Analyst Consensus ?
ConsensusHold29 ratings
Bullish517.3%
Neutral1758.6%
Bearish724.1%
Hormel Foods Corporation · HRL · FY2026 Q2 · Calendar Q2 2026
Hormel Foods Q2: Double-Digit EPS Growth, Guidance Reaffirmed
Hormel Foods delivered a strong fiscal Q2 2026, with adjusted EPS of $0.40 beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by 12.9%, while revenue of $2.97 billion narrowly exceeded expectations. The company extended its organic sales growth streak to six consecutive quarters, with all three segments -- foodservice, retail, and international -- posting sales and profit expansion. Margin expansion was driven by pricing actions, favorable mix, productivity gains, and strong turkey manufacturing performance. Management reaffirmed full-year guidance despite anticipated near-term cost headwinds from commodity inflation, fuel and logistics expenses, and inventory rebalancing. The completion of the whole-bird turkey divestiture and appointment of Hormel's first CTO signal a strategic shift toward higher-value branded offerings and technology investment. The stock surged approximately 12% on the…
Reported Before market openNYSEConsumer Defensive
$13.96B market cap
100quality score
Company context
Snapshot as of publicationHormel Foods Corporation is a prominent global food company that specializes in the creation, preparation, and supply of a diverse array of meat, nut, and other culinary items. Its extensive clientele spans retail outlets, institutional food providers (foodservice), specialty delis, and various commercial enterprises across the United States and internationally. The company's operations are strategically structured into four main divisions: Grocery Products, Refrigerated Foods, Jennie-O Turkey Store, and International & Other. Hormel's product portfolio is broad, encompassing numerous perishable goods such as fresh meats, frozen food selections, convenient refrigerated meal options, a variety of sausages, hams, guacamole, and bacon. Additionally, it offers a wide range of non-perishable items, including canned luncheon meats, various nut butters, snack nuts, chili, microwave-ready meals, hashes, stews, tortillas, salsas, and tortilla chips.…
Earnings scorecard
Reported versus consensus
Reported EPS
$0.40
Consensus $0
EPS surprise
+12.9%
Reported versus consensus
Reported revenue
$2.97B
Consensus $2.96B
Revenue surprise
+0.3%
Reported versus consensus
Earnings History
Estimate
Beat
Miss
Match
Analyst 52W Price Targets
$25.37Previous close
$22Low
$32.4Average
$54High
Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted previous close from FN2's market snapshot as of Jul 31, 2026. Not an FN2 forecast.
Firm-level rating actions
FMP grade actions identify the grading firm, not a named analyst.
| Firm | Rating | Prior rating | Action | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BNP Paribas | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Jul 14, 2026 |
| Stephens & Co. | Equal Weight | Equal Weight | Maintain | Jul 9, 2026 |
| B of A Securities | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Jun 30, 2026 |
| JP Morgan | Neutral | Overweight | Downgrade | Apr 9, 2026 |
| Barclays | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Dec 9, 2025 |
| Piper Sandler | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Dec 5, 2025 |
| Goldman Sachs | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Oct 30, 2025 |
| Citigroup | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Nov 19, 2024 |
| Argus Research | Hold | Buy | Downgrade | Mar 30, 2023 |
| Credit Suisse | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Mar 3, 2023 |
| Seaport Global | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Sep 8, 2020 |
| CFRA | Hold | Hold | Maintain | May 21, 2020 |
| Bank of America | Underperform | Underperform | Maintain | Oct 25, 2019 |
| Buckingham Research | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | May 24, 2019 |
| Jefferies | Hold | Buy | Downgrade | Nov 27, 2018 |
| Vertical Research | Sell | Hold | Downgrade | Nov 6, 2018 |
| Vertical Group | Sell | Hold | Downgrade | Nov 6, 2018 |
| BMO Capital | Market Perform | Outperform | Downgrade | Sep 17, 2018 |
| Buckingham | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Aug 16, 2018 |
| Mizuho | Underperform | Neutral | Downgrade | Jul 25, 2018 |
| Morgan Stanley | Underweight | Underweight | Maintain | Nov 3, 2017 |
| KeyBanc | Equal Weight | Sector Weight | Maintain | Dec 2, 2016 |
| Oppenheimer | Perform | Perform | Maintain | Sep 16, 2016 |
| Edward Jones | Buy | Hold | Upgrade | Sep 16, 2016 |
| BB&T Capital | Underweight | Hold | Downgrade | Apr 5, 2016 |
| CLSA | Underperform | Outperform | Downgrade | Feb 18, 2016 |
| Deutsche Bank | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Feb 17, 2016 |
| DA Davidson | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Nov 26, 2013 |
| Davenport | Buy | Neutral | Upgrade | Jul 1, 2013 |
Named analyst price targets
Upside is calculated against the persisted previous close $25.37. FMP does not supply a rating on these named-analyst rows.
| Firm | Analyst | 52W target | Price when posted | Upside | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs | Analyst unavailable | $25 | $20.76 | -1.5% | May 21, 2026 |
| Stephens | Analyst unavailable | $22 | $20.76 | -13.3% | May 21, 2026 |
| Stephens | Analyst unavailable | $25 | $24.3 | -1.5% | Feb 11, 2026 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $30 | $23.85 | +18.2% | Dec 9, 2025 |
| Piper Sandler | Michael Lavery | $26 | $24.16 | +2.5% | Dec 5, 2025 |
| Coker Palmer | Thomas Palmer | $28 | $24.16 | +10.4% | Dec 4, 2025 |
| Goldman Sachs | Analyst unavailable | $27 | $21.49 | +6.4% | Oct 30, 2025 |
| Barclays | Benjamin Theurer | $34 | $25.69 | +34.0% | Aug 29, 2025 |
| Goldman Sachs | Analyst unavailable | $35 | $30.85 | +38.0% | Jun 23, 2025 |
| Piper Sandler | Michael Lavery | $33 | $32.53 | +30.1% | Dec 5, 2024 |
| BNP Paribas | Max Gumport | $28 | $32.19 | +10.4% | Oct 21, 2024 |
| Bank of America Securities | Peter Galbo | $30 | $31.01 | +18.2% | Sep 4, 2024 |
| Coker Palmer | Thomas Palmer | $37 | $31.25 | +45.8% | Aug 13, 2024 |
| Coker Palmer | Thomas Palmer | $29 | $30.79 | +14.3% | May 30, 2024 |
| Coker Palmer | Thomas Palmer | $35 | $35.47 | +38.0% | May 22, 2024 |
| Argus Research | Analyst unavailable | $54 | $45.55 | +112.8% | Dec 30, 2022 |
| J.P. Morgan | Analyst unavailable | $47 | $47.04 | +85.3% | Dec 1, 2022 |
| Argus Research | Analyst unavailable | $53 | $46.83 | +108.9% | Sep 22, 2022 |
| Stephens | Analyst unavailable | $55 | $50.72 | +116.8% | Aug 23, 2022 |
| Piper Sandler | Michael Lavery | $49 | $46 | +93.1% | Dec 10, 2021 |
Track every rating change on HRL the moment it posts. Free to start.
Start freeMarket reaction
prior-close to event-session close
Stock move
+12.5%
Event window
SPY move
+0.6%
Same window
Abnormal move
+12.0%
Stock minus SPY
Volume
2.2×
Versus trailing sessions
Subsequent drift
+12.4%
Up to 20 sessions
HRLSPY benchmark
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What changed
Q2 adjusted EPS of $0.40 versus an estimated $0.35, a 12.9% surprise. Revenue of $2.97 billion edged past the $2.96 billion consensus. All three segments showed sales and profit expansion. The stock moved up approximately 12% on the session versus a 0.6% benchmark move, with volume at 2.24x the baseline, and continued to drift higher by roughly 12% in subsequent sessions. The company completed the divestiture of its whole-bird turkey business during the quarter and appointed Donald Monk as its first Chief Technology Officer.
Guidance delta
Full-year fiscal 2026 net sales and adjusted EPS guidance were reaffirmed. Prior guidance called for 1-4% organic sales growth and adjusted EPS of $1.43-$1.51. Management acknowledged anticipated Q3 cost headwinds from commodity inflation, fuel and logistics expenses, and inventory rebalancing but maintained the full-year outlook. Capex outlook remains stable.
Key takeaways
- Q2 delivered double-digit adjusted EPS growth, extending organic sales growth to six consecutive quarters.
- Margin expansion was driven by pricing, favorable mix, productivity gains, and strong turkey manufacturing performance.
- Full-year net sales and adjusted EPS guidance were reaffirmed despite anticipated Q3 cost headwinds.
- Completed the divestiture of the whole-bird turkey business and appointed Hormel's first CTO.
- Strategic focus remains on higher-value branded offerings, technology investment, and international growth, especially in China.
Management priorities
- Continue price actions and mix optimization throughout the back half of fiscal 2026.
- Invest in technology and data capabilities under the new Chief Technology Officer.
- Expand distribution and new occasions for the Herdez brand.
- Drive growth in international markets and prioritize higher-value branded offerings.
- Maintain marketing investments, especially for priority retail brands.
Sources
- Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-05-28T21:23:03.972902+00:00
- FN2 earnings calendar · 2026-07-26T00:37:12.209961+00:00
- Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-07-31T10:23:07.142695+00:00
- Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-07-31T10:23:07.139670+00:00
Methodology
Reported and consensus figures come from FN2's earnings event records. Market reaction and volume are calculated from daily adjusted bars around the event; abnormal move subtracts the SPY move over the same window.
Analyst target low, average, and high values are derived at request time from each named analyst's latest persisted FMP target. The current-price marker comes from FN2's persisted market snapshot. They are sell-side estimates, not an FN2 valuation or recommendation.
Transcript intelligence is a structured synthesis of the current and prior earnings-call analyses. Missing values stay missing and are never estimated.
By FN2 Research · Updated . For educational purposes only; not investment advice.