McCormick Q1 sales beats on Mexico acquisition boost

McCormick &

31/03/2026 11:40

Overview

US flavor manufacturer reported fiscal Q1 sales up 17%, beating analyst expectations

Adjusted EPS for fiscal Q1 beat analyst expectations, rising 10% yr/yr

Company reaffirmed its fiscal 2026 outlook for sales, adjusted operating income and adjusted EPS

Unilever ULVR.L is in advanced talks to merge its food business with spice maker McCormick MKC.N, it said on Tuesday, in a potential deal that could create a $60 billion company nL6N40J0DU

Outlook

McCormick sees fiscal 2026 net sales growth of 13% to 17%

Company expects fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS of $3.05 to $3.13

McCormick anticipates sequential volume improvement and margin expansion in 2026

Result Drivers

ACQUISITION IMPACT - Sales growth was mainly driven by the January 2026 acquisition of McCormick de Mexico, which contributed 13% to the sales increase

PRICE INCREASES - Organic sales growth of 1% was primarily driven by price increases

COST SAVINGS - Margin expansion was supported by cost savings led by the Comprehensive Continuous Improvement (CCI) program, partially offset by higher commodity costs

Company press release: ID:nPnbkGdS1a

Key Details

Metric
Beat/Miss
Actual
Consensus Estimate
Q1 Sales
Beat
$1.87 bln
$1.79 bln (10 Analysts)
Q1 Adjusted EPS
Beat
$0.66
$0.59 (10 Analysts)
Q1 EPS
$3.77
Q1 Adjusted Net Income
Beat
$176.90 mln
$160.15 mln (7 Analysts)

Analyst Coverage

The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 7 "strong buy" or "buy", 7 "hold" and 1 "sell" or "strong sell"

The average consensus recommendation for the food processing peer group is "buy"

Wall Street's median 12-month price target for McCormick & Company Inc is $65.00, about 21% above its March 30 closing price of $53.72

The stock recently traded at 17 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 21 three months ago

For questions concerning the data in this report, contact Estimates.Support@lseg.com. For any other questions or feedback, contact reuters.support@thomsonreuters.com.

(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)