Hormel Foods Corp. (HRL) convened its third‑quarter 2026 earnings briefing on August 27, 2026, and The Motley Fool released the complete transcript at 8:43 p.m. EDT, providing investors with a detailed account of the company’s performance and outlook.

Call Timing and Publication

The earnings call was scheduled for the evening of August 27, 2026, and the transcript was posted shortly after the discussion concluded, timestamped at 08:43 pm Eastern Daylight Time.

Source Attribution

The transcript was prepared and distributed by The Motley Fool’s transcription team on behalf of the publication. An accompanying graphic—a stylized jester‑cap logo with a thought bubble—illustrates the brand’s visual identity, and the image credit is attributed to The Motley Fool.

Date and Call Participants

The third‑quarter earnings call was held on Thursday, August 27, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time.
Participants on the call included:

  • Jess Blomberg, Director of Investor Relations
  • Jeffrey Ettinger, Interim Chief Executive Officer
  • John Ghingo, President and Chief Executive Officer‑elect
  • Paul Kuehneman, Interim Chief Financial Officer and Controller

Key Takeaways

  • Adjusted earnings per share: $0.37, reflecting a 6 % increase from the same period a year earlier.
  • Organic net sales: fell 2 %, a result of portfolio realignment, softer commodity markets, and a constrained consumer environment.
  • Full‑year adjusted EPS guidance: $1.45 – $1.51, a tightening and upward revision from the prior $1.43 – $1.51 range.
  • Full‑year organic net sales guidance: 1 % – 2 %, narrowed from the previous 1 % – 4 % expectation to better match current market conditions.
  • Operating cash flow: $241 million, up 54 % thanks to stronger inventory and working‑capital management.
  • Gross profit: $472 million, yielding a 15.9 % gross margin.
  • Adjusted operating margin: 9.0 %, up 60 basis points, driven by lower employee costs and the timing of marketing spend.
  • Cash on hand: $840 million, an increase of $169 million compared with the end of fiscal 2025.
  • Foodservice organic net sales: continued growth for a 12th straight quarter, outpacing industry traffic despite lower commodity‑based pricing.
  • Retail volume: a roughly 50 % decline attributable to the divestiture of the whole‑bird turkey unit and the exit from private‑label snack‑nut products.
  • Capital expenditures: $68 million, earmarked for infrastructure, data, and technology to support long‑term growth.
  • Dividends: $161 million returned to shareholders, marking the 392nd consecutive quarterly payout.
  • Retail consumption: decreased 1 %, compared with a 1 % rise earlier in the fiscal year.
  • Priority brand growth: mid‑ to high‑single‑digit consumption growth for Jennie‑O ground turkey and Refrigerated Entrees.
  • Net sales guidance: $12.1 billion – $12.2 billion for the full fiscal year.
  • Adjusted operating income growth guidance: 6 % – 10 % for the year, a narrowed and raised range from prior estimates.
  • International equity and earnings: impacted by an impairment related to a minority stake in Indonesia.
  • International tonnage: largely down due to a one‑off legal‑entity transition affecting SPAM export sales.

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Risks

  • Logistics and fuel costs: Kuehneman warned that these expenses remain at their highest levels since the conflict began.
  • Turkey supply‑chain pressure: Ghingo noted that higher temperatures and poorer feed conversion during the quarter have strained the supply chain.
  • Consumer outlook: Kuehneman cautioned that the company does not anticipate a meaningful improvement in the consumer environment over the coming quarters.

Summary

Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL) highlighted a leadership transition, with John Ghingo stepping into the CEO role and Ash Bhumbla appointed as CFO. The firm pursued portfolio‑shaping moves, including selling its Brazil operations and exiting the private‑label snack‑nut line, to concentrate on higher‑margin protein businesses. International performance was affected by structural changes and a minority‑investment impairment, yet management maintained an optimistic view for the Asia‑Pacific region. The supply‑chain team implemented inventory rebalancing and adopted integrated business‑planning tools to better control production volumes and logistics costs.

Key actions included:

  • Completing the Brazil divestiture early in Q4 to sharpen focus on Asia‑Pacific.
  • Relocating International Group Vice President Swen Neufeldt to Singapore to accelerate market engagement.
  • Anticipating a reduction in International tonnage largely due to the one‑off transition impacting SPAM exports.
  • Planning to boost advertising and marketing spend in Q4 to support retail volume.
  • Ghingo emphasized opportunities for execution improvement, simplification of certain business aspects, and sharper allocation toward higher‑potential growth areas.
  • Finished‑goods inventory levels stayed flat during the quarter and fell significantly compared with the prior year.

Industry Glossary

  • Integrated Business Planning (IBP): A strategic framework that aligns multiple departments to synchronize operational plans with financial objectives.
  • Organic Net Sales: Revenue measured after excluding the effects of acquisitions, divestitures, and foreign‑currency fluctuations.
  • Rabbi Trust: An irrevocable trust used by companies to fund non‑qualified employee benefit plans.
  • Whole‑bird Turkey: Products consisting of complete turkeys typically sold during holiday periods.

Full Conference Call Transcript

Operator
Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us for Hormel Foods Corporation’s third‑quarter earnings call. I’ll now pass the microphone to Jess Blomberg, Director of Investor Relations.

Jess Blomberg
Good morning. I’m pleased to welcome you to the Hormel Foods third‑quarter fiscal 2026 earnings call. The results were released this morning before market open. If you haven’t seen the press release yet, you can find it on our website under the Investors section, along with supplemental slide decks. On this call, we have Jeff Ettinger, Interim CEO; John Ghingo, President and CEO‑elect; and Paul Kuehneman, Interim CFO and Controller. They will walk you through the quarter’s performance and our outlook. We’ll finish with a Q&A. Please keep your questions brief—one question with one follow‑up. After the call, a replay will be posted on our Investors page and archived for one year. Before we begin, I’ll remind you of our safe‑harbor statement; some remarks today are forward‑looking and actual results may differ materially. For more detail on our non‑GAAP measures, see the press release. Now, Jeff, the floor is yours.

Jeffrey Ettinger
Thank you, Jess, and good morning to everyone. Earlier this year I outlined three priorities for Hormel: strengthen execution, realize the benefits of our profitability‑boosting actions, and deepen collaboration across the enterprise. As we review Q3, I’m encouraged by the progress we’ve made against each of those goals. This quarter was solid, though not as strong as Q2. Our focus on profitable growth has delivered another quarter of earnings growth, with adjusted EPS up 6 % year‑over‑year. The top line was more mixed. Organic net sales slipped, largely due to deliberate portfolio‑shaping, softer commodity markets, and a still‑challenged consumer environment. Yet we continue to see positive momentum in many strategic areas. These results build on a strong first‑nine‑month performance: organic net sales increased, adjusted earnings grew, and the business fundamentals have strengthened.

With that confidence, we’ve revised our fiscal 2026 adjusted earnings outlook to $1.45 – $1.51, narrowing and lifting the prior $1.43 – $1.51 range. We remain confident in delivering adjusted earnings growth that meets or exceeds our long‑term expectations. We also tightened our full‑year organic net sales guidance to 1 % – 2 % from the earlier 1 % – 4 % to better reflect current market and consumer conditions. Before I close, I’d like to congratulate John Ghingo on becoming the next CEO of Hormel Foods.

Over the past year, John and I have forged a strong partnership, working side‑by‑side on virtually every major decision. Together, with our leadership team, we’ve shaped operational priorities, investment choices, portfolio strategy, and long‑term growth plans. Drawing on more than 25 years of experience in consumer packaged goods, including six years in key roles at Hormel, John is well positioned to lead. I appreciate his dedication to people, customers, shareholders, and the communities we serve, and I’m confident Hormel is set for an exciting new chapter under his leadership.

I also want to thank our investors and the broader community for their engagement and support over the past year. Although this will be my last earnings call, I look forward to meeting many of you on the road in the coming months. It has been a privilege to serve Hormel. I’ll now hand the call over to John.

John Ghingo
Thank you, Jeff. I’d like to start by thanking Jeff for his leadership and partnership over the past year. His guidance, experience, and commitment have been invaluable as we navigate change and position the company for the future. Jeff’s impact extends beyond this year, and we’re fortunate to continue benefiting from his perspective as a board member. This is his final earnings call as Interim CEO, but I look forward to ongoing engagement with investors, customers, and employees as we finish the fiscal year.

I’m honored to assume the CEO role at Hormel Foods, a company rich in protein‑innovation history, a distinctive culture, and a talented team. I’ve examined the business through a clear lens—identifying strengths, improvement areas, and capabilities that drive long‑term value. Our core strengths remain solid: beloved brands, strong positions in attractive categories, a differentiated foodservice business, a strategic international footprint, and a flexible balance sheet.

We’ve also pinpointed execution improvements, simplification opportunities, and sharper resource allocation toward higher‑growth prospects. This work is building a stronger Hormel over the long term. With that context, let’s dive into Q3 results. Despite several moving parts, we stayed disciplined and delivered adjusted earnings growth. Net sales dipped modestly, reflecting portfolio reshaping, softer commodity markets, and a challenged consumer environment, while adjusted operating margins improved versus the prior year.

Foodservice
In Q3, we achieved 12 consecutive quarters of organic net‑sales growth, outperforming industry traffic trends amid macro pressure. Growth spanned channels, customers, and product platforms, underscoring our portfolio’s resilience and category strength. Premium prepared proteins and branded pepperoni were key contributors, aligning with operator demand for differentiated, value‑added solutions. We achieved top‑line growth even with lower commodity‑based pricing in parts of the business. Foodservice profit growth outpaced sales, driving another margin expansion—an outcome of disciplined mix management and profitability focus.

Foodservice continues to benefit from our operator‑focused model and direct sales organization, enabling us to spot emerging trends, solve customer challenges, and capture opportunities. It remains a key driver of top‑line momentum and earnings.

Retail
As I mentioned last quarter, we expected a noisier top line in the back half of the year. The divestiture of the whole‑bird turkey business and the exit from certain private‑label snack‑nut products weighed on year‑over‑year net‑sales comparisons. These actions, along with pricing elasticities and a challenging consumer environment, also affected volume during the quarter.

While many factors were anticipated, the volume impact was greater than expected. These dynamics affect short‑term performance but reinforce the importance of the long‑term actions we’re taking to improve the quality of our business and focus resources on higher‑growth, higher‑margin opportunities. Importantly, the work to strengthen our protein‑centric offerings is translating into marketplace momentum for priority brands, several of which delivered net‑sales growth and continue to gain traction with consumers. Sales of Jennie‑O ground turkey and the Applegate portfolio grew, benefiting from sustained demand for protein‑rich offerings.

Hormel chili and Refrigerated Entrees also grew in dollar sales, reflecting consumers’ appetite for convenient, versatile, flavor‑forward meal solutions. Planters delivered a strong quarter, driven by impactful in‑store activations and continued brand investment. Limited‑time flavor displays for America 250 enhanced visibility, drove engagement, and reinforced Planters’ category leadership. We’re also advancing e‑commerce and digital media; early results are encouraging and bolster confidence in this iconic brand. Across retail, we’re shifting more marketing spend toward retailer media and digital channels, enabling more targeted, relevant, and measurable consumer engagement.

This evolution will continue into Q4 as we further strengthen our capabilities. Over time, we expect these efforts to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of marketing investments, allowing us to allocate more resources to high‑return brand‑building activities.

International
While the quarter was impacted by some unique items that Paul will cover in more detail, our long‑term opportunity remains compelling. We continue to focus on markets and opportunities with the strongest growth potential. During the quarter, we took important steps to advance that strategy. First, we decided to divest our Brazil operations, which proved to be a sub‑scale business in a challenging market.

This divestiture allows us to sharpen our portfolio focus on the Asia‑Pacific region. Given significant opportunities there, we relocated International Group Vice President Swen Neufeldt to Singapore. Positioning Swen in the region allows him to be more closely connected to our teams, customers, and partners, enabling faster decision‑making, deeper market engagement, and stronger execution as we pursue growth ambitions across the region.

Supply chain
We remain focused on strengthening execution and improving customer service. During the quarter, we experienced incremental costs related to planned inventory rebalancing, lower production volumes, and certain operating challenges. The broader logistics environment remained pressured.

These short‑term impacts should not obscure the progress we’re making to build long‑term supply‑chain capabilities. We’re advancing Hormel production systems across facilities, enhancing visibility through better data, planning tools, and improved coordination across the network. More broadly, I’m encouraged by the progress we see across the business. Through the first nine months, organic net sales increased 1 %, adjusted operating margins grew 30 basis points, and adjusted EPS rose 6 %, evidence that our priorities are clear and our strategy is working. No single quarter has been easy, but we’ve remained committed to delivering objectives and positioning the business for the future.

We’re sharpening our portfolio, investing behind our strongest brands and growth platforms, simplifying operations, and strengthening capabilities that drive sustainable long‑term growth. As we plan for the next fiscal year, we remain optimistic. We’re focused on balanced growth, expanding profitability, and generating strong cash flow. We operate an attractive protein category, and we believe we have