Campbell’s Co

Campbell's Company announced on its fiscal fourth-quarter 2026 earnings call that it is cutting its dividend by more than a third to fund a multiyear rebuild. Quarterly net sales fell 8% to $2.137 billion, adjusted EBIT dropped 25% to $242 million, and adjusted EPS fell to $0.39 from $0.62 a year earlier, while full-year sales dropped 5% to $9.744 billion and operating cash flow slipped to $1.039 billion from $1.131 billion. The company took a $117 million impairment charge on its Kettle Brand and Cape Cod trademarks as Snacks organic sales fell 6% in the quarter and segment operating earnings dropped 34%. Campbell's launched a new $500 million savings target through fiscal 2030, combining $350 million of fresh cuts to procurement, supply chain, and headcount with $150 million carried over from an older program, and is applying price increases of roughly 4% to 5% to about 60% of its portfolio. For fiscal 2027, Campbell's is guiding to organic sales down 4% to 2% and gross margin down 50 to 100 basis points, with inflation running 5% to 6%, and interest expense set to climb roughly $25 million on debt tied to the La Regina acquisition and an anticipated bond refinancing.

Campbell's reported fiscal fourth quarter earnings that sent shares down 6.9% on September 3rd, with revenue falling 8% annually and earnings merely meeting analyst estimates. Management cut the dividend by 36% to $0.25 per share, ending a 56 year streak of dividend payments, and warned that the business could decline in the high single digit percentages in the fiscal first quarter. The snack business was a key source of weakness, with dollar consumption down 5.1%, organic sales down 6%, and operating earnings down 34%, while gross margin fell 190 basis points to 28.6% and management guided a further 50 to 100 basis point reduction for the current fiscal year. Management outlined a $500 million cost savings program intended to impact the entire business by fiscal year 2030, with as much as $100 million in savings expected in FY27, and the company raised prices by 4% to 5% across 60% of its portfolio, with the impact expected by the second fiscal quarter. Jim Cramer called the situation a nightmare, saying the quarter was bad and the snack and soup businesses were struggling.

In a notable earnings week, seven of eight key S&P 500 companies beat consensus EPS estimates, with all eight posting year-over-year profit growth, though revenue performance was mixed. Dell Technologies jumped 15.81% after reporting a 58% revenue increase to $46.97 billion and adjusted EPS of $7.04, driven by AI server demand, and guided third-quarter revenue to $49 billion. Palo Alto Networks slipped 9.28% despite beating estimates with revenue up 34% to $3.41 billion and adjusted EPS of $1.02, while issuing an optimistic forecast. Medtronic rose 1.53% after revenue grew 13.8% to $9.76 billion and raised its full-year guidance. Broadcom dropped 2.7% on lower-than-expected Q4 revenue guidance despite strong Q3 results with revenue up 86% to $29.59 billion. Lululemon shares fell nearly 20% after cutting its full-year sales forecast to $10.35B-$10.50B, down from $11.0B-$11.50B, due to declining China sales. Brown-Forman gained 3.87% on mixed results, NetApp rose 2.55% despite a free cash flow drop, and Campbell's fell 6.96% after missing revenue estimates and cutting its dividend by 36%.

Campbell's shares fell 3% in afternoon trading after the company reported a 37% drop in adjusted earnings, missed revenue expectations, and announced a dividend cut. Net sales came in at $2.14 billion, down 8.1% year-over-year, missing Wall Street estimates, while adjusted earnings per share of $0.39 met consensus but fell from $0.62 a year earlier. Adjusted gross margin contracted to 28.6% due to 6% inflation. To accelerate debt reduction, Campbell's reset its quarterly dividend to $0.25 per share, a 36% cut, and initiated a cost-reduction program targeting $500 million in savings by fiscal 2030, while guiding fiscal 2027 net sales to decline 2% to 4%. The stock traded at $21.42, down 3.2% from the previous close.

NVIDIA Corp. shares rose 1.8% after the company decided to acquire AI developer platform Hugging Face for a total consideration of $12.9 billion. In other company news, Broadcom Inc. shares fell 2.7% after issuing weaker-than-expected revenue guidance for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026. NetApp Inc. shares gained 2.6% after reporting first-quarter fiscal 2027 adjusted earnings of $2.58 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.13 per share. The Campbell's Co. shares tumbled 7% after posting fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 adjusted earnings of $0.39 per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.40 per share.

U.S. stocks rallied broadly Thursday after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller signaled he could support leaving interest rates on hold this month, easing fears of a September hike. Traders now price in roughly a 50% probability of a hike, down from about 70% earlier in the week. The S&P 500 rose 0.96% to 7,740.14, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.1% to 53,658.71, and the Nasdaq 100 climbed 1.0% to 29,439.78. Software stocks led the rally, with Snowflake soaring 21.9% after strong earnings, while crypto-linked equities surged as bitcoin jumped 4.6% to about $80,900. However, packaged food stocks were routed, with Campbell's tumbling 9.7% on weak guidance and a dividend cut, and Tyson Foods falling 6.9% after lowering its outlook.

Snowflake Inc is up 19.9% at $366.83 after posting better-than-expected second-quarter earnings and revenue and lifting its full-year guidance, prompting analysts including Citigroup to raise price targets to $490 from $395. Options volume is eight times the intraday average, with calls accounting for 57% of the 188,000 contracts traded. Campbell's Co is down 10.8% at $21.22 after forecasting annual sales and profit below estimates and slashing its dividend, with options volume at seven times the average. Ciena Corp is down 9.9% at $319.33 despite record quarterly revenue of $1.67 billion and adjusted earnings of $2.11 per share, as its adjusted gross-margin outlook weighs on shares. ACM Research Inc is down 1.1% at $69.11, and the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF is up 0.1% at $35.05, with the ETF nearing $112 billion in assets and closing in on Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index Fund ETF as the largest U.S. dividend ETF.

Campbell's Company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, a 35.9% decrease from the previous dividend of $0.39. The forward yield is 4.65%. The dividend is payable on November 2 to shareholders of record as of October 1, with an ex-dividend date of October 1. This announcement follows the company's recent earnings report, which showed non-GAAP EPS of $0.39 in line with expectations but revenue of $2.1 billion missing by $40 million.

Snowflake shares surged 24% in premarket trading after its second-quarter results beat analyst expectations, with adjusted earnings of 62 cents per share on revenue of $1.55 billion, surpassing the LSEG consensus of 45 cents and $1.48 billion, and the company raised its full-year product revenue guidance. The rally lifted software peers, with Datadog jumping over 5%, ServiceNow up 3%, and Salesforce rising 1.5%. In other moves, Hewlett Packard Enterprise slipped 3% after forecasting earnings growth of 16% to 20% for fiscal 2027, below the FactSet consensus of 18.7%, while Broadcom lost 2.5% as its fourth-quarter revenue forecast of $34.8 billion missed the $35.03 billion estimate. Campbell's Company fell nearly 7% on weak fiscal 2027 guidance, and Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical plunged over 46% after its Angelman syndrome drug failed a Phase 3 trial. On the upside, Petco jumped almost 9% on better-than-expected margins, Argan popped 7.5% on strong earnings, Five Below rose 4.5% on a beat, and Netskope gained 12% on upbeat revenue guidance, while Victoria's Secret sank over 18% on a revenue miss and NetApp shed 8% on soft deferred revenue.

Campbell's is set to report its fiscal second-quarter earnings before the market opens on Thursday, with analysts expecting a 7.6% year-over-year decline in revenue, a reversal from the 1.2% growth recorded in the same quarter last year. The packaged food company missed revenue expectations last quarter, posting $2.37 billion in sales, down 4.4% year on year, though it did beat on gross margin estimates. Analysts have generally maintained their estimates over the past month, and Campbell's shares have risen 5.9% in that period, trading at $23.69 against an average price target of $21.88. In the broader shelf-stable food segment, peers J. M. Smucker and Lamb Weston have already reported revenue growth of 5% and 5.6%, respectively, beating expectations, with their shares rising 5.1% and 8% after results.

The Campbell's Company is expected to report a decline in both revenue and earnings for its fourth quarter of fiscal 2026 on September 3. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is $2.15 billion, down 7.3% from the prior-year quarter, while the earnings estimate is 40 cents per share, a 35.5% decrease. The company's Snacks segment is facing weak consumption and competitive pressures, with a projected 4% volume decline and a 10.5% revenue drop. Margins are also under pressure from tariffs and input-cost inflation, with adjusted gross margin expected to contract 200 basis points to 28.6%. However, the Meals & Beverages segment is expected to remain resilient, supported by at-home cooking trends and the launch of Campbell's Condensed Sauces. Campbell's has a Zacks Rank of 4 and an Earnings ESP of -4.22%, suggesting an earnings beat is unlikely.

Coty and Campbell's shares each fell 2.7% in afternoon trading after President Trump declared the Iran ceasefire over and threatened further strikes, triggering a crude oil spike of more than 7%. The surge in energy costs raised freight and production expenses for consumer staples companies, squeezing margins at a time when passing costs to price-sensitive shoppers risks losing volume. Additionally, a jump in global government bond yields on inflation fears made the steady dividends of staples less attractive relative to bonds, further pressuring the shares. Campbell's, which is down 19.7% year-to-date and trading 34.6% below its 52-week high, saw a move that the market considered meaningful but not fundamentally altering its business perception.

Shelf-stable food stocks reported mixed first-quarter results, with revenues in line with analysts' consensus estimates but next quarter's revenue guidance coming in 11.6% below expectations. Hormel Foods posted revenues of $2.97 billion, up 2.5% year on year, matching expectations and delivering strong beats on EBITDA and gross margin estimates. Hershey outperformed with revenues of $3.10 billion, up 10.6% year on year, exceeding expectations by 2.4% and beating EBITDA and organic revenue estimates. BellRing Brands was the weakest performer, with revenues of $598.7 million, up 1.8% year on year, missing expectations by 1.7% and issuing full-year EBITDA guidance significantly below estimates. B&G Foods topped expectations by 2.4% with revenues of $408.9 million, down 3.9% year on year, and achieved the highest full-year guidance raise among its peers. Campbell's missed expectations by 0.6% with revenues of $2.37 billion, down 4.4% year on year, in a mixed quarter that included a narrow EBITDA beat.

S&P Dow Jones Indices removed The Campbell's Company and Pool Corporation from the S&P 500 on June 22, replacing them with semiconductor and electronics names. Both stocks now reside in the S&P SmallCap 600, triggering mechanical selling by index funds that has pressured their share prices. Campbell's offers a dividend yield above 7%, supported by a 51-year payout streak and the Rao's brand, which surpassed $1 billion in trailing-12-month net sales, though its dividend growth has been minimal. Pool Corp. yields around 2.4% but has raised its dividend for 22 consecutive years, with a decade-long annual growth rate of roughly 17%, driven by a business model where about 60% of revenue comes from maintenance and repair. The removals reflect index rebalancing rather than business deterioration, potentially creating opportunities for patient dividend investors.

Campbell's shares have fallen 25.7% over the past six months to $20.57, and analysts see further headwinds. Average quarterly sales volumes have shrunk by 1.6% over the last two years, while earnings per share declined 7.8% annually over three years even as revenue grew 2.3%. Wall Street forecasts a 2.1% revenue drop over the next 12 months. The stock trades at 10.8 times forward earnings, but the firm recommends a top digital advertising platform instead.

RBC Capital lowered its price target on The Campbell's Company to $21 from $23 while reiterating a Sector Perform rating, citing a difficult operating environment from both a demand and cost standpoint. The analyst noted that Campbell's maintained its full-year guidance but pointed to the lower end of the range, and management indicated that fiscal 2027 could see elevated inflation throughout the year if the Middle East conflict continues. Separately, BofA reduced its price target on the stock to $18 from $20 with an Underperform rating and cut its fiscal 2027 adjusted EPS forecast to $1.77 from $1.95, reflecting a more challenging cost environment.