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Post Holdings, Inc. (POST) reported third-quarter fiscal 2025 results, wherein both top and bottom lines beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate and increased year over year.
The company posted adjusted earnings of $2.03 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.67. The bottom line increased from the adjusted earnings of $1.54 recorded in the year-ago quarter.
Post Holdings, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Post Holdings, Inc. Quote
Net sales reached $1,984.3 million, marking a 1.9% increase year over year, which includes $8.4 million from Potato Products of Idaho, L.L.C. (“PPI”) acquisitions. When excluding the acquisition impact, net sales growth in Foodservice, Refrigerated Retail and Weetabix was counterbalanced by a decline in Post Consumer Brands. The top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,951 million.
The gross profit of $596.2 million increased 3.3% year over year, while the gross margin expanded to 30% from 29.6%.
Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses decreased 3.8% to $312.1 million. As a percentage of net sales, the metric was 15.7% compared with 16.7% reported in the year-ago period. SG&A expenses for the quarter included $3.6 million in integration costs primarily related to acquisitions.
The operating profit registered an increase of 15.5% to $234.6 million. The adjusted EBITDA was $397 million, an increase of 13.4% from $350.2 million in the year-ago quarter.
Post Consumer Brands: The segment reported net sales of $914 million, down 9.3% year over year. The figure also missed our estimate of $945 million. This decline was due to a 10.3% drop in volumes. Pet food volumes declined 13%, caused by reduced private label and co-manufactured products, as well as distribution losses. Cereal volumes fell 5.8%, reflecting overall category softness. The segment’s profit dropped 6.3% to $120.5 million, with adjusted EBITDA decreasing 8.3% to $177.5 million.
Weetabix: The segment registered a 1.3% increase in net sales to $137.9 million and missed our estimate of $139 million. This included a foreign currency tailwind of approximately 560 basis points. Volumes declined 2.5%, primarily due to the strategic exit of low-performing products and cereal category decreases, partially offset by growth in protein-based shakes. The segment's profit decreased 19.9% to $19.3 million, with adjusted EBITDA declining 4.1% to $32.8 million.
Foodservice: The segment recorded 18.6% growth in net sales to $698.5 million, which also beat our estimate of $636 million. Net sales included $7 million attributable to PPI. Excluding the benefit of PPI, volumes grew 4.5%, driven by expanded distribution in egg and potato products and growth in protein-based shakes. The segment’s profit increased 38.3% to $123.9 million, with adjusted EBITDA up 32.1% to $159 million.
Refrigerated Retail: The segment sales gained 9.1% year over year, amounting to $233.9 million and beat our estimate of $224 million. Net sales included $1.4 million attributable to PPI. Excluding the benefit of PPI, volumes increased 0.6%, reflecting the shift of holiday demand into the current-year period, partially offset by declines in cheese products. The segmental profit surged 380.4% to $24.5 million, while adjusted EBITDA grew 94.4% to $45.3 million.
Post Holdings ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $1,056.3 million, long-term debt of $7,346 million and total shareholders’ equity of $4,006.9 million.
In the third quarter of fiscal 2025, Post Holdings repurchased 0.6 million shares of its common stock for $62.1 million. For the nine months ended June 30, 2025, it repurchased a total of 3.9 million shares for $434.7 million. From the end of the third quarter through Aug. 7, 2025, the company repurchased 1.1 million shares for $121.8 million. As of Aug. 7, $231.4 million remained available under the existing share repurchase authorization.
On July 1, 2025, Post Holdings completed its acquisition of 8th Avenue Food & Provisions, Inc. (“8th Avenue”).
Post Holdings has updated its guidance for fiscal 2025 adjusted EBITDA, now expecting in a range of $1,500-$1,520 million, up from the previous band of $1,460-$1,500 million, inclusive of a partial year contribution from 8th Avenue.
In addition, the company expects fiscal 2025 capital expenditures to be between $450 million and $480 million, up from the previous band of $390-$430 million. This includes investments of $130-$140 million by Post Consumer Brands for network optimization, announced plant closures, and pet food safety and capacity enhancements. It also includes $90-$100 million in Foodservice investments, primarily for completing the Norwalk, Iowa, precooked egg facility expansion and continuing the expansion of cage-free egg facilities.
This Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) company’s shares have fallen 7.1% compared with the industry’s decline of 2.6% in the past three months.
The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. (CHEF) distributes specialty food and center-of-the-plate products in the United States, the Middle East and Canada. It currently carries a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for The Chefs' Warehouse’s current fiscal-year sales and earnings indicates growth of 6.4% and 19.1%, respectively, from the prior-year levels. CHEF delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 11.3%, on average.
Nomad Foods (NOMD), which manufactures frozen foods, holds a Zacks Rank # 2 at present. NOMD delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 3.2%, on average.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Nomad Foods’ current financial-year sales and earnings implies growth of 8.6% and 10.4%, respectively, from the year-ago number.
Ingredion Incorporated (INGR) manufactures and sells sweeteners, starches, nutrition ingredients and biomaterial solutions derived from wet milling and processing corn and other starch-based materials to a range of industries worldwide. It holds a Zacks Rank # 2 at present. INGR delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 11.1%, on average.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ingredion Incorporated’s current fiscal-year earnings implies growth of 6.7%, from the year-ago number.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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