Copyright Benzinga
Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) shares slipped on Wednesday after a mixed third quarter, as North American weakness pressured sales and prompted a cut to the 2025 outlook. The company reported third-quarter adjusted earnings per share of 61 cents, beating the analyst consensus estimate of 58 cents. Quarterly sales of $6.237 billion missed the Street view of $6.256 billion. Net sales declined 2.3%, while organic net sales slipped 2.5%. Also Read: Alphabet Earnings Are Imminent; These Most Accurate Analysts Revise Forecasts Ahead Of Earnings Call North America Sales Down North America sales slumped 3.8% to $4.641 billion, International Developed Markets gained 1.6% to $895 million, and Emerging Markets sales gained 3.8% to $701 million. Volume/mix fell 3.5 percentage points year over year. Coffee, cold cuts, frozen snacks, select condiments, and Indonesia led weakness. “While the operating environment remains challenging, we’re seeing improvement driven in part by targeted investments we’re making to deliver superior and affordable products to our consumers,” said Carlos Abrams-Rivera, CEO of Kraft Heinz. Quarterly Margins Quarterly gross profit fell 9% year over year to $1.99 billion. Gross profit margin fell 230 basis points to 31.9%, while adjusted gross profit margin dropped 200 basis points to 32.3%. Adjusted operating income totaled $1.1 billion, down 16.9%. On Sept. 2, 2025, Kraft Heinz approved a tax-free spin-off into two public companies—”Global Taste Elevation Co.” (Heinz, Philadelphia, Kraft Mac & Cheese) and “North American Grocery Co.” (Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles, Lunchables)—to streamline operations and sharpen strategic focus. “Looking ahead, we are on track to separate into two companies in the second half of 2026. I’m confident the separation will allow each business to better focus resources, improve execution, reduce complexity, and drive further efficiencies,” the CEO added. Dividend The firm declared a regular quarterly dividend of 40 cents per share of common stock payable on Dec. 26, to stockholders of record as of Nov. 28. Outlook Kraft Heinz trimmed its fiscal year 2025 adjusted EPS outlook to $2.50–$2.57 from $2.51–$2.67. The new range sits below the $2.58 analyst consensus. The company now expects organic net sales to decline 3.0%–3.5%, versus prior guidance of down 1.5%–3.5%, reflecting slower emerging markets growth amid ongoing Indonesia declines and U.S. Retail pressure. KHC Price Action: Kraft Heinz shares were down 2.17% at $24.96 at the time of publication on Wednesday. The stock is trading near its 52-week low of $24.80, according to Benzinga Pro data. Read Next: Trump To Discuss Nvidia's ‘Super Duper' AI Chips With Xi, Hints At Meeting Jensen Huang Image created using artificial intelligence via DALL-E.
