Hormel Foods (HRL) Barclays 19th Annual Global Consumer Conference summary

Fiscal 2026 priorities and progress

• Focused on driving earnings growth after strong top-line sales in 2025, emphasizing pricing, mix, and productivity improvements, resulting in enhanced margins as the year progressed.

• Achieved a 20-basis point improvement in SG&A as a percentage of organic net sales, excluding advertising, through cost control measures.

• Navigated challenges in freight, logistics, and commodity costs, with lower pork input costs benefiting value-added products.

• Earnings grew 6% through three quarters, with full-year guidance of 6%-10% growth and organic net sales expected to rise 1%-2%.

• Enhanced collaboration and productivity to respond quickly to market changes.

Q3 and Q4 performance drivers

• Food service posted its 12th consecutive quarter of top-line growth, now representing one-third of sales and half of segment profit.

• Retail brands like Jennie-O, Applegate, Hormel Chili, and Planters showed strong momentum and consumption growth.

• Adjusted operating margins and EPS expanded in Q3, but top-line results were mixed due to portfolio shaping and elasticity impacts from recent pricing rounds.

• Q4 expected to see continued top-line noise from portfolio actions but benefit from lower pork costs; cautious outlook given consumer and operating environment.

Strategic opportunities and future focus

• Protein-centric portfolio positions the company to capture long-term consumer trends toward convenient, affordable, and premium protein solutions.

• Key focus areas include innovation, investment in data and technology, and relentless execution to unlock further value.

• Consistent growth runway anticipated by leveraging strong branded portfolio and food service channel coverage.