Shares of Hormel Foods Corp. HRL rose 1.4% in premarket trading Wednesday, even after the parent of food brands including SPAM, Planters, and Hormel reported fiscal fourth-quarter profit and sales that missed expectations, as pressure in its retail business offset strength in foodservice. Net income for the quarter to Oct. 29 dropped to $195.9 million, or 36 cents a share, from $279.9 million, or 51 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share of 42 cents missed the FactSet consensus of 44 cents. Sales fell 2.6% to $3.20 billion, just below the FactSet consensus of $3.26 billion, as overall volume declined 0.4%, with retail down 2.7% and foodservice up 4.8%. For fiscal 2024, the company expects adjusted EPS of $1.51 to $1.65, below the current FactSet consensus of $1.66. Sales are expected to grow 1% to 3%, while the current FactSet sales consensus of $12.27 billion implies a 1.3% rise. The stock has tumbled 19.7% over the past three months through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 SPX has gained 1.3%.
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