The Kraft Heinz Company · KHC · FY2026 Q1 · Calendar Q2 2026
Kraft Heinz Q1 Beats on EPS and Revenue as Marketing Spend Climbs 37%
Kraft Heinz delivered a better-than-expected first quarter, beating EPS estimates by nearly 16% and revenue by 2.7%, driven by market-share gains and a 37% increase in marketing investment. Management reshuffled its portfolio framework—upgrading hydration to a 'Win Big' category while downgrading frozen to 'Hold'—and confirmed $600 million of capex remains largely undeployed as dry powder for the year. However, Q2 guidance points to a 3–5% revenue decline due to Easter timing, SNAP reductions, and inflation pressures, and the stock drifted 2.6% lower in the weeks following the report. With shares trading at $27.62, well above the analyst consensus target of $22.80, the market appears to be pricing in more upside than sell-side analysts currently see. The investment thesis hinges on whether the $600 million spend can sustain share gains and translate into a return to organic growth by…
Company context
Snapshot as of publicationThe Kraft Heinz Company, along with its subsidiaries, operates as a global entity focused on the manufacturing and marketing of a broad spectrum of food and beverage products. Its reach extends across key markets such as the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, as well as numerous other international territories. The company's diverse product offerings include popular condiments and sauces, a variety of cheese and dairy items, prepared meals, meat products, and refreshing beverages. Additionally, its portfolio features coffee, an assortment of healthy snacks, salad dressings, various spices and seasonings, and a range of other general grocery staples. Kraft Heinz employs a multi-faceted distribution strategy.…
Earnings scorecard
Reported versus consensusEarnings History
Analyst 52W Price Targets
Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted previous close from FN2's market snapshot as of Jul 30, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evercore ISI Group | In Line | In Line | Maintain | Jul 23, 2026 |
| UBS | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Jul 16, 2026 |
| JP Morgan | Underweight | Underweight | Maintain | Jul 15, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Equal Weight | Equal Weight | Maintain | Jul 8, 2026 |
| Piper Sandler | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Jun 25, 2026 |
| Bernstein | Underperform | Market Perform | Downgrade | Jun 3, 2026 |
| BNP Paribas | Underperform | Underperform | Maintain | Apr 9, 2026 |
| Deutsche Bank | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Mar 30, 2026 |
| Barclays | Equal Weight | Equal Weight | Maintain | Feb 13, 2026 |
| Jefferies | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Jan 21, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Underweight | Equal Weight | Downgrade | Jan 16, 2026 |
| TD Cowen | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Oct 30, 2025 |
| Mizuho | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Oct 28, 2025 |
| Stifel | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Sep 3, 2025 |
| Argus Research | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Aug 14, 2025 |
| Goldman Sachs | Neutral | Sell | Upgrade | Jun 25, 2025 |
| Citigroup | Sell | Neutral | Downgrade | Apr 4, 2025 |
| B of A Securities | Underperform | Buy | Downgrade | Feb 13, 2025 |
| Credit Suisse | Underperform | Underperform | Maintain | Feb 16, 2023 |
| Exane BNP Paribas | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Nov 15, 2022 |
| BMO Capital | Outperform | Market Perform | Upgrade | Jun 22, 2022 |
| Guggenheim | Neutral | Buy | Downgrade | Dec 8, 2021 |
| DZ Bank | Hold | Buy | Downgrade | May 5, 2021 |
| CFRA | Hold | Hold | Maintain | Feb 13, 2020 |
| Bank of America | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Aug 9, 2019 |
| Piper Jaffray | Neutral | Underweight | Upgrade | May 31, 2019 |
| PiperJaffray | Underweight | Neutral | Downgrade | Apr 24, 2019 |
| Wolfe Research | Underperform | Peer Perform | Downgrade | Mar 29, 2019 |
| Argus | Hold | Buy | Downgrade | Feb 26, 2019 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Hold | Buy | Downgrade | Feb 22, 2019 |
| Standpoint Research | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Dec 26, 2018 |
| Susquehanna | Negative | Neutral | Downgrade | Nov 2, 2018 |
| Societe Generale | Sell | Sell | Maintain | Mar 15, 2018 |
| Berenberg | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jun 7, 2017 |
| RBC Capital | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Jul 21, 2015 |
Named analyst price targets
Upside is calculated against the persisted previous close $27.62. FMP does not supply a rating on these named-analyst rows.
| Firm | Analyst | 52W target | Price when posted | Upside | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evercore ISI | David Palmer | $23 | $25.74 | -16.7% | Jul 23, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Chris Carey | $25 | $25.3 | -9.5% | Jul 8, 2026 |
| Piper Sandler | Michael Lavery | $24 | $22.94 | -13.1% | Jun 25, 2026 |
| Bernstein | Alexia Howard | $21 | $23.33 | -24.0% | Jun 3, 2026 |
| Deutsche Bank | Analyst unavailable | $22 | $23.28 | -20.3% | May 7, 2026 |
| Piper Sandler | Analyst unavailable | $23 | $23.07 | -16.7% | May 7, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $22 | $21.89 | -20.3% | Apr 23, 2026 |
| BNP Paribas | Analyst unavailable | $18 | $23.27 | -34.8% | Apr 9, 2026 |
| Mizuho Securities | Analyst unavailable | $25 | $24.4 | -9.5% | Feb 23, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Megan Alexander Clapp | $23 | $24.39 | -16.7% | Feb 17, 2026 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $25 | $24.32 | -9.5% | Feb 13, 2026 |
| Goldman Sachs | Analyst unavailable | $23 | $24.72 | -16.7% | Feb 12, 2026 |
| Jefferies | Scott Marks | $23 | $23.76 | -16.7% | Jan 20, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Megan Clapp | $24 | $24.24 | -13.1% | Jan 16, 2026 |
| UBS | Peter Grom | $24 | $24.02 | -13.1% | Jan 14, 2026 |
| Piper Sandler | Analyst unavailable | $27 | $24.45 | -2.2% | Dec 15, 2025 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $24 | $24.58 | -13.1% | Oct 31, 2025 |
| UBS | Peter Grom | $25 | $24.6 | -9.5% | Oct 30, 2025 |
| Coker Palmer | Thomas Palmer | $25 | $24.38 | -9.5% | Oct 30, 2025 |
| Piper Sandler | Michael Lavery | $25 | $24.38 | -9.5% | Oct 30, 2025 |
| Mizuho Securities | John Baumgartner | $27 | $25.42 | -2.2% | Oct 28, 2025 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $28 | $25.14 | +1.4% | Oct 16, 2025 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $27 | $25.06 | -2.2% | Oct 8, 2025 |
| UBS | Peter Grom | $28 | $26.93 | +1.4% | Sep 4, 2025 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Matthew Smith | $28 | $26.5 | +1.4% | Sep 3, 2025 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $29 | $26.02 | +5.0% | Sep 3, 2025 |
| Mizuho Securities | John Baumgartner | $29 | $26.54 | +5.0% | May 28, 2025 |
| Piper Sandler | Michael Lavery | $35 | $35.27 | +26.7% | Nov 19, 2024 |
| Mizuho Securities | John Baumgartner | $41 | $33.89 | +48.4% | Oct 31, 2024 |
| Deutsche Bank | Steve Powers | $35 | $33.73 | +26.7% | Oct 31, 2024 |
| Goldman Sachs | Leah Jordan | $32 | $33.73 | +15.9% | Oct 30, 2024 |
| Piper Sandler | Michael Lavery | $41 | $34.06 | +48.4% | Oct 3, 2024 |
| Deutsche Bank | Stephen Powers | $40 | $35.24 | +44.8% | Aug 1, 2024 |
| Barclays | Andrew Lazar | $34 | $33.77 | +23.1% | Jul 19, 2024 |
| Wells Fargo | Chris Carey | $34 | $32.32 | +23.1% | Jun 27, 2024 |
| Piper Sandler | Michael Lavery | $42 | $35.92 | +52.1% | May 22, 2024 |
| Bernstein | Alexia Howard | $40 | $33.24 | +44.8% | Nov 14, 2023 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Matthew Smith | $44 | $39.34 | +59.3% | Apr 24, 2023 |
| Morgan Stanley | Dara Mohsenian | $70 | $38.19 | +153.4% | Mar 22, 2023 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $43 | $40.38 | +55.7% | Jan 3, 2023 |
| Morgan Stanley | Pamela Kaufman | $41 | $40.11 | +48.4% | Dec 20, 2022 |
| Deutsche Bank | Analyst unavailable | $49 | $39.48 | +77.4% | Dec 6, 2022 |
| BNP Paribas | Analyst unavailable | $39 | $37.16 | +41.2% | Nov 15, 2022 |
| Morgan Stanley | Pamela Kaufman | $37 | $35.78 | +34.0% | Oct 14, 2022 |
| Goldman Sachs | Jason English | $43 | $33.03 | +55.7% | Oct 9, 2022 |
| Credit Suisse | Analyst unavailable | $36 | $36.6 | +30.3% | Jul 28, 2022 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Christopher Growe | $43 | $36.34 | +55.7% | Jul 28, 2022 |
| Mizuho Securities | John Baumgartner | $48 | $38.43 | +73.8% | Jul 18, 2022 |
| BMO Capital | Kenneth Zaslow | $46 | $43.61 | +66.5% | Apr 29, 2022 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Christopher Growe | $45 | $42.88 | +62.9% | Apr 28, 2022 |
| Morgan Stanley | Pamela Kaufman | $38 | $37.68 | +37.6% | Mar 16, 2022 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Christopher Growe | $41 | $39.73 | +48.4% | Feb 27, 2022 |
| Piper Sandler | Michael Lavery | $40 | $37.39 | +44.8% | Feb 17, 2022 |
| Guggenheim | Laurent Grandet | $35 | $36.24 | +26.7% | Feb 16, 2022 |
| Jefferies | Robert Dickerson | $40 | $36.24 | +44.8% | Feb 16, 2022 |
| Barclays | Andrew Lazar | $41 | $35.74 | +48.4% | Aug 5, 2021 |
| DZ BANK AG | Axel Herlinghaus | $44 | $40.72 | +59.3% | May 5, 2021 |
| Evercore ISI | David Palmer | $42 | $39.59 | +52.1% | Apr 30, 2021 |
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What changed
EPS of $0.58 beat the $0.501 consensus by 15.8%; revenue of $6.047B beat the $5.885B estimate by 2.7%. Marketing spend increased 37% year-over-year, supporting share gains in Heinz, Philadelphia, and mac & cheese. Portfolio categories were reclassified: hydration moved to 'Win Big,' frozen downgraded to 'Hold.' Q2 guidance implies a 3–5% revenue decline, citing Easter timing, SNAP headwinds, and inflation. $600 million of capex remains largely undeployed; maturing debt repayment expected in H2. The prior-quarter spin-off pause remains in effect; no update on timing or resumption criteria.
Guidance delta
Guidance sentiment was maintained, but Q2 outlook implies a 3–5% revenue decline driven by Easter timing, SNAP reductions, and inflation pressures. The long-term aspiration of returning to organic growth by 2027 remains unchanged. The $600 million investment program continues, with capex outlook now described as increasing.
Key takeaways
- Q1 beat expectations with strong share gains and a 37% increase in marketing spend
- Portfolio reclassification upgraded hydration to a 'Win Big' category and downgraded frozen to 'Hold'
- Q2 guidance signals a 3–5% revenue decline due to Easter timing, SNAP headwinds, and inflation
- $600 million of capex remains largely undeployed; maturing debt repayment expected in H2
- Away-from-home channels and international markets (Indonesia, Western Europe) are key growth avenues
Management priorities
- Deploy the $600 million investment across pricing, packaging, and commercial execution
- Launch Power Mac & Cheese, Capri Sun Hydrate, Lunchables renovation, and Philadelphia Lactose Free
- Expand away-from-home channel growth leveraging Heinz brand strength
- Grow emerging markets, particularly Indonesia and Western Europe
- Repay maturing debt in H2 while maintaining leverage around 3x EBITDA
Sources
- Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-05-11T10:29:34.698584+00:00
- FN2 earnings calendar · 2026-07-26T00:37:12.209961+00:00
- Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-07-30T11:11:06.927534+00:00
- Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-07-30T11:11:06.924439+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.