Conagra Brands Inc. (NYSE:CAG) shares moved lower Wednesday after the packaged food company reported mixed third-quarter results and issued a cautious outlook.
Revenue showed resilience, but margin pressures and a softer earnings forecast weighed on investor sentiment.
Quarterly Performance
Conagra reported adjusted earnings of 39 cents per share, missing the analyst consensus estimate of 40 cents. Sales totaled $2.79 billion, down 1.9% from a year earlier, but ahead of expectations of $2.76 billion.
Organic net sales rose 2.4%, driven by a 1.9% increase in price and mix, along with a 0.5% gain in volume.
The company said it gained volume share in categories including frozen single-serve meals, frozen vegetables, frozen handhelds and appetizers, meat snacks, hot cocoa, seeds and pudding.
By segment, Grocery & Snacks sales fell 6.3% to $1.2 billion. Refrigerated & Frozen sales rose 1.6% to $1.1 billion. International sales increased 1.3% to $227 million, while Foodservice sales rose 1.8% to $261 million.
Adjusted gross profit declined 6.3% to $660 million, as higher organic sales and productivity gains were offset by cost inflation, unfavorable operating leverage and lost profit from divestitures. Adjusted gross margin fell 112 basis points to 23.7%.
Adjusted EBITDA dropped 14.9% to $437 million.
The company ended the quarter with $55.1 million in cash and equivalents.
Outlook
Conagra narrowed its fiscal 2026 adjusted earnings guidance to about $1.70 per share, slightly below the analyst estimate of $1.72. The company expects adjusted operating margin to land near the high end of its 11.0% to 11.5% range.
CAG Price Action: Conagra Brands shares were down 1.62% at $15.46 at the time of publication on Wednesday. The stock is near its 52-week low of $15.03, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Photo by Jonathan Weiss via Shutterstock
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