Hormel Foods Reports $3B in Q1 Sales
Hormel Foods reported net sales of $3 billion for the first quarter of fiscal 2026, with organic net sales growing by 2%. The company announced diluted earnings per share of $0.33 and an adjusted EPS of $0.34. Hormel reiterated its adjusted guidance for the full fiscal year.
- This marks the fifth consecutive quarter of year-over-year organic net sales growth for the company. - In a strategic move to reshape its portfolio, Hormel announced a definitive agreement to sell its whole-bird turkey business to Life-Science Innovations (LSI), a transaction expected to close by the end of the second fiscal quarter of 2026. - The company is navigating a challenging cost environment, having faced a 20% to 30% climb in raw material costs in fiscal 2025 and the re-emergence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in the turkey industry. - While revenue for the quarter came in at $3.03 billion, just shy of the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion, the adjusted EPS of $0.34 beat the analyst estimate of $0.32. - For the full fiscal year 2026, Hormel Foods expects earnings per share to be in the range of $1.43 to $1.51 and revenue between $12.20 billion and $12.50 billion. - Company leadership reiterated long-term growth targets of 2-3% in organic net sales and 5-7% in operating profit growth. - Shares of Hormel (HRL) have experienced a 52-week low of $21.03 and a high of $32.07, with the stock seeing a modest rise after the preliminary earnings announcement. - Interim CEO Jeff Ettinger stated the results reflect a "solid start to the year" and give the company confidence in its initiatives to return to profitable growth.
