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The end of an earnings season can be a great time to discover new stocks and assess how companies are handling the current business environment. Let’s take a look at how Campbell's (NASDAQ:CPB) and the rest of the shelf-stable food stocks fared in Q4.
As America industrialized and moved away from an agricultural economy, people faced more demands on their time. Packaged foods emerged as a solution offering convenience to the evolving American family, whether it be canned goods or snacks. Today, Americans seek brands that are high in quality, reliable, and reasonably priced. Furthermore, there's a growing emphasis on health-conscious and sustainable food options. Packaged food stocks are considered resilient investments. People always need to eat, so these companies can enjoy consistent demand as long as they stay on top of changing consumer preferences. The industry spans from multinational corporations to smaller specialized firms and is subject to food safety and labeling regulations.
The 21 shelf-stable food stocks we track reported a mixed Q4. As a group, revenues were in line with analysts’ consensus estimates while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 0.5% above.
In light of this news, share prices of the companies have held steady as they are up 2.5% on average since the latest earnings results.
Campbell's (NASDAQ:CPB)
With its iconic canned soup as its cornerstone product, Campbell's (NASDAQ:CPB) is a packaged food company with an illustrious portfolio of brands.
Campbell's reported revenues of $2.69 billion, up 9.3% year on year. This print fell short of analysts’ expectations by 1.8%. Overall, it was a slower quarter for the company with a miss of analysts’ organic revenue estimates and full-year EPS guidance missing analysts’ expectations.
The stock is up 3.6% since reporting and currently trades at $41.77.
Read our full report on Campbell's here, it’s free.
Best Q4: Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC)
Known for its frozen garlic bread and Parkerhouse rolls, Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ:LANC) sells bread, dressing, and dips to the retail and food service channels.
Lancaster Colony reported revenues of $509.3 million, up 4.8% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 2.8%. The business had a very strong quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.
Lancaster Colony achieved the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 14.7% since reporting. It currently trades at $190.99.