Cal-Maine Foods Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2026 Results

Announces New Segment Reporting Structure, Acquisition of Additional Eggland’s Best® Franchise Territory, and New Prepared Foods Growth Investment

RIDGELAND, Miss., July 22, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (Nasdaq: CALM) (“Cal-Maine Foods,” “we,” “us,” “our” or the “company”), the largest egg company in the United States and a leading player in the egg-based food industry, today reported results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended May 30, 2026. Unless otherwise indicated, all comparisons are to the comparable period of fiscal 2025.

Financial Highlights

Strategic Execution Highlights

• Continued focus on sales diversification and mix shift, expected to strengthen earnings durability and predictability over time
  • In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026:
    • Prepared Foods accounted for 10.9% of net sales
    • Combined, Specialty Shell Eggs and Prepared Foods increased to 53.0% of net sales
  • In fiscal 2026:
    • Prepared Foods accounted for 8.4% of net sales
    • Combined, Specialty Shell Eggs and Prepared Foods grew to 44.4% of net sales
• Acquired certain assets of Creighton Brothers LLC and its affiliates, intended to further enhance vertically integrated operating model and strengthen connectivity across shell egg and prepared foods value chain
• Acquired the Van’s® brand, aimed at accelerating strategic evolution into value-added, consumer-facing prepared foods and further diversifying earnings profile
• Subsequent to fiscal year-end:
  • Acquired additional Eggland’s Best® franchise territory in Northeast, expanding the company's distribution footprint and increasing its specialty shell egg category penetration across one of the nation’s largest, highest-income consumer markets
  • Announced new $54 million investment to further expand Prepared Foods production capacity:
    • Expected to add approximately 30% incremental production capacity beginning in the first half of fiscal 2028
    • Builds on previously announced 30% organic capacity growth and 6% Van’s® acquisition-driven capacity growth
    • Prepared Foods production capacity projected to increase by over 60% from the end of fiscal 2026 through the first half of fiscal 2028
      
      

Commentary

Sherman Miller, president and chief executive officer of Cal-Maine Foods, said, “Fiscal 2026, culminating in a particularly challenging fourth quarter, reinforced the importance of our strategy to enhance the structural mix of our business, expand our portfolio of products that support more stable and predictable financial performance, and reposition our pricing structure by reducing the impact of market-based pricing. Equally important has been maintaining a strong balance sheet, which provides the financial flexibility to navigate market cyclicality while supporting our long-term strategic priorities.

“During the quarter, industry oversupply drove wholesale shell egg prices to historically low inflation-adjusted levels. This dynamic was largely supply-driven rather than demand-driven, and we continue to see favorable long-term demand fundamentals across our end markets. The sustained trough pricing environment in the quarter provides a valuable stress-case reference point, demonstrating the resilience built through our strategic actions to date while highlighting the meaningful upside opportunity as our initiatives continue to mature.

“We are proud of the progress we have made this year executing our strategy. We are advancing our Prepared Foods network optimization and expansion initiatives on schedule, driving improved operating performance and sequential margin improvement in the quarter. We delivered Specialty Shell Egg volume growth for the full fiscal year with broad-based gains across subcategories. Notably, Specialty Shell Eggs plus Prepared Foods represented more than half of our net sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026.”

New Reportable Operating Segments

Cal-Maine Foods previously operated as one operating and one reportable segment. Effective in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, the company implemented a new operating segment structure designed to better align with how management reviews operating results and makes decisions about resource allocation and strategic initiatives.

Cal-Maine Foods’ reportable operating segments now consist of the following:

• Conventional Shell Eggs
• Specialty Shell Eggs
• Prepared Foods
  
  

Cal-Maine Foods’ remaining operations, which include co-pack shell eggs, egg products, hard-cooked eggs and other business activities, are not reportable segments, as defined by the applicable accounting standard. All prior fiscal year periods have been recast to reflect the new reportable segments, and such recast information is included in the schedules accompanying this release.

Segment Results Summary

N.M. – Not Meaningful

N/A – Not Applicable

Conventional Shell Eggs

Fourth quarter and full-year performance reflected an egg pricing environment that deteriorated throughout fiscal 2026, with egg prices reaching historically low inflation-adjusted levels in the fourth quarter and remaining well below the record-high prices of the prior fiscal year. Market conditions were driven by elevated supply, resulting in low pricing. During fiscal 2026, supply increased to levels that left the market abundantly supplied, a sharp contrast to the severe shortages experienced in the prior fiscal year. In addition, the fourth and first fiscal quarters are typically the seasonally lowest periods for pricing, even under more normal supply conditions.

These headwinds were partially offset by the benefits of existing grain-based and hybrid pricing arrangements with certain customers and rigorous commercial execution. Volume increased 3.1% in the fourth quarter and was relatively flat for the fiscal year, indicating that lower results were driven by pricing rather than demand. Average selling price per dozen decreased 70.9% in the fourth quarter and 50.9% for the fiscal year. Margins declined due to substantially lower pricing, partially offset by improved price realization relative to both the prior-year fourth quarter and preceding quarter.

Specialty Shell Eggs

Fourth quarter volumes were more consistent with historical seasonal patterns, underlying demand, and typical pricing relationships across adjacent categories. Volumes decreased 5.9% in the fourth quarter primarily due to an unusually strong prior-year comparison, which benefited from temporary demand acceleration driven by an atypical pricing relationship with conventional shell eggs. The average selling price per dozen for the fourth quarter decreased 16.5%, driven by supply-side dynamics.

As a result, the quarter reflects a seasonal reversion from an exceptionally strong prior-year period, while the broader segment continues to benefit from stable long-term pricing and favorable demand fundamentals. For the fiscal year, volume increased 2.4% despite more typical pricing dynamics, an encouraging result that reflects resilient consumer demand and the strength of the company’s commercial execution. The average selling price per dozen for the fiscal year decreased 9.5%. Margins declined in both the fourth quarter and fiscal year, primarily due to pricing that remained below the elevated prior-year levels and lower volumes in the fourth quarter.

Prepared Foods

For the fourth quarter, results reflected continued execution of previously announced network optimization and expansion initiatives. As these initiatives advanced on schedule, higher production improved utilization and fixed-cost absorption, driving stronger operating performance and sequential margin improvement. Sales prices and volume increased compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2026. The integration of Van’s® progressed in line with expectations, with early results demonstrating strong performance. The Crepini® joint venture continued to exhibit robust growth momentum, reinforcing the company’s ability to scale high-performing brands and products.

Outlook

Mr. Miller commented, "Looking ahead, we believe we are increasingly well positioned as market conditions improve, particularly as we move beyond our first quarter. During the first five weeks of our first quarter, Urner Barry reported that market prices averaged just $0.72, approximately 54% below the comparable period in our fourth quarter. More recently, Urner Barry has reported that pricing has strengthened, increasing by more than 90% in only a few weeks. Early indications point to improving supply-demand balance, supporting a more constructive egg pricing environment heading into the fall, which is historically a seasonally stronger period.

“More importantly, we believe the strategy we have been executing is beginning to gain traction. A key component of this strategy is expanding our presence in categories with attractive long-term growth opportunities and strong market positioning.

“We are excited about the expansion of our Eggland’s Best® franchise territory in the Northeast, which provides us with the right to distribute and sell Eggland’s Best® and Land O’Lakes® branded eggs in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and select key areas in Vermont, New York, and Connecticut. This expansion is expected to increase our Specialty Shell Egg volume by approximately 5% annually, and further strengthens our position in an important growth market.

“We are also advancing our long-term growth strategy with a new $54 million investment to further expand our Prepared Foods production capacity. This investment will add approximately 30% incremental production beginning in the first half of fiscal 2028, strengthening our business with a more durable, predictable, and diversified revenue and earnings profile. Together with our previously announced 30% organic capacity growth and 6% Van’s® acquisition-driven capacity growth, Prepared Foods production capacity will increase over 60% from the end of fiscal 2026 through the first half of fiscal 2028.

“We are still in the early stages of our evolution, with substantial runway to grow our value-added businesses through both organic expansion and targeted acquisitions. As our portfolio continues to mature, we expect a greater share of earnings to come from higher-quality, less cyclical sources, creating a more consistent earnings profile and positioning the company for sustainable growth and long-term shareholder value creation.”

Share Repurchase Update

Cal-Maine Foods repurchased 396,083 shares of its common stock under the company’s current share repurchase authorization during the fourth quarter for a total of $30.1 million. The repurchase program permits the company to repurchase up to $500 million, of which $320.7 million remains available.

Dividend Payment

Pursuant to the company’s variable dividend policy, Cal-Maine Foods will not pay a cash dividend for the fourth quarter and will not pay a dividend for a subsequent profitable quarter until the company is profitable on a cumulative basis computed from the date of the last quarter in which a dividend was paid. As of May 30, 2026, the total cumulative loss to be recovered before payment of any future dividends under our variable dividend policy was $35.9 million.

Conference Call and Webcast

Management will host a conference call and webcast at 9:00 a.m. ET on July 22, 2026. Participants can access the live webcast on the Investor Relations page of the Cal-Maine Foods website at https://www.calmainefoods.com/events-presentations. To join by telephone, participants can register here. Upon registration, participants will receive a confirmation email with detailed instructions, including a dial-in number, unique passcode, and registrant ID. A replay of the webcast will be available for 30 days following the call on the Investor Relations page of the Cal-Maine Foods website at https://www.calmainefoods.com/events-presentations.

About Cal-Maine Foods

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (Nasdaq: CALM) is the largest egg company in the United States and a leading player in the egg-based food industry. With a strong national footprint, Cal-Maine Foods provides nutritious, affordable, and sustainable protein to millions of households every day.

The company’s portfolio spans the full egg value ladder—from conventional to specialty, including cage-free, organic, brown, free-range, pasture-raised, and nutritionally enhanced—serving both retail and foodservice customers nationwide. Cal-Maine Foods also participates in the growing prepared foods sector, with offerings such as pre-cooked egg patties, omelets, folded and scrambled egg formats, hard-cooked eggs, pancakes, waffles, and specialty wraps. Its branded portfolio includes Eggland’s Best®, Land O’Lakes®, Farmhouse Eggs®, 4Grain®, Sunups®, Sunny Meadow®, MeadowCreek Foods®, Van’s®, and Crepini®.

Headquartered in Ridgeland, Mississippi, Cal-Maine’s strategy combines scale, operational excellence, and financial discipline with a commitment to innovation and sustainability, to enable the company to deliver trusted nutrition, enduring partnerships, and long-term value for its stakeholders.

Forward Looking Statements

Statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements are based on management’s current intent, belief, expectations, estimates and projections regarding our Company and our industry. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that are difficult to predict and may be beyond our control. The factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements include, among others, (i) the risk factors set forth the company’s SEC Filings (including its Annual Report on Form 10-K, as updated in Part II Item 1A of the company’s quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K), (ii) changes in wholesale shell egg market prices, (iii) changes in the demand for shell eggs and our prepared foods offerings, (iv) increases in feed costs for our shell egg operations as well as increases in input costs for prepared foods, (v) our ability to predict and meet demand for cage-free and other specialty shell eggs, (vi) the risks and hazards inherent in shell egg, egg products and prepared foods operations (including, as applicable, disease, pests, weather conditions, and potential for product recall), including but not limited to the current outbreak of HPAI affecting poultry in the U.S., Canada and other countries that was first detected in commercial flocks in the U.S. in February 2022 and that impacted our flocks in the third and fourth quarters of fiscal 2024 and again in March 2026, (vii) risks, changes, or obligations that could result from our recent or future acquisition of new flocks or businesses, such as our acquisition of Echo Lake Foods completed June 2, 2025, and risks or changes that may cause conditions to completing a pending acquisition not to be met, (viii) our ability to successfully integrate and manage recently acquired businesses like Echo Lake Foods and realize the expected benefits of such acquisitions, including synergies, cost savings, reduction in earnings volatility, margin expansion, financial returns, expanded customer relationships, or sales or growth opportunities, (ix) our ability to produce, supply and distribute shell eggs and prepared foods efficiently and reliably, (x) our ability to compete effectively with existing competitors and new market entrants, retain existing customers, acquire new customers and grow our product mix including our prepared foods product offerings, (xi) the impacts of government, customer and consumer reactions to high market prices for eggs, including, without limitation, potential new or expanded government regulations, (xii) risks relating to potential changes in inflation, interest rates and trade and tariff policies, (xiii) the loss or expiration of any registered trademarks or other intellectual property that we use in our business, (xiv) adverse results in pending litigation and other legal matters, and (xv) global instability, including as a result of geopolitical conflicts and other uncertainties. The Company’s SEC filings may be obtained from the SEC or the company’s website, www.calmainefoods.com. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements because, while we believe the assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, there can be no assurance that these forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. Further, forward-looking statements included herein are made only as of the respective dates thereof, or if no date is stated, as of the date hereof. Except as otherwise required by law, we disclaim any intent or obligation to update publicly these forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Contacts

Investors: ir@cmfoods.com
Media: media@cmfoods.com
Telephone: (601) 948-6813