Nov. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Whole Foods Markets Inc. fell 8.6 percent after saying it expects to earn less this year than some analysts expect.

Diluted profit may total $1.05 a share to $1.10 a share in 2010, the Austin, Texas-based company said today in a statement. Analysts expected $1.11, the average of 15 estimates in a Bloomberg survey.

Whole Foods anticipates no “positive change in the economy over the short term,” Chief Executive Officer John Mackey told analysts today on a conference call.

The shares sank $2.65 to $29.39 in trading after the close of Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The stock has more than tripled this year.

The company projects sales results this year to be in line with or slightly better than sales so far in the first quarter, Mackey said. Total revenue was 5 percent higher in the first five weeks of the period and comparable-store sales were up 1.6 percent, he said.

Whole Foods said in the statement it expects 2010 sales to advance 5 percent to 8 percent with same-store sales rising 1 percent to 4 percent.

To contact the reporter on this story: Chris Burritt in Greensboro, North Carolina, at cburritt@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 4, 2009 18:57 EST