Tyson Foods, Inc. · TSN · FY2026 Q2 · Calendar Q2 2026
Tyson Foods Beats EPS Estimates, Raises Guidance on Chicken Strength
Tyson Foods delivered a Q2 FY2026 EPS beat ($0.87 vs $0.78 estimate) on $13.65B in revenue, driven by a standout chicken segment that posted $523M in adjusted operating income at a 12.2% margin. The company raised full-year adjusted operating income guidance to $2.2-$2.4B, lifting the chicken segment outlook by $200M at the midpoint. The market responded with an 8.3% abnormal return on the report day, though the stock subsequently drifted down 13.3% and now trades at $60.65, below the analyst consensus target of $71.40. The divergence between near-term operational strength and the subsequent price decline suggests investors may be weighing the sustainability of genetics-driven margin gains against persistent beef losses and commodity cost pressures.
Company context
Snapshot as of publicationTyson Foods, Inc. operates as a prominent global food producer, encompassing a broad range of activities across four core divisions: Beef, Pork, Chicken, and Prepared Foods. Within its Beef and Pork segments, the company manages the entire process from live cattle and hogs to their transformation into various meat products. This includes fabricating whole carcasses into primary and secondary cuts, providing case-ready options, and producing fully cooked meats. Its Chicken division is responsible for raising and processing poultry, delivering a spectrum of fresh, frozen, and value-added chicken items, and also supplying breeding stock. Additionally, Tyson markets specialty by-products such as animal hides. The Prepared Foods unit focuses on manufacturing and distributing a diverse portfolio of frozen and refrigerated convenience foods.…
Earnings scorecard
Reported versus consensusEarnings History
Analyst 52W Price Targets
Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted current price 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JP Morgan | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Jul 14, 2026 |
| Bernstein | Market Perform | Market Perform | Maintain | Jul 2, 2026 |
| B of A Securities | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Jul 2, 2026 |
| Piper Sandler | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Jun 18, 2026 |
| Stephens & Co. | Equal Weight | Equal Weight | Maintain | May 5, 2026 |
| Mizuho | Outperform | Buy | Maintain | Mar 26, 2026 |
| BMO Capital | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Feb 3, 2026 |
| Barclays | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Feb 3, 2026 |
| Citigroup | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Apr 15, 2025 |
| HSBC | Reduce | Reduce | Maintain | May 7, 2024 |
| Goldman Sachs | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Apr 17, 2024 |
| Credit Suisse | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Feb 7, 2023 |
| Argus Research | Hold | Buy | Downgrade | Sep 13, 2022 |
| Buckingham Research | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Feb 20, 2020 |
| Buckingham | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Feb 20, 2020 |
| Bank of America | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Nov 13, 2019 |
| Argus | Buy | Hold | Upgrade | May 14, 2019 |
| Vertical Research | Buy | Hold | Upgrade | Jan 10, 2019 |
| Vertical Group | Buy | Hold | Upgrade | Jan 10, 2019 |
| Morgan Stanley | Equal Weight | Equal Weight | Maintain | May 8, 2018 |
| Pivotal Research | Hold | Sell | Upgrade | Nov 13, 2017 |
| Jefferies | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Oct 30, 2017 |
| CLSA | Buy | Outperform | Maintain | Oct 10, 2016 |
| BB&T Capital | Hold | Buy | Downgrade | Mar 4, 2016 |
| RBC Capital | Sector Perform | Outperform | Downgrade | Jan 5, 2016 |
| Cleveland Research | Buy | Neutral | Upgrade | Feb 5, 2015 |
| KeyBanc | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jul 29, 2014 |
| DA Davidson | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jul 10, 2013 |
| Miller Tabak | Buy | Neutral | Upgrade | May 7, 2013 |
Named analyst price targets
Upside is calculated against the persisted current price $60.65. FMP does not supply a rating on these named-analyst rows.
| Firm | Analyst | 52W target | Price when posted | Upside | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coker Palmer | Thomas Palmer | $65 | $57.48 | +7.2% | Jul 14, 2026 |
| Bernstein | Analyst unavailable | $63 | $58.43 | +3.9% | Jul 2, 2026 |
| Piper Sandler | Michael Lavery | $78 | $56.2 | +28.6% | Jun 18, 2026 |
| Piper Sandler | Analyst unavailable | $80 | $68.76 | +31.9% | May 4, 2026 |
| Bernstein | Analyst unavailable | $69 | $65.74 | +13.8% | Feb 3, 2026 |
| BMO Capital | Andrew Strelzik | $73 | $65.74 | +20.4% | Feb 3, 2026 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $78 | $65.74 | +28.6% | Feb 3, 2026 |
| BMO Capital | Analyst unavailable | $67 | $56.2 | +10.5% | Jan 8, 2026 |
| Piper Sandler | Michael Lavery | $61 | $59.56 | +0.6% | Dec 12, 2025 |
| Stephens | Pooran Sharma | $61 | $55.75 | +0.6% | May 6, 2025 |
| Coker Palmer | Thomas Palmer | $60 | $60.54 | -1.1% | Apr 15, 2025 |
| Piper Sandler | Michael Lavery | $58 | $61.69 | -4.4% | Nov 13, 2024 |
| BMO Capital | Andrew Strelzik | $62 | $61.69 | +2.2% | Nov 13, 2024 |
| Barclays | Benjamin Theuer | $76 | $62.66 | +25.3% | Nov 12, 2024 |
| Bank of America Securities | Peter Galbo | $62 | $59.85 | +2.2% | Oct 15, 2024 |
| Piper Sandler | Michael Lavery | $50 | $60.52 | -17.6% | Sep 25, 2024 |
| Barclays | Benjamin Theuer | $72 | $65.13 | +18.7% | Sep 5, 2024 |
| BMO Capital | Andrew Strelzik | $60 | $62.08 | -1.1% | Aug 6, 2024 |
| Coker Palmer | Thomas Palmer | $63 | $62.51 | +3.9% | Aug 5, 2024 |
| Piper Sandler | Michael Lavery | $57 | $58.33 | -6.0% | May 7, 2024 |
| BMO Capital | Andrew Strelzik | $58 | $58.28 | -4.4% | May 7, 2024 |
| Barclays | Benjamin Theuer | $69 | $58.12 | +13.8% | Apr 16, 2024 |
| Coker Palmer | Thomas Palmer | $62 | $57.6 | +2.2% | Apr 3, 2024 |
| Loop Capital Markets | Andrew Strelzik | $46 | $47.77 | -24.2% | Nov 14, 2023 |
| Stephens | Ben Bienvenu | $70 | $47.58 | +15.4% | Nov 14, 2023 |
| Barclays | Benjamin Theurer | $50 | $46.39 | -17.6% | Nov 10, 2023 |
| UBS | Kevin Caliendo | $37 | $52.66 | -39.0% | Jul 24, 2023 |
| Deutsche Bank | Steve Powers | $35 | $50.39 | -42.3% | May 19, 2023 |
| Bernstein | Alexia Howard | $48 | $48.95 | -20.9% | May 9, 2023 |
| J.P. Morgan | Analyst unavailable | $63 | $59.92 | +3.9% | Feb 7, 2023 |
| Credit Suisse | Analyst unavailable | $58 | $61.08 | -4.4% | Feb 7, 2023 |
| Goldman Sachs | Analyst unavailable | $66 | $61.08 | +8.8% | Feb 7, 2023 |
| Piper Sandler | Analyst unavailable | $65 | $65.75 | +7.2% | Feb 1, 2023 |
| Barclays | Analyst unavailable | $58 | $67.33 | -4.4% | Nov 28, 2022 |
| J.P. Morgan | Analyst unavailable | $70 | $64.34 | +15.4% | Nov 15, 2022 |
| BMO Capital | Analyst unavailable | $75 | $64.83 | +23.7% | Nov 15, 2022 |
| Piper Sandler | Michael Lavery | $79 | $79.92 | +30.3% | Aug 9, 2022 |
| Piper Sandler | Michael Lavery | $85 | $92.84 | +40.1% | May 10, 2022 |
| Piper Sandler | Michael Lavery | $81 | $90.1 | +33.6% | May 3, 2022 |
| BMO Capital | Kenneth Zaslow | $99 | $87.14 | +63.2% | Mar 18, 2022 |
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What changed
Guidance sentiment shifted from maintained in Q1 to raised in Q2, with full-year adjusted operating income guidance lifted from $2.1-$2.3B to $2.2-$2.4B. The chicken segment was the primary driver, delivering $523M AOI at a 12.2% margin with volume up 1.7%. Management attributed roughly one-third of the quarter's chicken improvement to its growing genetics business, which it valued at 20-25x earnings and estimated could add $9-10 per share. Prepared Foods continued momentum with 4.8% sales growth and 14% margin expansion. The beef segment remained loss-generating due to tight cattle supply, consistent with the prior quarter's challenges. Free cash flow remained strong at $432M in H1 with $3.7B in liquidity, and $445M was returned to shareholders.
Guidance delta
Management raised full-year adjusted operating income guidance from $2.1-$2.3B to $2.2-$2.4B, with the chicken segment outlook increased by $200M at the midpoint. Guidance sentiment moved from maintained (Q1) to raised (Q2).
Key takeaways
- EPS of $0.87 beat the $0.78 estimate by 11.5%; revenue of $13.65B narrowly exceeded the $13.63B consensus.
- Chicken segment delivered $523M adjusted operating income at a 12.2% margin, with volume up 1.7% and retail/food-service growth outpacing total volume.
- Full-year adjusted operating income guidance raised to $2.2-$2.4B, with chicken guidance lifted $200M at the midpoint.
- The chicken genetics business accounts for roughly one-third of the quarter's improvement and is valued at 20-25x earnings, potentially adding $9-10 per share.
- Beef remains loss-generating due to tight cattle supply, though utilization improvements are expected later in the year.
- Strong cash generation: $432M free cash flow in H1, $3.7B liquidity, $445M returned to shareholders.
Management priorities
- Expanding the chicken genetics program to drive higher yields and margins.
- Launching and scaling the Jimmy Dean protein breakfast platform.
- Investing in AI-enabled product development and digital commerce capabilities.
- Proceeding with plant footprint optimization and capacity right-sizing.
- Maintaining disciplined capital allocation with $700M-$1B capex and ongoing share repurchases.
Sources
- Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-06-01T21:23:09.665953+00:00
- FN2 earnings calendar · 2026-07-26T00:37:12.209961+00:00
- Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-07-31T01:00:59.513572+00:00
- Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-07-31T01:00:59.510895+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.