General Mills' Q1 Earnings: Essential Insights Ahead of the Report

General Mills, Inc. GIS is likely to register a decline in its top and bottom lines when it reports first-quarter fiscal 2026 results on Sept. 17. 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for quarterly earnings has remained unchanged in the past 30 days at 81 cents per share, indicating a decrease of 24.3% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure. GIS has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 6.5%, on average.

The consensus estimate for General Mills’ quarterly revenues is pegged at $4.50 billion, which indicates a 7.1% decrease from the year-ago quarter.

Things to Know About GIS’ Q1 Earnings

General Mills operates in a highly competitive and price-sensitive food industry, where grocery inflation is weighing heavily on consumer spending. Reduced discretionary food spending by budget-conscious consumers remains a major obstacle to volume recovery. The company is also grappling with macroeconomic and operational headwinds across international markets, especially in China, where consumer demand remains subdued. 

Additionally, sluggish trends in the U.S. snacking categories and softer demand in the away-from-home foodservice channel have further added to the company’s challenges. Persistence of such trends remains a concern for the first quarter of fiscal 2026. We expect price/mix to drop 1.8% and volume to decline 1.2% in the fiscal first quarter.

However, General Mills is leveraging brand strength, innovation, cost savings and portfolio reshaping to enhance market share. The company has unveiled a multi-year global transformation initiative, part of its Accelerate strategy, to fuel growth. While General Mills has implemented cost-saving initiatives under its Holistic Margin Management strategy, persistent inflationary pressures continue to impact its performance. These broad-based cost challenges, combined with weakening consumer demand and tariff woes, underscore the tough landscape facing General Mills in the near term.

Earnings Whispers for GIS Stock

Our proven model does not predict an earnings beat for General Mills this time. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat, which is not the case here. You can uncover the best stocks before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

General Mills, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

General Mills, Inc. price-eps-surprise | General Mills, Inc. Quote

General Mills has an Earnings ESP of +1.33% and a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Stocks With the Favorable Combination

Here are some companies worth considering, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings.

The Chef's Warehouse CHEF currently has an Earnings ESP of +7.32% and a Zacks Rank of 1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The company is likely to register top-line growth when it reports third-quarter fiscal 2025 results. The consensus mark for CHEF’s quarterly revenues is pegged at $981.3 million, which indicates an increase of 5.4% from the figure reported in the prior-year quarter.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CHEF’s quarterly earnings per share (EPS) is pegged at 41 cents, indicating a 22.1% decline from the year-ago period. CHEF delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 11.3%, on average.

Newell Brands NWL currently has an Earnings ESP of +3.22% and a Zacks Rank of 3. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter 2025 EPS is pegged at 18 cents, which implies a 12.5% increase year over year.

The consensus estimate for Newell Brands’ quarterly revenues is pegged at $1.89 billion, which indicates a 2.8% drop from the figure reported in the prior-year quarter. NWL delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 25%, on average.

Kraft Heinz Company KHC currently has an Earnings ESP of +1.78% and a Zacks Rank of 3. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter 2025 EPS is pegged at 58 cents, which implies a 22.7% decrease year over year.

The consensus estimate for Kraft Heinz’s quarterly revenues is pegged at $6.28 billion, which indicates a 1.7% drop from the figure reported in the prior-year quarter. KHC delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 5.1%, on average.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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