Sep 3, 2026 earnings call — Cost savings program and pricing actions
Announced a $500 million program over the next 4 years, with $350 million incremental savings identified through fiscal year 2030.
Revenue $2.1B (est $2.1B) · EPS $0.39 (est $0.39)
Key quotes
"First of all, focusing on return to the core fundamentals."
"So $500 million program over the next 4 years, beginning this year, so fiscal year 2027 to fiscal year 2020."
"So we took a fairly modest price increase on about 60% of our portfolio."
Analyst Q&A 7
Cooking soups focus and refinancing
Q (Peter Galbo · BofA): The analyst asked why cooking soups did well and what initiatives will focus on cooking versus ready-to-serve over the next 12 months. He also asked how to think about capital structure, higher interest expense, and possible hybrid debt.
A: Management said the cooking side of the soup portfolio is working well and they will keep leaning into cooking, especially semi-scratch, condensed cooking, broth and brands like Rao's, while also doing more everyday-marketing and targeted innovation. On capital structure, management said interest expense will be approximately $25 million higher year over year because of the La Regina acquisition debt and the ~$140 million first cash payment, and they are considering refinancing a $500 million bond maturing in March including the possibility of a hybrid with 50% eQ2uity credit.
"When we are talking about that, we are really focused on semi-scratch." — Mick J. Beekhuizen (CEO)
Snacks outlook and turnaround plan
Q (Peter Grom · UBS): The analyst asked what the snack assumptions are in the outlook, how Q1 compares to exit, and what the snacks business might look like in 12 months.
A: Management said they have a new leadership team and three priorities: return to core fundamentals (for example, Goldfish focusing on households with kids), brand support and focused innovation such as Goldfish better-for-you and gluten-free, and everyday execution to fix availability and promotions. They warned Q1 will be very challenging—"high single digit down for Snacks in the first Q2uarter"—then volumes and pricing should start to stabilize in Q2, with more cost savings and procurement benefits kicking in in the second half and media and innovation supporting recovery.
"To be very direct, Q1 is gonna be a very challenging Q2uarter for snacks." — Todd E. Cunfer (CFO)
Will snack consumption recover this year?
Q (David Palmer · Evercore): The analyst asked whether consumption in snacks could get to flat or better by year end and what other areas beyond Goldfish show improvement.
A: Management said they are not expecting consumption to turn positive this year, but they expect continued modest progress over the year. They said they are replicating the Goldfish actions across snacks, noting wins in unflavored pretzels (helped by the America 250 activation), a refocus of Snack Factory on the deli aisle, stable cookies driven by innovation, and that chips will take longer to fix.
"We are not anticipating, David, we will get to positive around consumption." — Mick J. Beekhuizen (CEO)
Audio check / connection
Q (Deutsche Bank): The analyst asked if the management team could hear him (audio check).
A: Management confirmed they could hear him and greeted him. There was no substantive answer beyond confirming the connection.
"Yeah. Hey, Steve." — Mick J. Beekhuizen (CEO)
Value of new consumer capabilities
Q (Steve Powers · Deutsche Bank): The analyst asked what decisions might have been different if the company had the new consumer and commercial tools three years ago.
A: Management said they would have been in a better place and faster, and that the growth office and RGM capabilities are already being built and used (growth office started a year ago; RGM invested for 6 to 9 months). They added that the new RGM/trade team is already helping with list price actions and reworking trade budgets, and the company can now move faster (for example, executing pricing actions within about 6 weeks).
"Long story short, I think we are on the right path." — Mick J. Beekhuizen (CEO)
Margin recovery timing and strategy
Q (Christopher Carey · Wells Fargo): The analyst asked whether margin improvement will come mainly from Snacks or both divisions, and about the strategic shift toward pricing over volume.
A: Management said Snacks margin recovery will not happen until the second half; early improvement in Q2 will be mostly on the meals side and both divisions will benefit in the second half. They said the medium-term strategy is to get closer to the consumer, act with speed, execute well, support big brands with campaigns and targeted innovation, and treat pricing as a short-term, case-by-case action while also offsetting inflation with cost savings and productivity.
"The Snacks margin recovery really will not happen until the second half." — Todd E. Cunfer (CFO)
Dividend decision and pricing elasticity
Q (Robert Moskow · TD Cowen): The analyst asked how the Board changed its view on the dividend over the last 3 months and whether the assumed volume declines reflect consumer reaction to pricing or deliberate product/shelf cuts.
A: Management said reducing the dividend was a difficult but necessary decision after constructive dialogue with the Board focused on creating long-term shareholder value. On elasticity, management said they see higher elasticities than the old 1-to-1, they tried to be prudent in their assumptions and largely assumed competitors would not follow, so if others also take price their elasticities could be better but they built in flex to their P&L assumptions.
"reducing the dividend is obviously a difficult decision, but it is unfortunately a necessary decision." — Mick J. Beekhuizen (CEO)