Smithfield Foods' Q4 net sales beat estimates on Packaged Meats performance

Smithfield Foods

24/03/2026 08:42

Overview

U.S. packaged meats and pork seller's fiscal Q4 net sales rose 7%, beating analyst expectations

Adjusted EPS for fiscal Q4 was $0.83

Company announced dividend increase to $1.25 per share for 2026

Outlook

Smithfield Foods sees fiscal 2026 sales up low-single-digits versus 2025

Company expects fiscal 2026 adj operating profit of $1.325 bln to $1.475 bln

Smithfield Foods forecasts fiscal 2026 capital expenditures of $350 mln to $450 mln

Result Drivers

PACKAGED MEATS MOMENTUM - Co said improved product mix, expanded retail distribution and higher foodservice volume drove Packaged Meats segment performance despite increased input costs and cautious consumer spending

FRESH PORK EXECUTION - Co said Fresh Pork segment largely mitigated market spread compression and export disruption by adapting to market conditions and expanding sales to adjacent channels

HOG PRODUCTION OPTIMIZATION - Co said rightsizing strategy and productivity improvements on retained farms drove significant year-over-year improvement in Hog Production segment operating profit

Company press release: ID:nGNX4bz7S0

Key Details

Metric
Beat/Miss
Actual
Consensus Estimate
Q4 Net Sales
Beat
$4.20 bln
$4.14 bln (4 Analysts)
Q4 Adjusted EPS from Cont. Ops
$0.83
Q4 Operating Income
$400 mln
Q4 Operating Income Margin
9.50%


Analyst Coverage

The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 6 "strong buy" or "buy", 1 "hold" and no "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 Smithfield Foods Inc is $29.00, about 23.5% above its March 23 closing price of $23.48

The stock recently traded at 10 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 9 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.)