On Wednesday, Stifel reaffirmed its Buy rating on General Mills (NYSE:GIS) with a steady price target of $82.00. The $35 billion market cap food company's second quarter fiscal year 2025 earnings per share (EPS) came in at $1.40, marking a 12% increase and surpassing Stifel's estimate by $0.18. This beat was largely attributed to favorable timing, which is anticipated to reverse in the latter half of the year. InvestingPro data shows the company maintains strong profitability with a 25% return on equity, while offering a 3.64% dividend yield.
General Mills' organic sales rose by 1%, which included a 1.5% benefit from a build-up of retail inventory. However, this is also expected to reverse. The company saw an expansion in its gross margin by 130 basis points and an increase in operating profit margin by 100 basis points. Operating profit itself was up by 7%, including a 6 percentage point benefit from timing.
Despite the positive performance in the second quarter, General Mills has revised its full-year 2025 outlook downwards. The company now projects sales to be at the lower end of the previously estimated range of flat to 1% growth. Additionally, it forecasts an operating profit decline of 4% to 2% and an EPS decrease of 3% to 1%.
Previously, General Mills had expected operating profit to be between a 2% decline and flat, with EPS ranging from a 1% decline to a 1% increase. According to InvestingPro analysis, the stock appears slightly undervalued at current levels, with 8 additional exclusive ProTips available for subscribers, including insights on share buybacks and dividend consistency.
The downward revision in the forecast is primarily due to heightened promotional and growth investments. Despite this, Stifel maintains its Buy rating on General Mills, indicating continued confidence in the company's stock. The company trades at a P/E ratio of 15.6x and has demonstrated remarkable stability with low price volatility, maintaining dividend payments for 54 consecutive years.
In other recent news, General Mills reported its second quarter earnings, which surpassed analyst estimates. The company posted an adjusted earnings per share of $1.40, beating the projected $1.22, and saw a 2% year-over-year revenue increase to $5.2 billion, outperforming expectations of $5.14 billion.
Despite these positive results, General Mills adjusted its full-year outlook, now forecasting a 2-4% decline in its adjusted operating profit due to increased promotional investments and other anticipated challenges.
The company's CEO, Jeff Harmening, remarked on the progress made in accelerating volume growth and market share trends, including a return to growth in their North America Pet business. However, General Mills now targets the lower end of its previously stated 0-1% organic net sales growth for fiscal 2025.
The company's adjusted earnings per share are also expected to decline 1-3% in constant currency, a shift from the prior guidance of -1% to +1%.
These recent developments indicate a more cautious outlook for General Mills, despite a successful second quarter. The company attributes its Q2 results to certain timing factors expected to reverse in the latter half of the year, including retailer inventory increases.
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