong sales in both existing and new stores. The company's focus on effective expense management, as indicated by the improvements in net income and operating margin, suggests a healthy financial performance for the period.