General Mills earnings of 64 cents a share miss forecasts despite sales beat
Key Facts
General Mills reported adjusted earnings per share below analysts' expectations for its fiscal third quarter on 18 March 2026, despite sales beating estimates. Adjusted earnings were 64 cents a share, against expectations of 73 cents, Reuters reported, citing London Stock Exchange Group data. The results cover the fiscal period ended 22 February 2026, according to the company's statement. Quarterly sales were $4.44 billion, compared with analysts' expectations of $4.42 billion. The earnings miss came as higher input costs, changes in retailer inventories and weather-related supply disruptions weighed on results.
Reported sales fell 8% from the same period a year earlier, according to General Mills' statement. Organic sales declined 3%, which the company attributed to lower volumes and weaker pricing and sales mix. On a GAAP basis, net earnings attributable to the company were $303 million for the quarter under review. GAAP diluted earnings per share were $0.56, while adjusted operating profit was $547 million. Adjusted gross margin was 30.6%, amid pressure on profitability that the company attributed to higher input costs.
By segment, North America Retail sales were $2.6 billion, according to the company's published results. The divestiture of yogurt businesses weighed on the segment's year-on-year sales comparison during the fiscal third quarter. North America Pet sales were $640 million, with the business benefiting from the Whitebridge acquisition. Outside those businesses, General Mills said its operations in India and China grew during the same fiscal period. It added that a decline in Europe partially offset growth in the two Asian markets.
Management said during the earnings presentation that changes in retailer inventories put additional pressure on quarterly performance. It also pointed to weather-related supply chain disruptions, according to a transcript of its remarks published by Investing.com. In an earlier outlook update at a consumer industry conference, the company had attributed a slower and more costly volume recovery to consumer and market conditions. It identified those conditions as "weak consumer sentiment, rising uncertainty and significant volatility," according to its statement issued for the conference. In the previous fiscal quarter, adjusted diluted earnings per share were $1.10, down 21% year on year in constant currency.
The results announcement followed a cut to the annual outlook, which the company addressed in its update at the consumer industry conference. Before that cut, it had expected adjusted operating profit and adjusted earnings per share to decline between 10% and 15% in constant currency. General Mills shares fell 1% in early trading on the day it announced its third-quarter results, according to Reuters. Its losses since the start of the year had reached about 17% by that day, according to the agency's coverage published in March. The decline came as adjusted earnings missed analysts' expectations, despite sales exceeding their estimates.
General Mills maintained its annual outlook when it announced its fiscal third-quarter results in March 2026. It continued to expect organic sales for the fiscal year to decline between 1.5% and 2%, according to the earnings statement. Chief Executive Jeff Harmening said the company expected "an improvement in organic sales trends and a return to earnings growth" in the following fiscal quarter, according to Reuters. On costs, management expected its efficiency programs collectively to generate total savings of $600 million. Management tied those savings to the fiscal year under review, according to its remarks during the earnings presentation.