Divize Foodservice společnosti Conagra Brands zvýšila v 1. čtvrtletí fiskálního roku 2027 provozní zisk o 11,4 % na 30,9 mil. USD a upravenou marži o 83 bazických bodů na 11,3 %.
Key Takeaways CAG's Foodservice operating profit rose 11.4% in Q1, while adjusted margin expanded 83 basis points.Foodservice organic sales grew 3.3%, marking five straight quarters of growth, with volumes rising 2.5%.Productivity gains offset inflation, though accelerated customer orders supported volume growth.
Conagra Brands, Inc. (CAG - Free Report) delivered encouraging growth in the Foodservice segment in the first quarter of fiscal 2027, supported by higher organic sales, improved volumes and productivity gains. The business recorded growth in both operating profit and operating margin despite continued inflationary pressures. Stronger sales performance and cost efficiencies helped offset higher input costs, highlighting the segment's ability to deliver improved profitability in a challenging operating environment.
Foodservice net sales increased 3.2% year over year to $272.9 million in the fiscal first quarter, while organic net sales advanced 3.3%. The segment marked the fifth consecutive quarter of organic sales growth, reflecting sustained positive sales trends. Volume increased 2.5%, while favorable price/mix contributed 0.8 percentage points to organic sales growth. However, approximately 150 basis points of volume growth came from the accelerated timing of specific customer orders, which occurred in the third quarter of the previous fiscal year.
This improvement in sales contributed to stronger profitability. Foodservice operating profit and adjusted operating profit increased 11.4% year over year to $30.9 million. Adjusted operating margin expanded 83 basis points to 11.3%. Higher organic net sales and productivity improvements more than offset the negative impact of cost-of-goods-sold inflation, allowing the segment to deliver growth in both profit and margin in the fiscal quarter.
Conagra Brands' Foodservice segment continues to benefit from organic sales growth and productivity improvements despite inflationary pressures. However, the contribution from accelerated customer orders to quarterly volume growth remains an important consideration. Going forward, sustaining profit momentum will depend on continued sales growth and productivity gains offsetting higher costs. The latest quarterly performance demonstrates positive progress in Foodservice profitability, with sales growth and cost efficiencies providing support.
Conagra Brands’ Zacks Rank & Share Price PerformanceShares of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company have fallen 8.8% over the past month, underperforming the industry and the broader Consumer Staples sector, which declined 5% and 2.5%, respectively. CAG also underperformed the S&P 500 index, which gained 3.1% over the same period.
CAG Stock's Past Month Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Is CAG a Value Play Stock?Conagra Brands currently trades at a forward 12-month P/E ratio of 9.2, which is down from the industry average of 13.79 and the sector average of 16.82. This valuation places the stock at a modest discount relative to comparable peers and the sector overall.
CAG P/E Ratio (Forward 12 Months)
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Stocks to ConsiderThe Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. (CHEF - Free Report) distributes specialty food and center-of-the-plate products in the United States, the Middle East and Canada. At present, CHEF flaunts a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The consensus estimate for Chefs' Warehouse’s current fiscal-year sales and earnings implies growth of 10.8% and 33.7%, respectively, from the year-ago reported figures. Chefs' Warehouse delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 30.4%, on average.
Mama's Creations, Inc. (MAMA - Free Report) manufactures and markets fresh deli-prepared foods in the United States. At present, MAMA holds a Zacks Rank of 2. Mama's Creations delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 121.7%, on average.
The consensus estimate for Mama's Creations’ current fiscal-year sales and earnings implies growth of 30.3% and 66.7%, respectively, from the year-ago figures.
Utz Brands (UTZ - Free Report) engages in the manufacture, marketing and distribution of snack foods in the United States. It presently carries a Zacks Rank of 2. UTZ delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 1.8%, on average.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Utz Brands’ current financial-year sales indicates growth of 3.7% from the year-ago numbers.
Conagra Brands snížila čtvrtletní dividendu na polovinu, na 17,5 centů; její udržitelnost závisí na obnovení růstu objemu prodejů, který v 1. čtvrtletí meziročně klesl o 2,1 %.
Conagra already cut its dividend in half and shares have lost nearly 60% over five years, yet income investors keep buying the yield. Whether that payout survives comes down to a single metric that management admits is still moving in…
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Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG | CAG Price Prediction) has already cut its dividend in half. Shares trade at $13.57 as of Thursday’s close, down 27.47% over the past year. Income investors now have to decide whether the smaller payout sits on solid ground or whether the pressure that forced the first cut is still building. A high yield only holds up as long as the company can keep paying it, and Conagra’s ability to keep paying depends on one thing: getting volume growing again.
Here’s a simple dividend safety check: A payout is sustainable when earnings and free cash flow cover it well and the company isn’t borrowing to fund it.
A Halved Payout That Still Screens as High Yield The quarterly dividend fell from 35 cents to 17.5 cents starting with the July 30 ex-dividend date. The latest declaration kept it at that level. That works out to a forward annual payout of 70 cents, or a forward yield of about 5.28% at today’s price. Stock screeners show something different. The trailing yield is 9.29%, based on $1.225 in trailing payments, and much of that money came at the old rate. Anyone shopping by trailing yield is looking at a payout that no longer exists.
The appeal is easy to see. Conagra owns familiar brands like Birds Eye, Duncan Hines, Healthy Choice, Marie Callender’s, Reddi-wip and Slim Jim, and its dividend history runs back to 1999 in the records.
Why the Yield Rose: A Falling Share Price Did the Work The quarterly payout held at 35 cents from mid-2023 through April 2026, so the yield climbed because the stock kept falling: $18.22 on Oct. 1, 2025, $17.19 on Dec. 19, 2025, $15.62 on April 1 and $14.01 on Sept. 30. Shares have lost 11.07% in the past month alone and 59.76% over five years. The slide was sharp enough to trigger a $968 million non-cash goodwill and brand impairment in fiscal Q2 2026.
Coverage Looks Fine in Earnings and Weak in Cash Conagra is an ordinary corporate, so adjusted EPS is the right measure of coverage. On that basis, the new 70-cent payout uses about 47% to 50% of fiscal 2027 adjusted EPS guidance of $1.40 to $1.50. The old rate would have used 93% to 100%, which explains why it was cut. Guidance itself is falling, down from roughly $1.70 in fiscal 2026. GAAP results look worse, with trailing diluted EPS at -$4.06 after impairments.
Cash flow is lighter. In fiscal Q1 2027, operating cash flow was negative $4.2 million and free cash flow was negative $127.9 million after $123.7 million of CapEx. Cash on hand fell 46.77% to $371.6M. Management says seasonal inventory builds use up cash in the first half.
Even so, the reduced dividend costs about $334 million a year. That has to come out of the same cash that pays about $360M in interest, about $550M in capex and roughly $250 million in planned debt paydown. Conagra also bought back $44 million of stock in the quarter.
Leverage Is What Forced the First Cut Net leverage ended the quarter at 3.99x, and management expects about four times at fiscal year end against a three times target. On the call, management said it is “maniacally focused on getting there as soon as possible.” Total liabilities stand at $11.30 billion, while shareholders’ equity fell 28.16% to $6.4 billion. Near-term maturities look manageable. Debt is “pretty much 100% fixed,” and a $500 million note issued in July at 5.4% pre-funded maturing bonds.
Volume Is the One Thing That Has to Turn Around Organic volume fell 2.1% in Q1. Revenue has now declined for four straight quarters: -5.8%, -6.8%, -1.9% and -1.4%. Guidance projects organic net sales to change by -3% to -1% this year, with Q2 expected at -2%. Inflation is running toward the higher end of the 5% to 6% range, and transportation costs have effectively doubled versus plan. Conagra is raising prices to offset that, but it models two-to-one elasticity in frozen, which means every price increase costs volume. Lower volume spreads fixed plant costs over fewer units, and margins shrink. Operating income already fell 22.74%, and Q2 operating margin is guided to the higher-single-digit range versus 11.5% in Q1.
What Has to Go Right for the Payout to Hold The bull case starts with earnings. Q1 adjusted EPS of 41 cents beat the 28.15-cent estimate. Ardent Mills equity earnings rose 71.8% to $50 million, and Foodservice grew 3.2%. The beat has asterisks, though.
About 3 cents came from SG&A timing and one-time items, Ardent’s trading gains are hard to forecast, and most SKU reduction savings won’t arrive until fiscal 28. Staples companies with long dividend records usually protect the payout by cutting elsewhere first, and Conagra still has room to pause buybacks or trim capex before touching the dividend again. For the payout to hold, cost savings and tariff relief have to restore margins, and volume has to stabilize. Analysts remain cautious: 10 Hold ratings, three Sell ratings and two Strong Sell ratings, with a $14.32 average target.
1 Signal That Settles the Question Fiscal year-end net leverage needs attention against the roughly 4.0x guide. If volume keeps falling and leverage finishes above that level despite second-half cash inflows, coverage of even the reduced dividend starts to look thin. A double-digit trailing yield on a stock that just halved its payout is the classic setup, and we listed the indicators that confirm a cut is coming in a free dividend traps report.
Conagra’s shareholders have already seen that a dividend cut rarely saves the share price. The remaining 5.28% yield needs to be judged on volume, cash flow and leverage. A yield by itself doesn’t justify a purchase.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Four packaged food stocks sit on the same grocery shelves, but their dividends tell completely different stories about which companies are quietly rebuilding and which ones are still in danger of the next cut.
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The center of the grocery store has been a hard place to own stocks. Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG | CAG Price Prediction) has lost 48.84% of its value over five years, and General Mills (NYSE:GIS) and Campbell’s (NASDAQ:CPB) have also fallen hard. J.M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) has gone the other way. All four sell off the same shelves, but each one leaves income investors with a very different dividend check and a very different level of safety.
General Mills: 127 Years of Payments and an Ultra-High Yield With a Catch General Mills yields about 7.6% on its $2.44 annualized dividend at a share price of $32.02. It qualifies as an ultra-high-yield stock, but consider where that yield came from. The quarterly payout has been $0.61 since 2025, while the shares are down 27.83% year to date and 35.86% over five years. When the price falls and the dividend stays the same, the yield rises on its own. In this case the high yield reflects doubt in the market, with the payout itself unchanged.
Its dividend history is strong. General Mills is in its 127th consecutive year of continuous dividends, and the quarterly rate went from $0.59 to $0.60 to $0.61 before leveling off. Coverage is lower. Against fiscal 2027 adjusted EPS guidance of $3.00 to $3.20, the dividend uses roughly 76% to 81% of earnings. Fiscal 2026 free cash flow was $1.63B. In the seasonally light first quarter, free cash flow came to $207.3 million, while dividends paid were $330.5M. Leverage is running “just a touch” above four times net debt to EBITDA, against a three-times target that management says will take “at least a couple years” to reach.
Bull case: The company’s pressures have names. Stretched shoppers are waiting for promotions, smaller insurgent brands are taking fruit snack share, and Wilderness dry dog food is shrinking. Management is responding with $750 million of fiscal 2027 cost savings, $3 billion in total by fiscal 2030, and new products that grew from 3% to 5% of net sales. Organic sales held flat last quarter, and adjusted EPS of $0.75 beat the $0.72 consensus.
Risk: Adjusted operating profit is guided down 8% to 13% in constant currency this fiscal year, which leaves very little room for the payout to grow.
Campbell’s: A 36% Dividend Cut That Rebuilds Coverage Campbell’s yields about 5.1% on its new $1 annualized dividend at $19.62. Trailing yield screens show a bigger number because they still include the old $0.39 checks. If you buy at today’s price, the reset rate is what you will collect. The shares are down 25.13% year to date and 41.77% over five years.
The board cut the quarterly payout to $0.25, a 36% reduction, to speed up debt reduction. Before that, the dividend rose in small steps: $0.35 from 2017, $0.37 from late 2021 and $0.39 from 2025. Coverage is now much better. The new rate uses about 56% to 61% of fiscal 2027 adjusted EPS guidance of $1.65 to $1.80. Fiscal 2026 free cash flow was $678 million, against $470 million of dividends at the old rate. The balance sheet is the pressure point: total liabilities are $11.49B against equity of $3.85B, and a $500 million bond comes due in March.
Chief executive Mick Beekhuizen called the cut “a difficult decision, but it’s an unfortunately necessary decision that we needed to take.”
Bull case: Rao’s, Goldfish, Pepperidge Farm and Swanson give Campbell’s real pricing power, and Meals & Beverages organic sales grew 3%. A new $500M cost-savings program runs through fiscal 2030, and the company plans price increases on roughly 60% of its portfolio.
Risk: Snacks are getting worse. Segment operating earnings fell 34% in the fourth quarter, and the company took $117M in impairments on its Cape Cod and Kettle Brand trademarks.
Conagra Brands: Half the Dividend, Full Focus on Debt Conagra yields about 5.2% on its $0.70 annualized payout at $13.36. Income investors should know that “held flat” describes a level that was already cut. The quarterly dividend dropped from $0.35 to $0.175, a 50% reduction, and the latest declaration kept it at that level. Trailing screens still show the old payments. The shares are down 18.46% year to date.
The lower rate is easy to cover. It uses about 47% to 50% of fiscal 2027 adjusted EPS guidance of $1.40 to $1.50. Fiscal 2026 free cash flow was $978.7 million, against $669.7 million of dividends at the old rate. First-quarter free cash flow was negative $127.9M because of legal payments and a seasonal inventory build. Leverage was 3.99 times, and management plans to pay down about $250 million of debt this year. The dividend history shows steady increases, from $0.2125 between 2018 and 2020 up to $0.35 from 2023, before the cut.
“Our target is three times,” CFO Dave Marberger said. “We are maniacally focused on getting there as soon as possible.”
Bull case: First-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.41 beat the $0.28 consensus, and Ardent Mills equity earnings rose 71.8%. Frozen volumes are falling, and higher gas prices are cutting into convenience-store snack traffic. Management is responding by trimming SKUs across a single-serve meal portfolio of more than 400 SKUs, dropping Celeste Pizza and raising marketing spend to 3% of net sales.
Risk: Costs are rising faster than planned. Cost of goods inflation is running near 7%, and transportation inflation is double the company’s original plan.
J.M. Smucker: Outlier in the Aisle With a Growing Payout Smucker yields about 3.8% on its $4.48 forward dividend at $117.21. Here the yield math runs in reverse. The stock is up 23.46% year to date, 13.15% over the past year and 16.46% over five years. A rising price has kept the yield modest even as the payout keeps growing.
This is the strongest dividend of the four. The quarterly rate rose from $1.10 to $1.12, and it has increased every year since 2017, when it was $0.75. The forward payout uses only about 41% to 43% of raised fiscal 2027 adjusted EPS guidance of $10.50 to $11.00. Full-year free cash flow guidance went up to about $1.1B, and first-quarter free cash flow alone was $337.3M. Smucker already reached its three-times leverage target in the quarter and plans to pay down roughly $500 million of debt. Management said, “We remain committed to the quarterly dividend, which we recently announced an increase.”
Bull case: Coffee has pricing power. U.S. Retail Coffee grew 13% to $807.8M, and Café Bustelo grew 23%. Uncrustables growth guidance was raised to high single digits, with new capacity coming online in McCalla, Alabama. Even after the rally, the stock trades at about 12 times forward earnings.
Risk: The headline beat had help. First-quarter adjusted EPS of $3.24 included a $0.84 per share benefit from one-time tariff refunds, and Hostess sales fell 7%.
Coverage and Debt Separate the Payouts That Hold The dividends in this group that can hold share three things: a payout well below earnings, free cash flow that grows, and leverage already near target. Smucker has all three. Campbell’s and Conagra cut their payouts to rebuild coverage. General Mills offers the highest yield of the group, but it also has the weakest earnings coverage, and its stock price has done the most to push that yield up. The same warning signs that preceded the Campbell’s and Conagra cuts tend to show up well before a board acts, and we catalogued them in a free guide to spotting dividend traps. In packaged food, the yields that held up came from companies that kept growing their cash flow.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Conagra Brands, Inc. (CAG) Q1 2027 Earnings Call September 29, 2026 8:00 PM EDT
Company Participants
Matthew Neisius - Senior Director of Investor Relations
John Brase - CEO, President & Director
David Marberger - Executive VP & CFO
Presentation
Matthew Neisius
Senior Director of Investor Relations
Good morning. Thank you for listening to our prepared remarks for the Conagra Brands First Quarter Fiscal 2027 Earnings. At 9:30 a.m. Eastern this morning, we will hold a separate live question-and-answer session on today's results, which you can access via webcast on our Investor Relations website. Our press release, presentation materials and a transcript of these prepared remarks are also available there. In our presentation this morning, John Brase, our CEO, and Dave Marberger, our CFO, will be making some forward-looking statements.
And while we're making those statements in good faith based on current information, we don't have any guarantee about the results we'll achieve. Descriptions of our risk factors are included in our filings with the SEC. We'll also be discussing some non-GAAP financial measures. GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliations and information on our comparability items are in our earnings release and presentation materials in the Investor Relations section of our website. I'll now turn the call over to John.
John Brase
CEO, President & Director
Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. When we last spoke in July, I outlined the priorities that I believe will strengthen Conagra and position the business for sustainable growth. After spending the quarter working closely with our teams and engaging across the organization, I'm even more confident that we're focused on the right opportunities and taking the right actions. There are 3 points I'd like you to take away from today. First, we delivered a solid start to the fiscal year despite a challenging operating environment. Dave and I will get into the details here shortly. But
Conagra Brands potvrdila nezměněný výhled pro fiskální rok 2027 po překonání výsledků za 1. čtvrtletí. Zároveň čeká ve 2. čtvrtletí pokles organických čistých tržeb o 2 % a vyšší inflaci.
Why Conagra’s Dividend Cut Could Be the Best Thing for InvestorsConagra Brands NYSE: CAG executives said the company’s fiscal 2027 outlook remains unchanged following a first-quarter earnings beat, while emphasizing that transportation inflation, the rollout of pricing actions and investments in advertising will shape results in coming quarters.
During the company’s first-quarter fiscal 2027 question-and-answer call, CEO John Brase said pricing actions discussed during the prior quarter were only beginning to reach the market. He said results so far were in line with Conagra’s planning assumptions.
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Tomato Prices Are Spiking, and These 2 Food Stocks Could Feel the SqueezeThe company expects organic net sales to decline 2% in its fiscal second quarter. Chief Financial Officer Dave Marberger said that outlook incorporates the timing of Thanksgiving, which falls in the second quarter this year rather than the third quarter. As a result, Conagra may ship below consumption for certain seasonal items during the quarter.
Brase said Conagra has maintained what he described as a prudent stance on price elasticity assumptions. The company is modeling elasticity of more than two-to-one in its Refrigerated & Frozen segment and more than one-to-one in Grocery & Snacks. Conagra has not assumed that competitors will follow its pricing actions, though Brase said followership could create upside to those assumptions.
Inflation shifts toward transportation Conagra Stock Yields Nearly 9% After a 60% Decline—Time to Buy?Marberger said Conagra continues to forecast fiscal-year inflation of 5% to 6%, now toward the high end of that range. Favorable protein costs helped the company in the first quarter, but that benefit has been more than offset by transportation inflation running at roughly twice the company’s original planning assumption.
He attributed transportation pressure to a driver shortage and higher oil prices. Conagra expects inflation in the second and third quarters to be higher than in the first quarter, before easing in the fourth quarter relative to the third quarter.
Marberger said the company is still experiencing elevated costs for several inputs, including edible oils, corrugated materials and aluminum. However, he said Conagra could begin lapping many of those higher-cost categories in fiscal 2028.
For the second quarter, Conagra expects operating margin in the high single digits, compared with 11.5% in the first quarter. Marberger cited three primary factors behind the expected decline:
Higher inflation in the second quarter versus the first quarter. The reversal of first-quarter SG&A favorability, including both a one-time benefit and expenses that were deferred into the second quarter. Higher advertising and promotional spending, with A&P expected to reach 3% of net sales versus 2.3% in the first quarter. He added that higher inflation would have some effect on gross margin, though the company maintained its full-year operating-margin outlook and continues to expect gross margin to be relatively flat from the prior year.
Marketing investment targets key categories Brase said Conagra is increasing spending behind brand building after concluding it had not consistently invested at levels needed to build consumer awareness and affinity. The company is focusing incremental marketing investment on single-serve meals, meat snacks and popcorn.
He said the company is working to make its marketing more targeted and effective, and has seen early improvements in reach and engagement. Brase described the effort as part of a “new modern marketing machine” that Conagra is building internally.
In snacks, Brase said Conagra’s sweet treats portfolio performed strongly in the first quarter, supported by Snack Pack and Swiss Miss. However, the company sees room for improvement in permissible snacking, including meat snacks, popcorn and seeds.
Conagra has significant exposure to meat snacks and seeds in convenience stores, where demand has been pressured by higher gasoline prices, Brase said. He added that the company needs to improve execution and channel participation in the areas where meat-snack growth is occurring. The company plans a significant increase in marketing and innovation for meat snacks and popcorn beginning in the second quarter.
Brase also said Conagra saw some benefit in frozen foods from demand related to Cyclospora concerns, though he characterized the impact as immaterial. He noted that the effect was partly offset by pressure on Wish-Bone salad dressing. Brase said the company sees an opportunity to build further trial and engagement for its Birds Eye frozen vegetable brand.
Simplification efforts could accelerate in fiscal 2028 Conagra is pursuing SKU, format and formulation simplification across its portfolio, according to Brase. The company has created an internal work stream focused on significantly reducing SKU count, with efforts divided between exiting smaller, lower-profit brands and simplifying core product platforms.
Brase cited the company’s exit from Celeste Pizza as an example. The move reduced first-quarter net sales by about 15 basis points but was profit accretive, he said.
The larger opportunity, he said, involves simplifying the company’s core offerings. Conagra has more than 400 single-serve meal SKUs, and Brase said the company believes it can develop a more productive assortment without reducing its commitment to the category, ceding distribution or slowing innovation.
The initiative is intended to improve operational efficiency, procurement scale, organizational focus and shelf velocity. Brase said the company will take a measured approach that accounts for customer reset timing and inventory implications. Most benefits are expected in fiscal 2028, although decisions are being made now.
Debt reduction remains a priority Marberger said Conagra expects to finish fiscal 2027 with leverage of approximately four times, after ending the first quarter at 3.99 times. The company expects seasonal inventory builds to use cash during the first half before cash flow improves in the second half.
Conagra expects to pay down approximately $250 million of debt during the fiscal year and remains focused on reaching its long-term leverage target of three times as quickly as possible, Marberger said. He said improved profitability and the company’s dividend adjustment should support progress in fiscal 2028.
The company is largely insulated from current interest-rate movements because its debt is almost entirely fixed rate, with commercial paper representing its variable-rate exposure. Marberger said Conagra has $500 million and $260 million of notes maturing during the month, and that it issued a $500 million note in July at a 5.4% rate to finance ahead of those maturities.
On consumer demand, Brase described conditions as “muted” and bifurcated by income, but said Conagra has not seen a material shift in overall consumer behavior. He said the company’s portfolio spans value-oriented offerings, including Banquet, as well as more premium brands such as Healthy Choice.
About Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG)Conagra Brands, Inc is a packaged food company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The company develops, produces and markets branded food products sold through grocery stores, mass merchandisers, club stores, convenience stores, foodservice operators and e-commerce channels.
Its portfolio includes frozen, refrigerated, grocery and snack products. Well-known brands include Birds Eye, Healthy Choice, Marie Callender's, Banquet, Duncan Hines, Reddi-wip, Slim Jim, Hunt's, Chef Boyardee, Orville Redenbacher's, Vlasic, PAM and Angie's BOOMCHICKAPOP.
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
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Conagra Brands překonala odhady za 1. čtvrtletí v zisku i tržbách; upravený EPS činil 41 centů při tržbách 2,60 miliardy USD. Firma zároveň potvrdila celoroční výhled.
Conagra Brands (CAG.N) beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter profit and sales on Wednesday, helped by a better pricing and product mix.
"While there is more work to be done, we remain on track to deliver the year," said CEO John Brase.
Conagra had halved its annual dividend in July and said it was reviewing its non-core assets, with new CEO Brase stating that brands that were not playing a great strategic role could be divested and others added.
Net sales in the Refrigerated & Frozen segment fell 2.1% from a year earlier during the quarter, while volumes decreased 1% and prices fell 1.5%.
Pricing and product mix contributed 1% to total organic net sales, partly offsetting lower volumes, Conagra said.
The company's total quarterly net sales came in at $2.60 billion, beating estimates of $2.59 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Adjusted gross profit for the first quarter fell 3.9% from a year earlier, slightly offset by $4 million in tariff refunds.
Quarterly adjusted earnings per share stood at 41 cents, compared with analysts' estimates of 28 cents. Conagra also reaffirmed its annual sales and profit forecasts.
Shares of the Hunt's ketchup-maker were down 3% in premarket trading.
Conagra Brands čeká zveřejnění výsledků za 1. čtvrtletí fiskálního roku 2027 s nízkými očekáváními: tržby 2,59 miliardy USD a upravený zisk 0,28 USD na akcii. Firma zároveň čelí dlouhodobému poklesu tržeb a slabším fundamentům.
This coming Hump Day is going to be an important one for Conagra Brands (CAG -1.12%). That morning, it's scheduled to publish its first quarterly earnings report for the current fiscal year (2027), and expectations are modest. Even so, the food company has missed analyst estimates more than once in the recent past, and if that happens again, its already-beaten-down stock could take another body blow.
Let's take a look at the expectations for first-quarter performance and gauge Conagra's prospects for that period and beyond.
Image source: Getty Images.
Downward trajectoriesThe consensus analyst net sales estimate for Conagra's first quarter, i.e., the three-month stretch ending Aug. 31, is $2.59 billion. That's less than 2% below what the storied comestibles company earned in the same period of fiscal 2026.
Those pundits are modeling a far more dramatic drop in net income, as their collective estimate for the metric not under generally accepted accounting principles (non-GAAP, or adjusted) is $0.28 per share. Coincidentally, this is 28% below the year-ago result.
That downward dynamic isn't especially encouraging, however we should keep in mind that it's not unusual for Conagra to top expectations, if only modestly. In fact, it beat on adjusted earnings in three of the four reported fiscal 2026 quarters, with the only miss (for the third quarter figure) being a narrow one, at $0.39 per share versus the $0.40 per share analyst consensus.
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Adjusting to the modern eraWe can't ignore those low expectations, however, and we can't turn away from the continuing erosion of Conagra's key fundamentals. Zooming out some, annual net sales have fallen in every fiscal year since 2023. On top of that, the typically profitable company posted a fairly steep ($1.9 billion) GAAP net loss for 2026. Much of that was due to over $2.9 billion in non-cash impairment charges against legacy brands, plus goodwill.
However, while that means it's largely a paper loss, it still looms large in investors’ view. And even though the company posted an adjusted net profit, at $823 million it was well down from the previous year's more than $1.1 billion.
Earlier this year, management was compelled, for the sake of the finances, to cut the company's quarterly dividend. It chopped it in half, resulting in a quarterly payout of just under $0.18 per share. That was the first time since 2006 it reduced the dividend, by the way.
The downward trend in fundamentals is mainly due to the nature of Conagra's business. It's still holding on to its historical role as a purveyor of frozen and prepared foods. The Birds Eye line remains a supermarket freezer mainstay, as does Orville Redenbacher's popcorn in the snack aisle, and Slim Jim meat tubes in the checkout rack. We oldies who remember grocery shopping with Mom and Dad in decades past saw those same products in the same spots.
But the food business is always changing, because consumer tastes are constantly shifting. For years now, folks have become increasingly more health-conscious, and demand for healthy comestibles has increased precipitously. Witness the rise of organic products, for one; these goods basically only existed in health food stores in the old days. Remember those? Since then, they've gone wide and mainstream.
Meet the new bossIt can be hard for a veteran company to devise and execute a major strategic change, but at this point, that might just be what's needed for Conagra. In April, the company appointed a new CEO, John Brase. He's a long-serving food industry executive, so he's sure to have a good read on the current state of the industry. But it feels to me there's significant inertia at the company, and we haven't yet received any indication there will be a major change in its approach. If there are intimations of this in the upcoming earnings report, investors might be bullish enough to push the stock higher.
I'd say the same if Conagra manages a strong beat on either the top or bottom line. Or if it declares even a modest dividend raise. Would I bet on one of these two things to happen? At this point, no, but for the sake of both the company and its shareholders, it'd be nice if I'm wrong.
Conagra Brands čeká v 1. čtvrtletí pokles organických čistých tržeb v nízkých jednotkách procent a upravené provozní marže v horní části jednociferného pásma. Tlak zvyšují inflace a cla.
Key Takeaways Conagra expects Q1 organic net sales to decline in the low-single-digit range amid soft category trends. CAG expects Q1 adjusted operating margin in the high-single-digit range amid inflation and tariff costs. Conagra targets productivity above 4% of the cost of goods sold while investing more in growth platforms. Conagra Brands, Inc. (CAG - Free Report) is likely to witness a top-and bottom-line decline when it reports first-quarter fiscal 2027 earnings on Sept. 30. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $2.6 billion, indicating a decrease of 1.4% from the year-ago reported number.
The consensus mark for earnings has remained unchanged over the past 30 days at 31 cents a share, which suggests a fall of 20.5% from the figure recorded in the year-ago period. CAG has a trailing four-quarter surprise of about 5%, on average.
Factors Likely to Influence CAG’s Upcoming ResultsConagra Brands’ first-quarter results are likely to be pressured by soft category trends and the lingering impact of inflation-justified pricing actions implemented during fiscal 2026. Management expects organic net sales to decline in the low-single-digit range, reflecting current category trends and the wrap of prior pricing actions. New pricing initiatives are not expected to reach the market until mid-second quarter, limiting their ability to support first-quarter sales.
Margins are also likely to have remained under pressure. Management expects heightened first-quarter inflation stemming from oil-related and logistics pressures, while the roughly $40 million fiscal 2027 tariff-related cost wrap is expected to over-index to the quarter. The planned step-up in advertising and promotional spending could have added to near-term costs. Conagra expects first-quarter adjusted operating margin in the high-single-digit range, which suggests a contraction from the year-ago period’s figure of 11.8%.
Some pressures may have been partly offset by productivity efforts and continued brand support. Conagra is targeting productivity above 4% of the cost of goods sold for fiscal 2027, while increased advertising investment is focused on growth platforms such as frozen meals and meat snacks. Recent volume-share gains in frozen meals and vegetables, along with momentum in meat snacks, may also have provided some support if sustained into the quarter.
Earnings Whispers for CAGOur proven model doesn’t conclusively predict an earnings beat for Conagra Brands this time. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat, which is not the case here.
Conagra Brands currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) and has an Earnings ESP of +3.22%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Stocks With the Favorable CombinationHere are some companies worth considering, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this reporting cycle.
Colgate-Palmolive Company (CL - Free Report) currently has an Earnings ESP of +1.94% and a Zacks Rank of 3. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its upcoming quarter’s revenues is pegged at $5.3 billion, indicating an approximately 4% rise from the figure reported in the prior-year quarter. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The consensus estimate for Colgate-Palmolive’s earnings is pegged at 92 cents per share, implying 1.1% growth from the year-ago quarter. CL delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 3.2%, on average.
Philip Morris International Inc. (PM - Free Report) currently has an Earnings ESP of +1.95% and a Zacks Rank of 3. The consensus estimate for the quarterly revenues is pinned at $11.4 billion, which suggests 5.2% growth from the figure reported in the prior-year quarter.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Philip Morris’ upcoming quarter’s EPS is pegged at $2.29, which calls for a 2.2% increase from the year-ago period figure. PM delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 6%, on average.
The Coca-Cola Company (KO - Free Report) currently has an Earnings ESP of +0.57% and a Zacks Rank #3. The consensus estimate for quarterly revenues is pegged at $12.9 billion, which indicates an improvement of about 4% from the figure reported in the prior-year quarter.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Coca-Cola’s upcoming quarter’s EPS is pegged at 87 cents, which calls for 6.1% growth from the figure reported in the prior-year quarter. KO delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 4.6%, on average.
Conagra Brands snížila dividendu na polovinu, aby urychlila snižování dluhu a zmírnila tlak na marže. Nadcházející výsledky ukážou, zda se klíčové metriky zlepšují.
SummaryConagra Brands cut its dividend in half to accelerate deleveraging and address persistent margin pressures amid inflation and competitive headwinds.CAG’s upcoming earnings report will be pivotal for assessing the evolution of some key metrics under the hood.I detail the investment thesis and what to watch in the upcoming earnings report.Looking for a portfolio of ideas like this one? Members of High Yield Investor get exclusive access to our subscriber-only portfolios. Learn More » Getty Images
When I last wrote about Conagra Brands, Inc. (CAG) late in 2025, I emphasized that its dividend payout looked risky and could very possibly be cut. However, the company was generating a decent bit of cash, so management did
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Akcionáři Conagra Brands schválili všech 11 kandidátů do správní rady, odměňování vedení i ratifikaci KPMG LLP jako nezávislého auditora pro fiskální rok 2027, a také návrh omezující pravomoc rady vydávat preferenční akcie bez stanovení podmínek. Nový CEO John Brase zároveň představil plán na růst marží, vyšší investice a zjednodušení podnikání.
Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) shareholders elected all 11 director nominees, approved executive compensation, ratified KPMG LLP as the company’s independent auditor for fiscal 2027, and approved a shareholder proposal limiting the board’s authority to issue blank-check preferred stock at the company’s 2026 annual meeting.
The virtual meeting, held Sept. 23, had approximately 80% of Conagra’s voting stock represented either in person or by proxy, according to Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary Carey Bartell. The certified final voting results are expected to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Form 8-K within four business days.
The shareholder proposal was submitted by The Accountability Board. Matthew Prescott, the organization’s president and chief operating officer, urged shareholders to support the measure, saying similar proposals had “passed resoundingly at other companies recently.” Board Changes and Leadership Transition Non-Executive Chairman Richard Lenny opened the meeting by welcoming John Brase to his first shareholder meeting as Conagra’s president and chief executive officer. Brase assumed the CEO position at the start of fiscal 2027.
Lenny said the board added John Mulligan and Pietro Satriano as independent directors during fiscal 2026. He also outlined committee leadership changes under the board’s succession plan: Melissa Lora became chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee, Denise Paulonis became chair of the audit and finance committee, and Mulligan succeeded Ruth Ann Marshall as chair of the human resources committee.
Lenny thanked Marshall for 10 years of leadership of the human resources committee and recognized Emanuel Chirico, who did not stand for reelection. He also credited former CEO Sean Connolly, who led Conagra for more than a decade and oversaw its transformation into a focused branded food company.
“The board’s fully committed to working with John Brase and his management team to drive long-term shareholder value,” Lenny said.
Fiscal 2026 Results Brase said Conagra delivered fiscal 2026 results within its original guidance ranges amid what he described as a dynamic environment, while acknowledging that the company needs to take “bold action” to unlock its full potential.
Reported net sales decreased 2.9%. Organic net sales decreased 0.4%. Reported operating margin was negative 14.4%, while adjusted operating margin was 11.3%. Reported diluted loss per share was $4, while adjusted earnings per share were $1.72. The company paid approximately $670 million in dividends. Net debt fell by nearly $1 billion compared with fiscal 2025. Conagra plans to report its first-quarter fiscal 2027 results on Sept. 30.
Four Priorities for Profitable Growth Brase outlined four interconnected priorities: restoring margins, increasing investment in brands and supply-chain capabilities, simplifying the business, and reallocating capital.
On margins, he said Conagra has sacrificed a “significant amount” of profitability over several years due to inflation and an emphasis on volume growth. The company aims to generate more than 4% productivity and will use targeted, inflation-justified pricing where needed, particularly in its frozen portfolio. Brase said those pricing steps could pressure volumes in the short term but are intended to support longer-term investment and category health.
For fiscal 2027, Conagra intends to raise advertising spending to approximately 3% of net sales, a 14% year-over-year increase. The additional investment will focus especially on frozen meals and meat snacks. The company also plans to increase capital investment in its supply chain to improve service, resilience and productivity.
Brase said “radical simplicity” will guide Conagra’s operations and portfolio decisions. The company will focus resources on brands and categories where it is best positioned and evaluate strategic alternatives for non-core businesses.
He also discussed Conagra’s July decision to reset its dividend, describing it as a move intended to accelerate progress toward the company’s leverage target, support business investments and improve financial flexibility. Brase said the company still intends to maintain a meaningful dividend that can grow with earnings over time.
Portfolio and Consumer Trends During the shareholder question-and-answer session, Brase said Conagra regularly evaluates strategic alternatives and expects to continue pursuing acquisitions and divestitures over time, though he declined to comment on possible future transactions or a potential company split.
Brase said the company’s portfolio is positioned to serve consumers using GLP-1 treatments through portion-controlled offerings, Healthy Choice frozen meals, high-protein Duke’s and Slim Jim snacks, and fiber-forward products including DAVID Seeds, Orville Redenbacher’s and Angie’s BOOMCHICKAPOP popcorn.
He also said Conagra’s range of frozen-meal brands allows it to compete across varying consumer spending conditions, citing premium offerings such as Healthy Choice and Evol alongside value-oriented Banquet products.
Brase said Conagra is developing a longer-term strategic roadmap and plans to provide additional details at a publicly available Investor Day in early calendar 2027.
About Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG) Conagra Brands, Inc is a packaged food company that develops, manufactures and markets branded and private-label food products primarily in North America. Its portfolio spans frozen meals and sides, snacks, shelf-stable foods, condiments, refrigerated foods and cooking products, serving retail grocery, foodservice and other distribution channels.
Its well-known brands include Birds Eye, Healthy Choice, Banquet, Marie Callender’s, Duncan Hines, Reddi-wip, Slim Jim, Vlasic, Hunt’s and PAM.
, /PRNewswire/ -- Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE: CAG) today announced that its Board of Directors approved a quarterly dividend payment of $0.175 per share of CAG common stock to be paid on December 3, 2026 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on November 5, 2026. Conagra Brands, Inc. has paid consecutive quarterly dividends since January 1976.
About Conagra Brands
Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE: CAG), is one of North America's leading branded food companies. We combine a 100-year history of making quality food with agility and a relentless focus on collaboration and innovation. The company's portfolio is continuously evolving to satisfy consumers' ever-changing food preferences. Conagra's brands include Birds Eye®, Duncan Hines®, Healthy Choice®, Marie Callender's®, Reddi-wip®, Slim Jim®, Angie's® BOOMCHICKAPOP®, and many more. As a corporate citizen, we aim to do what's right for our business, our employees, our communities and the world. Headquartered in Chicago, Conagra Brands generated fiscal 2026 net sales of over $11 billion. For more information, visit www.conagrabrands.com.
For more information, please contact:
MEDIA: [email protected]
INVESTORS: [email protected]
Conagra říká, že Američané stále častěji používají AI při výběru svačin, což podporuje poptávku po potravinách s vyšším obsahem bílkovin a po produktech na míru zdravotním cílům.
Americans are increasingly asking AI what to snack on, according to Conagra Brands (CAG.N), a shift the Slim Jim meat stick-maker says is helping fuel demand for higher-protein foods, bold flavours and products tailored to specific health goals.
Driven partly by the rapid rise of weight-loss drugs and the White House's "Make America Healthy Again" initiative, consumers are seeking healthier food options more than ever.
Conagra, which also makes Hunt's ketchup, worked with research firm Circana to analyse more than 53 million shopping transactions covering 17,000 products across the US snacking sector. The sector generates $198.2 billion in annual retail sales and is growing about 1.4 times faster than the broader food market.
More has changed in how Americans eat and shop for food in the six years since the COVID-19 pandemic than in the previous 50 years, said Bob Nolan, Conagra's senior vice president of growth science.
"Snacks are playing a bigger and more personal role in consumers' lives, whether someone wants a boost of protein, lasting energy, or a moment of comforting indulgence," Nolan said on Wednesday.
Health trends are only part of the story. Conagra's research found that younger consumers, particularly Gen Z, are driving demand for bolder flavours, from sweet-and-spicy combinations to tangy and briny snacks.
Consumers are also examining ingredients more closely and increasingly using AI tools to guide purchasing decisions, Conagra said. Rather than searching for a specific product, shoppers are asking for snacks that meet particular needs, such as higher protein or fibre content.
"That's why some of the traditional categories have been under pressure," said Nolan, noting that cookies and salty snacks have struggled.
"The emergence of these more nutrient-dense snacks and snacking for purpose have started really growing and accelerating," Nolan said.
Conagra Brands za poslední měsíc přidala 6,4 % poté, co ve 4. fiskálním čtvrtletí překonala odhady zisku a tržeb. Firma ale ve fiskálním roce 2027 očekává pokles organických tržeb o 1–3 %.
It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Conagra Brands (CAG - Free Report) . Shares have added about 6.4% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.
But investors have to be wondering, will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Conagra Brands due for a pullback? Well, first let's take a quick look at its latest earnings report in order to get a better handle on the recent drivers for Conagra Brands before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late.
Conagra Brands Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates, Sales Rise 3.6% Y/YConagra Brands reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 results, wherein both top and bottom lines beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate. While net sales increased, earnings decreased from the year-ago period’s actuals. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter were 47 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 46 cents. The bottom line dropped 16.1% year over year.
Net sales increased 3.6% year over year to $2,882.1 million, slightly exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,876 million. The increase reflected a 7.7% benefit from the 53rd week and a 0.5% favorable foreign exchange impact, partly offset by a 4.6% headwind from M&A activity.
Organic net sales remained flat, supported by a 1.6% increase in price/mix, which offset a 1.6% decline in volume, with the company gaining volume share in categories including frozen single-serve meals, frozen multi-serve meals, frozen vegetables, meat snacks, seeds and pudding.
Adjusted gross profit declined 1.6% to $706 million, while adjusted gross margin contracted 130 basis points to 24.5%, as productivity initiatives, approximately $6 million in tariff refunds and the benefit of the 53rd week were more than offset by cost inflation and unfavorable operating leverage. Adjusted SG&A expenses, which include advertising and promotional expenses, increased 11% to $369 million, due to elevated incentive compensation and the impact of the 53rd week. Adjusted EBITDA declined 11% to $484.4 million.
Decoding CAG’s Segmental PerformanceGrocery & Snacks: Net sales rose 0.3% year over year to about $1.2 billion, reflecting a 7.8% benefit from the 53rd week, partly offset by an 8% M&A headwind, while organic net sales grew 0.5%. Organic growth was driven by a 4% increase in price/mix, partially offset by a 3.5% decline in volume. Adjusted operating profit fell 4.1% to $216 million
Refrigerated & Frozen: Net sales increased 5.3% to $1.2 billion, supported by a 7.6% benefit from the 53rd week despite a 1.8% M&A headwind and a 0.5% decline in organic net sales. Organic sales reflected a 0.8% decline in price/mix, partially offset by a 0.3% increase in volume. Adjusted operating profit decreased 18.5% to $139 million.
International: Sales jumped 6.3% to $244 million, benefiting from 6% favorable foreign exchange and a 7.6% contribution from the 53rd week, partially offset by a 4.9% M&A impact and a 2.4% decline in organic net sales. Organic sales were affected by a 3% decline in volume, partly mitigated by a 0.6% increase in price/mix. Adjusted operating profit slipped 7.1% to $33 million.
Foodservice: Net sales rose 8.1% to $302 million, driven by a 7.7% benefit from the 53rd week and 1.8% organic growth, partially offset by a 1.4% M&A headwind. Organic growth was supported by a 2.6% increase in price/mix despite a 0.8% decline in volume. Adjusted operating profit declined 6.9% to $29 million.
What to Expect From CAG in FY27?For fiscal 2027, the company expects organic net sales to decline 1-3%, adjusted operating margin to be in the range of 10-10.5%, and adjusted EPS of $1.40-$1.50. The outlook also assumes equity earnings of approximately $140 million and free cash flow conversion of more than 90%.
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?Since the earnings release, investors have witnessed a downward trend in fresh estimates.
The consensus estimate has shifted -20.88% due to these changes.
VGM ScoresAt this time, Conagra Brands has a nice Growth Score of B, though it is lagging a lot on the Momentum Score front with an F. However, the stock was allocated a grade of B on the value side, putting it in the top 40% for this investment strategy.
Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of B. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.
OutlookEstimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift. It's no surprise Conagra Brands has a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell). We expect a below average return from the stock in the next few months.
Performance of an Industry PlayerConagra Brands is part of the Zacks Food - Miscellaneous industry. Over the past month, General Mills (GIS - Free Report) , a stock from the same industry, has gained 0.5%. The company reported its results for the quarter ended May 2026 more than a month ago.
General Mills reported revenues of $4.61 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +1.2%. EPS of $0.95 for the same period compares with $0.74 a year ago.
For the current quarter, General Mills is expected to post earnings of $0.73 per share, indicating a change of -15.1% from the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed -1.7% over the last 30 days.
The overall direction and magnitude of estimate revisions translate into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for General Mills. Also, the stock has a VGM Score of C.
Conagra pro fiskální rok 2027 čeká pokles organických čistých tržeb o 1 % až 3 % a zisk na akcii 1,40 až 1,50 USD. Firma zároveň snížila dividendu o 50 % a uvolní tak asi 335 milionů USD ročně.
Key Takeaways Conagra expects sales to fall 1%-3%, with EPS of $1.40-$1.50 and margins of 10%-10.5%.CAG's price hikes may aid margins, but frozen-food elasticity could deepen mid-single-digit volume declines. Conagra cut its dividend 50%, freeing $335 million yearly for debt, brands and supply-chain upgrades. Conagra Brands, Inc. (CAG - Free Report) is entering fiscal 2027 with a plan to raise prices while input costs remain elevated. The strategy is designed to protect profitability after inflation and volume-focused investments compressed margins.
The key test is whether pricing can stabilize earnings without driving a sharper decline in unit demand, especially in frozen foods where management expects unusually high elasticity.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Conagra Enters Fiscal 2027 With Lower TargetsConagra expects fiscal 2027 organic net sales to decline 1%-3%. Adjusted operating margin is projected at 10%-10.5%, while adjusted earnings are forecast at $1.40-$1.50 per share.
Those targets mark a reset from fiscal 2026, when adjusted operating margin was 11.3% and adjusted earnings were $1.72 per share. The outlook shows that pricing and productivity are unlikely to fully offset inflation, investment spending and weaker volumes in the near term.
CAG’s Pricing Push Raises Elasticity RiskManagement is shifting toward profitable growth after concluding that its earlier emphasis on volume came at too high a cost to margins. Strategic, inflation-justified pricing will focus heavily on frozen products, where profitability has faced the most pressure.
The trade-off is demand. Conagra expects volumes to fall at a mid-single-digit rate and has assumed larger-than-historical elasticities in frozen. Higher prices may support price/mix, but they could also reduce household purchases and weaken retailer movement before brand investments gain traction.
Inflation Keeps Conagra’s Margins Under StrainFourth-quarter inflation, including core inflation and gross tariffs, was about 6.5%. Beef, edible oils, crude oil and logistics remained key cost pressures, while lower internal production volumes created unfavorable operating leverage.
Fiscal 2027 guidance assumes inflation, including the tariff wrap, of roughly 5%-6%. Conagra also expects about $40 million of expense tied to prior tariff mitigation. Oil, logistics and tariff pressure should be heavier in the first quarter, when adjusted operating margin is expected in the high single digits.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
CAG’s Dividend Cut Supports Cash PreservationConagra reduced its annualized dividend 50% to 70 cents per share. The move is expected to generate about $335 million of additional discretionary cash each year for debt reduction, brand support and supply-chain modernization.
Cash preservation matters because capital expenditures are projected to rise to about $550 million from $423 million in fiscal 2026. Net leverage ended fiscal 2026 at 3.83 times and is expected near four times in fiscal 2027, limiting flexibility despite the lower payout.
Conagra’s Better Categories Could Cushion the ResetFrozen consumption volume increased 3% in the fourth quarter, while snacks dollar consumption rose 1.9%. Volume-share gains in frozen meals, frozen vegetables and meat snacks indicate that parts of the portfolio can still respond to innovation and merchandising support.
Conagra plans to raise advertising and promotion spending 14%, with frozen meals and meat snacks among the priorities. General Mills, Inc. (GIS - Free Report) is likewise investing to improve brand relevance and organic growth, while The Kraft Heinz Company (KHC - Free Report) continues to reshape operations around growth priorities. That industry backdrop raises the execution bar for Conagra.
CAG’s Weak Rank Offsets Solid Style ScoresPricing may ease some margin pressure, but the fiscal 2027 reset leaves limited room for execution errors. Volume sensitivity, persistent inflation and elevated leverage support a cautious view until profitability begins to stabilize.
CAG currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), reflecting unfavorable near-term earnings estimate revisions. Its Value Score of B, Growth Score of B and VGM Score of B provide some support, but the Momentum Score of C and the weak rank remain more important for near-term timing. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Insider společnosti Conagra Brands Alexandre Eboli prodal 8 186 akcií za 14,28 USD, ale šlo o rutinní zadržení akcií při vestingu RSU kvůli daním. Po transakci drží 67 109 akcií.
Alexandre Eboli, the chief supply chain and transformation officer at Conagra Brands, Inc. (CAG -0.14%), disposed of 8,186 shares of common stock at $14.28 per share on July 17, 2026, and July 19, 2026, according to an SEC Form 4 filing.
Transaction summaryMetricValueShares sold8,186Transaction value~$116,896Post-transaction shares (directly held)67,109Post-transaction value$984,153.48Transaction value based on SEC Form 4 weighted average sale price ($14.28).
Key questionsWhat was the specific catalyst for this transaction?
The disposal was a non-discretionary event triggered by the vesting of restricted stock units (RSUs) granted in July 2023 and July 2025. These awards reached scheduled vesting milestones on July 17, 2026, and July 19, 2026, and the shares were withheld by the company to fulfill the insider's tax withholding requirements.What is the executive's remaining equity exposure?
Following the withholding, Eboli maintains a direct position of 67,109 shares. The executive also holds 24,015 derivative securities in the form of unvested RSUs, which are scheduled to vest in subsequent tranches through July 2028.How does this transaction align with the company's current financial profile?
As of the July 20, 2026 market close, Conagra Brands common stock was priced at $14.66, giving the company a market capitalization of $7.0 billion. The firm reported trailing twelve-month revenue of $11.3 billion and a net loss of $1.9 billion.Company OverviewMetricValueShare Price (as of market close 2026-07-20)$14.66Market Capitalization$7.0 billionRevenue (TTM)$11.3 billionNet Income (TTM)-$1.9 billionCompany SnapshotConagra Brands manufactures and distributes a diverse portfolio of packaged food products across North America, generating revenue through four primary segments: Grocery & Snacks, Refrigerated & Frozen, International, and Foodservice.The company operates a vertically integrated business model that combines manufacturing, distribution, and retail partnerships to deliver packaged foods to consumers through multiple channels, including supermarkets, foodservice establishments, and direct-to-consumer platforms.Conagra serves a broad customer base spanning retail consumers, foodservice operators, and institutional purchasers across North America, with particular emphasis on the United States market, where the majority of revenue is generated.Conagra Brands is a leading manufacturer of packaged food products with an enterprise value of $7.0 billion and annual revenues of $11.3 billion (TTM). The company leverages its diversified product portfolio and established distribution infrastructure to maintain competitive positioning within the packaged foods sector. Conagra's multi-segment operating structure provides revenue diversification across consumer retail channels and foodservice markets, supporting its strategic positioning in the defensive consumer staples category.
What this transaction means for investorsEboli's remaining awards vest in tranches stretching to July 2028, which tells you that this filing is just one scheduled slice of a multiyear compensation package coming due, with 8,186 shares peeled off for taxes at $14.28. He's one of several Conagra executives whose stock vested and got withheld the same week, a telltale sign of a shared annual grant date, rather than a huddle over the share price. Plus, he keeps 67,109 shares plus more unvested units, which means he has plenty of reason to ensure the firm performs well.
His title is worth pausing on, though. As chief supply chain and transformation officer, Eboli owns the levers Conagra is now pulling. The company just closed fiscal 2026 with fourth-quarter adjusted operating margin down 215 basis points to 11.7%, squeezed by roughly 6.5% inflation, including tariffs, and is pouring freed-up cash into supply chain modernization and manufacturing in-sourcing. CEO John Brase is pushing an initiative he calls "radical simplicity" to cut complexity. In other words, Conagra is spending to rebuild margins while sales decline, but the executive running that effort just had routine shares vest, nothing more.
Jonathan Ponciano has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Conagra Brands oznámila reset marží a zaměří se na ziskovost, jednodušší portfolio a investice do značek i dodavatelského řetězce. Pro fiskální rok 2027 čeká pokles organických tržeb o 3–1 % a upravený EPS 1,40–1,50 USD.
Key Takeaways CAG targets a margin reset with fiscal 2027 goals for sales, operating margin and EPS.Conagra Brands plans $40M more brand investment and $125M incremental capital spending.CAG is evaluating its 5,500 SKUs to reduce complexity and improve resource allocation. Conagra Brands, Inc. (CAG - Free Report) used its fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings call to outline a reset focused on restoring margins, improving supply chain capabilities and simplifying the portfolio. Management emphasized balancing near-term profitability with investments intended to strengthen future performance.
The company reported adjusted EPS of $0.47, ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.46, while revenues reached $2.882 billion compared with the consensus estimate of $2.876 billion. Management’s discussion centered more on strategic changes than on quarterly results.
CAG's Margin Reset PlanCEO John Brase said the company is prioritizing a healthier margin structure after several years of emphasizing volume growth. He highlighted the need to balance competitive pricing, investment levels and profitability as Conagra works toward a stronger operating foundation.
The company’s fiscal 2027 outlook reflects this shift, with organic net sales expected to decline 3-1%, adjusted operating margin targeted at 10-10.5%, and adjusted EPS projected at $1.40-$1.50.
Management also pointed to productivity as a key driver, targeting productivity savings above 4% while addressing inflation pressures. Executives noted that pricing actions will play a role in supporting investment capacity.
Conagra's Investment BalanceBrase said the company plans to increase brand investment by $40 million, representing a 14% increase, while adding $125 million of incremental capital spending to strengthen supply chain resilience and reduce costs.
The company expects fiscal 2027 capital expenditures of about $550 million, with free cash flow conversion above 90%. Management said investments are designed to improve manufacturing capabilities while supporting long-term efficiency.
During the Q&A, a Barclays analyst questioned whether balance sheet constraints limited investment levels. Brase responded that the dividend reduction and capital allocation changes create room for both reinvestment and progress toward the company’s leverage target.
CAG's Frozen FocusManagement maintained that frozen remains a strategic priority despite recent margin pressure. Brase said the company intends to continue investing in frozen brands while using pricing and productivity actions to rebuild profitability.
The Refrigerated & Frozen segment generated $1.2 billion in fourth-quarter sales, but adjusted operating profit declined 18.5% to $139 million due to inflation, higher SG&A and unfavorable operating leverage.
A Bank of America analyst asked about the balance between frozen margin improvement and continued investment. Management said pricing actions, productivity improvements and innovation spending are intended to address both priorities.
Conagra's Portfolio ReviewBrase said portfolio simplification is a major focus, noting that the company plans to evaluate opportunities to reduce complexity and improve resource allocation. He said the review will include a detailed assessment of the company’s approximately 5,500 SKUs.
Management highlighted frozen and permissible snacking categories, including meat snacks, seeds and popcorn, as areas where Conagra believes it has competitive advantages.
A RBC Capital Markets analyst asked about the timing of portfolio changes. Brase said strategic portfolio actions would be a longer-term effort, while near-term opportunities include reducing SKU complexity.
CAG's Guidance FrameworkConagra entered fiscal 2027 with a focus on improving execution while managing inflation and consumer sensitivity. Management said pricing assumptions and volume trends are key factors it will monitor throughout the year.
The company reported fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS of $1.72, adjusted operating margin of 11.3% and free cash flow of $978.7 million. Net debt ended the year at $7.1 billion, with a net leverage ratio of 3.83X.
Executives also said the dividend reduction is expected to support deleveraging efforts. Management expects the change to free roughly $1 billion of incremental cash flow over the next three years.
Conagra's Closing DirectionBrase said his early focus has been listening to investors, customers and employees while identifying opportunities to simplify operations and improve accountability. He highlighted Project Catalyst as an initiative aimed at improving efficiency.
Management’s message on the call was centered on rebuilding operational discipline through targeted investments, portfolio focus and stronger cash management. The company plans to provide additional strategic details at an Investor Day in early 2027.
Zacks Signals for CAGCAG carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) at present, which indicates that the stock is currently positioned lower within the Zacks Rank system based on earnings estimate revisions. The Zacks Rank can change as analysts update their estimates following new company information.
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The stock has a Value Score of A, a Growth Score of D, a Momentum Score of B and a VGM Score of B. The Zacks Style Score is designed to complement the Zacks Rank by evaluating value, growth and momentum characteristics, with higher grades representing stronger relative characteristics within each style category.
Key Takeaways CAG beat Q4 earnings and sales estimates as net sales increased 3.6% year over year. CAG's sales gained from the 53rd week and FX, while inflation and operating leverage hurt margins.CAG expects FY27 organic sales to decline 1-3% and adjusted EPS of $1.40-$1.50. Conagra Brands, Inc. (CAG - Free Report) reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 results, wherein both top and bottom lines beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate. While net sales increased, earnings decreased from the year-ago period’s actuals.
CAG’s Quarterly Performance: Key Metrics and InsightsConagra Brands’ adjusted earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter were 47 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 46 cents. The bottom line dropped 16.1% year over year.
Net sales increased 3.6% year over year to $2,882.1 million, slightly exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,876 million. The increase reflected a 7.7% benefit from the 53rd week and a 0.5% favorable foreign exchange impact, partly offset by a 4.6% headwind from M&A activity.
Organic net sales remained flat, supported by a 1.6% increase in price/mix, which offset a 1.6% decline in volume, with the company gaining volume share in categories including frozen single-serve meals, frozen multi-serve meals, frozen vegetables, meat snacks, seeds and pudding. We had anticipated volumes to fall 1% while expecting a 1.5% pricing gain.
Adjusted gross profit declined 1.6% to $706 million, while adjusted gross margin contracted 130 basis points to 24.5%, as productivity initiatives, approximately $6 million in tariff refunds and the benefit of the 53rd week were more than offset by cost inflation and unfavorable operating leverage. Our model projected adjusted gross margin contraction of about 110 basis points to 24.7%.
Adjusted SG&A expenses, which include advertising and promotional expenses, increased 11% to $369 million, due to elevated incentive compensation and the impact of the 53rd week. Adjusted EBITDA declined 11% to $484.4 million.
Decoding CAG’s Segmental PerformanceGrocery & Snacks: Net sales rose 0.3% year over year to about $1.2 billion, reflecting a 7.8% benefit from the 53rd week, partly offset by an 8% M&A headwind, while organic net sales grew 0.5%. Organic growth was driven by a 4% increase in price/mix, partially offset by a 3.5% decline in volume. Adjusted operating profit fell 4.1% to $216 million
Refrigerated & Frozen: Net sales increased 5.3% to $1.2 billion, supported by a 7.6% benefit from the 53rd week despite a 1.8% M&A headwind and a 0.5% decline in organic net sales. Organic sales reflected a 0.8% decline in price/mix, partially offset by a 0.3% increase in volume. Adjusted operating profit decreased 18.5% to $139 million.
International: Sales jumped 6.3% to $244 million, benefiting from 6% favorable foreign exchange and a 7.6% contribution from the 53rd week, partially offset by a 4.9% M&A impact and a 2.4% decline in organic net sales. Organic sales were affected by a 3% decline in volume, partly mitigated by a 0.6% increase in price/mix. Adjusted operating profit slipped 7.1% to $33 million.
Foodservice: Net sales rose 8.1% to $302 million, driven by a 7.7% benefit from the 53rd week and 1.8% organic growth, partially offset by a 1.4% M&A headwind. Organic growth was supported by a 2.6% increase in price/mix despite a 0.8% decline in volume. Adjusted operating profit declined 6.9% to $29 million.
CAG’s Financial HealthFor fiscal 2026, Conagra Brands generated net cash from operating activities of $1,402.1 million. Capital expenditures totaled $423.4 million, resulting in free cash flow of $978.7 million.
The company ended the year with net debt of approximately $7.1 billion, reflecting a year-over-year reduction and a net leverage ratio of 3.83.
Conagra Brands declared a quarterly dividend of 17.5 cents per share, payable on Sept. 2, 2026, to its shareholders of record as of the close of business on July 30.
What to Expect From CAG in FY27?For fiscal 2027, the company expects organic net sales to decline 1-3%, adjusted operating margin to be in the range of 10-10.5%, and adjusted EPS of $1.40-$1.50.
The outlook also assumes equity earnings of approximately $140 million and free cash flow conversion of more than 90%.
This Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) stock has fallen 3.7% in the past three months against the industry’s growth of 4.1%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Stocks to ConsiderUnited Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI - Free Report) distributes natural, organic, specialty, produce and conventional grocery and non-food products in the United States and Canada. At present, United Natural sports a Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The consensus estimate for United Natural’s current fiscal-year earnings implies growth of 254.9% from the year-ago figures. UNFI delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 29.9%, on average.
Mama's Creations, Inc. (MAMA - Free Report) manufactures and markets fresh deli-prepared foods in the United States. At present, MAMA flaunts a Zacks Rank of 1. Mama's Creations delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 129.2%, on average.
The consensus estimate for Mama's Creations’ current fiscal-year sales and earnings implies growth of 30% and 73.3%, respectively, from the year-ago figures.
Hormel Foods Corporation (HRL - Free Report) develops, processes and distributes various meat, nuts and other food products to foodservice, convenience store and commercial customers in the United States and internationally. It carries a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy) at present. HRL delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 3.2%, on average.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Hormel Foods’ current fiscal-year sales and earnings indicates growth of 1.5% and 9.5%, respectively, from the prior-year reported levels.
Conagra Brands oznámila za 4. fiskální čtvrtletí tržby zhruba 2,7 mld. USD, které zůstaly beze změny, ale upravený zisk na akcii klesl na 0,47 USD z 0,56 USD. Firma zároveň snížila dividendu o 50 % na anualizovanou sazbu 0,70 USD na akcii a na fiskální rok 2027 čeká pokles organických tržeb o 1 % až 3 %.
Tomato Prices Are Spiking, and These 2 Food Stocks Could Feel the SqueezeConagra Brands NYSE: CAG reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 results that were within its original full-year guidance ranges, while newly appointed CEO John Brase outlined a plan to restore margins, increase investment and simplify the packaged foods company’s operations.
Brase, speaking on his first earnings call as CEO, said Conagra’s results came in a “dynamic environment” but also showed “the continued need to take bold action to unlock our full potential.” He said the company has strong brands, attractive categories, innovation capabilities and a foundation in technology and artificial intelligence, but acknowledged several areas needing improvement.
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Conagra Stock Yields Nearly 9% After a 60% Decline—Time to Buy?“Our focus on volume and margin has become imbalanced,” Brase said, adding that Conagra has reached an inflection point after investments helped improve volumes and strengthen its market position. “The next phase is to translate that momentum into stronger profitability with a focus on restoring margin.”
Fourth-Quarter Sales Flat, Margins Down CFO Dave Marberger said fourth-quarter organic net sales were approximately $2.7 billion, flat with the prior year. Volumes declined 1.6%, while price mix increased 1.6%. Adjusted gross margin was 24.5%, and adjusted operating margin was 11.7%, down from the prior year but improved sequentially from the third quarter. Adjusted earnings per share were $0.47, compared with $0.56 a year earlier.
5 Under-the-Radar Consumer Staples Stocks With Pricing PowerFor the full fiscal year, organic net sales declined 0.4%, adjusted operating margin was 11.3%, and adjusted EPS was $1.72. Marberger said all three metrics were within Conagra’s original fiscal 2026 guidance ranges.
Segment results were mixed. Grocery & Snacks posted about $1.2 billion in fourth-quarter net sales, with organic net sales up 0.5%, driven by growth in snacks and partially offset by weakness in grocery. Refrigerated & Frozen also generated about $1.2 billion in net sales, with organic net sales down 0.5%. Marberger said volumes in that segment grew modestly, helped by volume share gains in frozen meals and vegetables and the benefit of lapping prior-year supply constraints.
International organic net sales declined 2.4%, as growth in Mexico was more than offset by softer volumes in Canada and global markets. Foodservice organic net sales rose 1.8%, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of organic growth.
Inflation and Investment Pressured Profitability Marberger said fourth-quarter adjusted operating margin declined 215 basis points from the prior year to 11.7%. Price mix contributed 90 basis points to margin, as inflation-justified pricing actions more than offset incremental merchandising investments. However, total inflation, including core inflation and gross tariffs, remained elevated at approximately 6.5%.
He cited ongoing inflation in beef and edible oil, along with more recent increases tied to crude oil and logistics. Core productivity, including tariff mitigation, was more than 5% of cost of goods sold and included about $6 million of tariff refunds. Those benefits were partly offset by unfavorable operating leverage from lower internal production volumes, which Marberger attributed mainly to pricing elasticity and actions to reduce inventory levels.
Adjusted EPS declined in the quarter due to lower adjusted operating profit as inflation exceeded productivity, lower adjusted equity earnings from the Ardent Mills joint venture and reduced profit from divested businesses. Favorability in the tax rate and the benefit of a 53rd week partially offset those pressures.
CEO Sets Four Priorities Brase identified four priorities for Conagra: stabilizing and restoring margins, increasing investment in brands and supply chain, simplifying the portfolio and organization, and rebalancing capital allocation.
He said the company has “sacrificed a significant amount of margin” over the past several years because of inflation and a focus on driving volume, particularly in frozen foods. Conagra plans to target productivity of more than 4% and implement strategic, inflation-justified pricing actions where necessary, with special emphasis on frozen products.
Brase cautioned that these pricing actions may pressure volumes in the short term but said they are needed to restore margins and fund investments for long-term category and business health.
The company also plans to increase advertising spending to about 3% of net sales in fiscal 2027, a 14% year-over-year increase, with a focus on frozen meals and meat snacks. Brase said the company will also increase capital investment in its supply chain to improve service, resilience and productivity.
Brase repeatedly emphasized “radical simplicity,” saying Conagra has operated with a portfolio that is “too large and too complex for too long.” He said the company will review where it has the right to win, actively manage the portfolio for better growth and stronger margins, and evaluate strategic options for non-core businesses.
Dividend Cut Aimed at Financial Flexibility Conagra also announced that its board approved a quarterly dividend at an annualized rate of $0.70 per share, a 50% reduction from the prior rate. Marberger said the revised dividend is expected to provide about $335 million in additional discretionary cash on an annualized basis.
The company plans to use that cash for debt reduction, brand-building investments, and supply chain and modernization initiatives. Marberger said the action resets Conagra’s dividend payout ratio near its long-term target of 50% to 55% and supports the company’s investment-grade credit rating.
Conagra reduced net debt by nearly $1 billion in fiscal 2026, and its net leverage ratio ended the year at 3.83 times. The company continues to target long-term leverage of three times.
Fiscal 2027 Outlook Calls for Lower Sales and EPS For fiscal 2027, Conagra expects organic net sales to decline 1% to 3%, adjusted operating margin of 10% to 10.5%, and adjusted EPS of $1.40 to $1.50.
Marberger said the outlook includes planned inflation-justified pricing actions and associated volume impacts. The company expects volumes to decline in the mid-single digits, assuming larger-than-historical elasticities, especially in frozen.
Conagra expects inflation to remain elevated throughout fiscal 2027, driven largely by oil-related costs, logistics and animal protein such as beef. The company also expects about $40 million in expense from wrapping a portion of last year’s tariff mitigation, equal to roughly 0.5% of cost of goods sold. Productivity is expected to exceed 4% of cost of goods sold.
In the first quarter, Conagra expects organic net sales to decline in the low single digits and adjusted operating margin in the high single digits, reflecting category trends, the wrap from fiscal 2026 pricing actions, heightened inflation and increased advertising and promotion spending.
Brase said Conagra is developing a longer-term strategic roadmap and expects to share more at an Investor Day in early calendar 2027. “We’ll be honest about where we stand and what we need to do to deliver consistent and reliable results,” he said.
About Conagra Brands NYSE: CAGConagra Brands, Inc is a leading packaged foods company based in Chicago, Illinois, with a broad portfolio of shelf-stable, frozen and refrigerated foods marketed under familiar brands. The company develops, produces and distributes a wide range of consumer food products, serving both retail grocery and foodservice channels. Conagra's product lineup includes frozen entrees, snacks, condiments, baking goods and desserts, providing convenient meal solutions for consumers across North America and select international markets.
Among its well-known brands are Birds Eye, Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine, Marie Callender's and Banquet in the frozen foods category, as well as Hunt's sauces, Orville Redenbacher's popcorn, Slim Jim meat snacks and Reddi-wip toppings.
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
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Conagra Brands schválila čtvrtletní dividendu 0,175 USD na akcii, splatnou 2. září 2026. Firma zároveň uvedla, že roční sazbu dividendy nastavuje na 0,70 USD na akcii.
, /PRNewswire/ -- Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE: CAG) today announced that its Board of Directors approved a quarterly dividend payment of $0.175 per share of CAG common stock to be paid on September 2, 2026 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on July 30, 2026. Conagra Brands, Inc. has paid consecutive quarterly dividends since January 1976.
John Brase, president and chief executive officer of Conagra Brands, commented, "Resetting our dividend to an annualized rate of $0.70 per share proactively realigns our capital allocation, accelerates progress toward our leverage target, supports critical investments, and strengthens our financial flexibility, including the ability to shape the portfolio over time. Our commitment to shareholders hasn't changed; our objective remains a balanced capital allocation, with a dividend that returns meaningful capital to shareholders and enables the dividend to grow alongside earnings over time. This decision aligns with our priorities to stabilize and restore margins, increase investments in our brands and supply chain, and reduce complexity, and we are confident it is the right decision for the long-term success of Conagra."
About Conagra Brands
Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE: CAG), is one of North America's leading branded food companies. We combine a 100-year history of making quality food with agility and a relentless focus on collaboration and innovation. The company's portfolio is continuously evolving to satisfy consumers' ever-changing food preferences. Conagra's brands include Birds Eye®, Duncan Hines®, Healthy Choice®, Marie Callender's®, Reddi-wip®, Slim Jim®, Angie's® BOOMCHICKAPOP®, and many more. As a corporate citizen, we aim to do what's right for our business, our employees, our communities and the world. Headquartered in Chicago, Conagra Brands generated fiscal 2026 net sales of over $11 billion. For more information, visit www.conagrabrands.com.
Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws that provide our current expectations and beliefs concerning future events including dividend levels, strategic priorities, and capital allocation that are subject to risks and uncertainties which are difficult to predict and could cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, our ability to act on our priorities and strategies and other risks described in our reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no responsibility to update these statements, except as required by law.
For more information, please contact:
MEDIA: [email protected]
INVESTORS: [email protected]
Wall Street expects a year-over-year decline in earnings on higher revenues when Conagra Brands (CAG - Free Report) reports results for the quarter ended May 2026. While this widely-known consensus outlook is important in gauging the company's earnings picture, a powerful factor that could impact its near-term stock price is how the actual results compare to these estimates.
The earnings report, which is expected to be released on July 15, might help the stock move higher if these key numbers are better than expectations. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower.
While management's discussion of business conditions on the earnings call will mostly determine the sustainability of the immediate price change and future earnings expectations, it's worth having a handicapping insight into the odds of a positive EPS surprise.
Zacks Consensus EstimateThis company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.46 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -17.9%.
Revenues are expected to be $2.88 billion, up 3.4% from the year-ago quarter.
Estimate Revisions TrendThe consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 0.22% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period.
Investors should keep in mind that the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts may not always get reflected in the aggregate change.
Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Earnings WhisperEstimate revisions ahead of a company's earnings release offer clues to the business conditions for the period whose results are coming out. Our proprietary surprise prediction model -- the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) -- has this insight at its core.
The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier.
Thus, a positive or negative Earnings ESP reading theoretically indicates the likely deviation of the actual earnings from the consensus estimate. However, the model's predictive power is significant for positive ESP readings only.
A positive Earnings ESP is a strong predictor of an earnings beat, particularly when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold). Our research shows that stocks with this combination produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time, and a solid Zacks Rank actually increases the predictive power of Earnings ESP.
Please note that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss. Our research shows that it is difficult to predict an earnings beat with any degree of confidence for stocks with negative Earnings ESP readings and/or Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) or 5 (Strong Sell).
How Have the Numbers Shaped Up for Conagra Brands?For Conagra Brands, the Most Accurate Estimate is higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that analysts have recently become bullish on the company's earnings prospects. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of +2.20%.
On the other hand, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of #4.
So, this combination makes it difficult to conclusively predict that Conagra Brands will beat the consensus EPS estimate.
Does Earnings Surprise History Hold Any Clue?Analysts often consider to what extent a company has been able to match consensus estimates in the past while calculating their estimates for its future earnings. So, it's worth taking a look at the surprise history for gauging its influence on the upcoming number.
For the last reported quarter, it was expected that Conagra Brands would post earnings of $0.4 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.39, delivering a surprise of -2.50%.
Over the last four quarters, the company has beaten consensus EPS estimates two times.
Bottom LineAn earnings beat or miss may not be the sole basis for a stock moving higher or lower. Many stocks end up losing ground despite an earnings beat due to other factors that disappoint investors. Similarly, unforeseen catalysts help a number of stocks gain despite an earnings miss.
That said, betting on stocks that are expected to beat earnings expectations does increase the odds of success. This is why it's worth checking a company's Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank ahead of its quarterly release. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.
Conagra Brands doesn't appear a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release.
Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.
Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) will release its fourth quarter earnings report before the opening bell on Wednesday, July 15.
Analysts expect the Chicago, Illinois-based company to report quarterly earnings of 46 cents per share, down from 56 cents per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for Conagra Brands’ quarterly revenue is $2.89 billion. It reported $2.78 billion last year, according to Benzinga Pro.
On April 1, Conagra Brands reported mixed third-quarter results and issued a cautious outlook.
Shares of Conagra Brands rose 0.3% to close at $14.34 on Thursday.
Benzinga readers can access the latest analyst ratings on the Analyst Stock Ratings page. Readers can sort by stock ticker, company name, analyst firm, rating change or other variables.
Let’s have a look at how Benzinga’s most-accurate analysts have rated the company in the recent period.
Considering buying CAG stock? Here’s what analysts think:
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Conagra má dividendový výnos 10,2 %, ale trh počítá s možným snížením dividendy kvůli slabším výsledkům a vysokému dluhu. Nový CEO navíc může dát přednost splácení dluhu.
Conagra (CAG +2.18%) operates in the consumer staples sector, a market segment generally considered a safe haven for dividend investors. However, the stock's 10.2% dividend yield is an important signal of risk. For reference, the S&P 500 index (^GSPC 0.05%) is yielding just 1%, while the average consumer staples company yields 2.1%. You need to dig in a little more before you buy this ultra-high-yield food maker.
Investors are pricing in a dividend cut at Conagra At this point, Wall Street appears to expect Conagra to cut its dividend. Given the well-above-peer-average yield, the cut could be 50% or more. As a dividend investor, you need to heed the market's warning and carefully consider the possibility of a cut.
Image source: Getty Images.
On the surface, the risk seems modest. The company posted adjusted earnings of $0.39 per share in the fiscal third quarter of 2026 and paid a per-share dividend of $0.35. That's tight, but there's still some wiggle room.
The problem is that Conagra isn't performing particularly well as a business right now. Adjusted earnings fell more than 20% year over year in the quarter. There are industry headwinds that every consumer staples maker is facing, including inflation, budget-conscious consumers, and regulatory changes. But Conagra's portfolio is not industry-leading, with its best-known brand likely being Slim Jim.
Moreover, the company has material debt. In fact, in its fiscal 2025 10k, the company provided a lengthy warning about its indebtedness, highlighting that debt could "negatively impact our ability to pay a cash dividend at an attractive level." At the time of that report, the company had $4.5 billion in debt coming due between 2026 and 2029. It actually increased its fiscal 2026 debt-repayment plans in the fiscal third quarter, clearly showing that management is aware of the leverage issue.
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Dividend risk just increased some more The risks outlined above should probably be enough to keep conservative income investors away from Conagra's ultra-high-yield stock. But on April 13, the risk of a dividend cut rose further after the company appointed a new CEO. Very often, new CEOs come in and try to wipe the slate as clean as possible. That sets the new CEO up for long-term success by allowing them to effectively reset the bar at a lower level. One easy reset is to cut the dividend. And notably, in the case of Conagra, it would allow the company to allocate more money toward debt reduction, an existing and important goal.
It is entirely possible that Conagra's board of directors stands by the dividend. But given the industry headwinds, the company's recent performance, and its debt levels, dividend investors shouldn't be surprised if the new CEO asks the board to cut the dividend.
