General Mills Cooks Up A Q4 Comeback

General Mills finally put something on Wall Street’s plate that looked better than reheated disappointment. The Cheerios and Pillsbury owner reported fiscal fourth-quarter net sales of $4.61 billion, up 1% from a year earlier, while adjusted earnings came in at $0.95 a share. Shares closed up 8.5% Wednesday at $37.77, as investors looked past a net loss tied to noncash charges and decided that the modest quarter still tasted pretty good.

The rally makes sense because expectations for packaged food have been beaten flat. Consumers are still pushing back on price, chasing promotions, and treating branded groceries as discretionary even when they are buying everyday staples. Organic net sales were flat, North America Retail sales fell 4%, and North America Pet organic sales declined 3%. But adjusted gross margin improved and adjusted operating profit rose 13%, which was enough to make investors check the expiration date on their pessimism.

The setup for fiscal 2027 is basically a turnaround menu built from product refreshes and cost cuts. The company says its base price investments are now behind it, and fiscal 2027 will lean on product innovation, renovated brands, protein and fiber benefits, bolder flavors, and pet humanization. Just as important, General Mills is targeting $3 billion in cumulative cost savings by fiscal 2030, with at least $750 million expected in fiscal 2027. That gives the company something it can control while the top-line recovery remains a work in progress.

That is where the relief rally runs into the question of shelf-life. General Mills expects fiscal 2027 organic net sales to range from down 1.5% to up 0.5%, while adjusted EPS is expected to land between $3.00 and $3.20. That is hardly a full-blown rebound, it is a company telling investors it can hold the line while it works on making the brands more compelling. After a long stretch of stale results, Wednesday’s move showed that better margins paired with lower expectations were enough to put the stock back in the basket.

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