TLDR
- Adjusted earnings per share reached 64 cents, falling short of Wall Street’s 73-cent projection
- Revenue decreased 8% from the prior year to $4.44 billion, marginally exceeding the $4.41 billion forecast
- Organic revenue contracted 3%, underperforming Nielsen-tracked global retail sales by approximately 1.5 percentage points
- Full-year guidance remains unchanged: organic revenue decline of 1.5%–2%, adjusted earnings down 16%–20%
- Shares declined 0.8% before market open and have fallen 17% year-to-date in 2026, down more than 34% over the trailing twelve months
General Mills delivered a lackluster performance for its fiscal third quarter on Wednesday, missing earnings projections while revenue barely exceeded analyst forecasts. The food giant maintained its previously revised guidance from last month, providing limited optimism for shareholders.
The company’s adjusted earnings per share registered at 64 cents, significantly undershooting the 73-cent Wall Street consensus. Revenue, accounting for acquisitions and divestitures, contracted 8% year-over-year to reach $4.44 billion, narrowly surpassing the anticipated $4.41 billion.
Organic revenue, which excludes M&A activity, declined 3% — underperforming Nielsen-tracked global retail sales measurements by about 1.5 points. This performance gap indicates the company is losing market share rather than simply navigating broader economic challenges.
Shares retreated 0.8% during premarket hours after the earnings release. Prior to Wednesday’s announcement, GIS had already tumbled 17% in 2026 and shed over 34% across the past year, positioning it among the weakest performers in the packaged foods sector.
Consumers Keep Choosing Cheaper Options
The underlying narrative remains straightforward. Budget-conscious consumers are increasingly opting for private-label and generic alternatives over established brands like Cheerios, Lucky Charms, and Pillsbury.
This consumer behavior shift has been accelerating steadily. Packaged food manufacturers that implemented aggressive pricing strategies during the inflation cycle are now experiencing the consequences. General Mills finds itself squarely in this category.
Additionally, consumer preferences are shifting away from heavily processed and packaged food products. The rapid adoption of GLP-1 weight management medications has intensified this trend, influencing shoppers toward modified consumption patterns.
Economic uncertainty surrounding consumer expenditures — partially linked to geopolitical instability including the Iran conflict — has created additional headwinds for demand in the shelf-stable food category.
Full-Year Outlook Unchanged After Last Month’s Cut
General Mills maintained its full-year projections, which had already been reduced during the previous month. Management continues to anticipate organic revenue will decline between 1.5% and 2% for the complete fiscal year.
Both adjusted operating profit and adjusted earnings per share are projected to fall 16% to 20% on a constant currency basis. This represents a substantial contraction that the market has been absorbing for several months.
The reaffirmed outlook provided little comfort to investors. With organic sales underperforming retail benchmarks and the earnings shortfall compounding an already challenging period, Wednesday’s results offered few reasons for optimism.
The S&P 500 futures advanced 0.4% on Wednesday, though the benchmark index remains down 1.9% for 2026 thus far.
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