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Consumer stocks rose Wednesday afternoon with the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP) up 0.1% and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY) increasing 0.2%.
In corporate news, General Mills' fiscal Q3 results declined less than market expectations, while the Cheerios maker reiterated its full-year outlook. The shares rose 1.3%.
Rogers Communications agreed to buy BCE's 37.5% stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment for $4.7 billion Canadian dollars ($3.48 billion). Rogers shares fell 1.6% and BCE gained 2.9%.
Amazon.com is boosting hourly wages for warehouse workers by at least $1.50 as part of a $2.2 billion package for total pay increases. The stock eased 0.1%.
The Toronto Stock Exchange was down nearly110 points at noon on Wednesday. The energy sector is the biggest decliner, down 0.9%.
Healthcare and telecoms are the biggest gainers, up 2.1% and 0.45%, respectively.
Today's marquee event is the Fed's policy pronouncements, the Federal Open Market Committee's statement and the Summary of Economic Projections with its 'dot plot' (at 2pm ET), along with Chair Powell's press conference (at 2:30pm ET). BMO Economics reckons it's close to a coin flip whether the Fed cuts the target range for the fed funds rate by either 25 bps or 50 bps. It laid out a case for both.
BMO said there will likely be at least one dissent. In the event of a 25 basis point cut, dissent in favor of 50. In the event of a 50bps cut, dissent in favor of 25. BMO added: "We reckon there won't be any dissents in favor of not cutting. And, apart from 25 or 50 this meeting, we'll be scouring the pronouncements (particularly the dot plot and presser comments) for clues to the contours of the coming rate cut campaign."
On the Canadian docket, BMO's Benjamin Reitzes said the Summary of Deliberations from the BoC's September 4 policy meeting, which saw a third consecutive 25 bp rate cut, will be scoured for any clues on what it would take to prompt more aggressive easing. Reitzes noted the economic backdrop has been "consistently soft", but said he will be watching for the level of concern around the weak start to third quarter relative to the Bank's optimistic forecast. "There's been a clear shift in the BoC's tone to be more symmetrical on medium-term inflation risks, and any further shift toward concern about downside risks will be notable," he added.
The summary will be released at 1:30 p.m. Eastern time.
Macquarie has reiterated its view that the Fed will cut by 25bps, and it expects the Fed's message to be dovish.
In terms of stock news, a big one today for sports fans across Canada, but particularly those in Toronto, involves Rogers Communications (RCI-A.TO, RCI-B.TO) on Wednesday signing an agreement to buy Bell's 37.5% ownership stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) for $4.7 billion. According to a statement, Sportsnet will continue to broadcast 50% of Toronto Maple Leafs regional games in ice hockey and 50% of Toronto Raptors games in basketball controlled by MLSE.
BCE is up 2.7% to $48.195, and is the most actively traded on the TSX, with 5.47 million shares changing hands. Rogers is down 1.8% to $54.51.
Adds details on forecast and gross margin in paragraphs 2 to 4
Sept 18 (Reuters) - Cheerios maker General Mills GIS.N posted a smaller-than-expected drop in quarterly sales on Wednesday aided by higher prices for certain snacks, helping combat a consumer demand slowdown.
It reaffirmed its fiscal year 2025 forecast, citing an uncertain economic backdrop for consumers across its core markets.
However, the company expects volume trends to gradually improve in fiscal 2025, although full-year category dollar growth is expected to be below the company’s long-term growth projections.
Shares of the company were down about 1% as General Mills saw gross margins decline in the quarter. It reported a gross margin of 34.8% owing to higher input costs and an unfavorable inventory mix.
The company's quarterly sales fell 1% to $4.85 billion from a year ago. Analysts, on average, expected a drop of 2.11% to $4.80 billion, according to LSEG data.
(Reporting by Anuja Bharat Mistry in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)
(( AnujaBharat.Mistry@thomsonreuters.com ;))
Keywords: GENERAL MILLS-RESULTS/ (UPDATE 1)
General Mills, Inc. GIS posted first-quarter fiscal 2025 results, wherein the top and bottom lines came ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate, while both metrics declined year over year. Results were hurt by the adverse net price realization and mix.
General Mills’ primary focus for fiscal 2025 is on fueling organic net sales growth, and the company progressed well toward that goal in the first quarter. GIS solidified its core by providing consumers with more exceptional experiences, resulting in improved volume, net sales and market share trends sequentially. The company also took a bold step in reshaping its portfolio with the proposed sale of its North American Yogurt business.
General Mills aims to enhance its competitiveness and regain leadership in category growth. The company plans to achieve this by delivering superior product innovation, backed by increased investments funded by strong savings from its Holistic Margin Management (“HMM”) efforts. Given these plans and the first-quarter performance, management reiterated its guidance for fiscal 2025.
The company remains committed to its Accelerate strategy, which is based on four pillars that include building brands, undertaking constant innovation, leveraging scale and standing for good. General Mills continues to focus on core markets, global platforms and local gem brands with growth prospects. It is also committed to reshaping its portfolio through prudent buyouts and divestitures.
General Mills, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
General Mills, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | General Mills, Inc. Quote
GIS’ Quarterly Performance: Key Metrics and Insights
General Mills posted adjusted earnings of $1.07 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.05. However, the bottom line declined 2% year over year on a constant-currency (cc) basis. The downside can be attributed to the lower adjusted operating profit, elevated net interest expenses and an increased adjusted effective tax rate, partly made up by reduced shares outstanding.
GIS reported net sales of $4,848.1 million, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4,780 million. The top line decreased 1% due to the adverse net price realization and mix. Organic sales also dipped 1% due to the same factors. We had expected organic sales to decline 2.3% in the first quarter.
The adjusted gross margin remained nearly flat year over year at 35.4% as gains from HMM cost savings were countered by input cost inflation and the adverse net price realization and mix. We had expected the adjusted gross margin to contract 10 bps in the quarter under review.
The adjusted operating profit came in at $865 million, down 4% at cc due to lower adjusted gross profit and increased adjusted SG&A costs. The adjusted operating profit margin contracted 50 bps to 17.8%. Our model suggested an adjusted operating margin contraction of 70 bps.
Decoding GIS’ Segmental Performance
Starting fiscal year 2025, General Mills has rebranded its previous Pet segment as North America Pet to emphasize that pet food sales outside of North America are now included in its International segment.
North America Retail: Revenues in the segment came in at $3,016.6 million, down 2% year over year due to reduced pound volume, partly made up by the positive net price realization and mix. Organic net sales also fell 2%. The segment’s operating profit declined by 7% to $746 million.
International: Revenues in the segment came in at $717 million, flat year over year, as increased pound volume (including impacts of Edgard & Cooper acquisition) was negated by the adverse net price realization and currency headwinds. Organic net sales fell 1% due to softness across China. The segment’s operating profit slumped from $50 million to $21 million.
North America Pet: Revenues came in at $576.1 million, down 1% year over year. Revenues were hurt by unfavorable net price realization and mix, partly made up by increased pound volume. Segmental organic sales also declined 1%. The segment’s operating profit came in at $119 million, up 7% on a year-over-year basis.
North America Foodservice: Revenues came in at $536.2 million, flat year over year. Also, organic net sales were flat. Sales growth across breads, biscuits, snacks and baking mixes were offset by bakery flour and pizza crust declines. The segment’s operating profit grew 21% to $72 million.
GIS’ Financial Health Snapshot & Other Developments
General Mills ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $468.1 million, long-term debt of $11,431.3 million and total stockholders’ equity (excluding noncontrolling interests) of $9,275.6 million.
GIS generated $624 million in cash from operating activities in the first quarter. Capital investments amounted to $140 million during the same period. The company paid out dividends worth $338 million and bought nearly 4.5 million shares for $300 million in the first quarter.
Constant-currency sales from the joint venture of Cereal Partners Worldwide increased 1% in the first quarter. For Haagen-Dazs Japan, sales were flat year over year at cc.
General Mills recently announced that it has reached definitive agreements to sell its North American Yogurt business to French dairy leaders Lactalis and Sodiaal in cash deals totaling $2.1 billion. These transactions are anticipated to close in 2025. The combined transactions are expected to reduce General Mills' adjusted diluted EPS by about 3% within the first 12 months post-closing.
What to Expect From GIS in Fiscal 2025?
Despite ongoing economic uncertainty affecting consumers in its main markets, General Mills anticipates improvement in volume trends for its categories in fiscal 2025. However, the overall category dollar growth for the year is likely to fall short of the company's long-term growth targets. To boost organic net sales, General Mills aims to create robust experiences with its top food brands, which should lead to better household penetration and increased market share compared to the previous year.
In fiscal 2025, General Mills plans to launch new products and innovations centered on taste, health, convenience and value. The company expects to achieve cost savings of around 4-5% of the cost of goods sold through HMM initiatives, which is likely to surpass its anticipated input cost inflation of 3-4%. GIS plans to reinvest any potential margin gains into the business, boosting its investment in brand-building efforts to enhance volume performance in fiscal 2025.
For fiscal 2025, organic net sales are anticipated to range between a flat and a 1% increase. The adjusted operating profit growth at cc is anticipated between a decline of 2% and flat. Management anticipates adjusted earnings per share (EPS) growth between down 1% and an increase of 1% at cc. The company envisions a free cash flow conversion of at least 95% of adjusted after-tax earnings.
This Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company’s shares have risen 11.8% in the past three months compared with the industry’s growth of 8.6%.
Better-Ranked Staple Stocks
Here, we have highlighted three better-ranked food stocks — The Chef's Warehouse CHEF, Flowers Foods FLO and McCormick & Company, Inc. MKC.
The Chef’s Warehouse, which engages in the distribution of specialty food products, currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
CHEF has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 33.7%, on average. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for The Chef’s Warehouse’s current fiscal year sales and earnings indicates growth of 9.7% and 12.6%, respectively, from the year-ago reported numbers.
Flowers Foods, one of the largest producers of packaged bakery foods in the United States, currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). FLO has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 1.9%, on average.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Flowers Foods’ current financial-year sales and earnings implies growth of around 1% and 5%, respectively, from the year-ago reported numbers.
McCormick is a leading manufacturer, marketer and distributor of spices, seasonings, specialty foods and flavors. It currently carries a Zacks Rank of 2.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for McCormick & Company’s current fiscal-year sales and earnings indicates advancements of 0.1% and 5.6%, respectively, from the year-ago reported figures. MKC has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 8.3%, on average.
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