AUSTIN, Minn. - Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) saw its shares fall 5.8% in premarket trading Wednesday after the food company reported fourth quarter earnings that missed estimates and provided disappointing guidance for fiscal 2025.
The maker of Spam and Skippy peanut butter posted adjusted earnings per share of $0.42 for the quarter ended October 27, falling short of analysts' expectations of $0.43. Revenue came in at $3.1 billion, below the consensus estimate of $3.15 billion.
For fiscal 2025, Hormel forecast adjusted earnings per share of $1.58 to $1.72, compared to Wall Street's projection of $1.68. The company expects revenue between $11.9 billion and $12.2 billion, also below analysts' estimate of $12.25 billion.
"Fiscal 2024 demonstrated solid execution of our strategy, the power of our portfolio and the resilience of our team," said Jim Snee, chairman, president and CEO of Hormel Foods. However, he noted that the company faced headwinds from "a dynamic consumer environment, the steep decline in whole bird turkey commodity markets, and the production disruption at our Suffolk, Virginia, facility."
Hormel's fourth quarter revenue declined 1.9% YoY to $3.14 billion. The Retail segment saw sales drop 3.8% to $1.91 billion, while Foodservice revenue edged up 1.3% to $1.05 billion. International sales rose 1.4% to $185 million.
The company said it captured $75 million in operating income benefits from its Transform and Modernize initiative in fiscal 2024. It expects to realize an incremental $100 million to $150 million in benefits from this program in fiscal 2025.
Hormel raised its annual dividend by 3% to $1.16 per share, marking the 59th consecutive year of dividend increases.
Looking ahead, Snee said Hormel is "in a strong position to deliver quality earnings growth, further expand our market presence, and accelerate the impact of our Transform and Modernize initiative" in fiscal 2025.
This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.