The stock of packaged food giant General Mills (GIS) is down 5% after the Cheerios maker reported mixed financial results and offered weak forward guidance.
The Minneapolis-based company announced earnings per share (EPS) of $1 U.S., which topped analysts’ forecasts that called for $0.96 U.S.
However, General Mills reported quarterly revenue of $4.80 billion U.S., which was below Wall Street estimates of $4.96 billion U.S. Sales were down 5% from a year earlier.
The company, whose brands also include Betty Crocker, Pillsbury and Häagen-Dazs ice cream trimmed its fiscal-year guidance, saying its outlook for 2025 has weakened.
General Mills said it now expects net sales to decrease between 1.5% and 2% this year, down from a previous expectation for 1% growth.
Earnings in 2025 are forecast to decline 7% to 8%, compared with an earlier outlook that called for a 1% decline in profits.
Management said the lowered guidance is due to “macroeconomic uncertainty” and does not include the impacts of any new tariffs imposed by the U.S. government.
The company added that it expects to experience inventory headwinds in coming months.
General Mills is the latest in a series of U.S. retailers to downgrade their outlook for the year ahead due to a slowing economy and as consumers pullback their spending.
Prior to today (March 19), the stock of General Mills had declined 12% over the past year to trade at $60.44 U.S. per share.
