Shelf-Stable Food Stocks Q1 Recap: Benchmarking B&G Foods (NYSE:BGS)

As the Q1 earnings season wraps, let's dig into this quarter's best and worst performers in the shelf-stable food industry, including B&G Foods (NYSE:BGS) and its peers.

As America industrialized and moved away from an agricultural economy, people faced more demands on their time. Packaged foods emerged as a solution offering convenience to the evolving American family, whether it be canned goods or snacks. Today, Americans seek brands that are high in quality, reliable, and reasonably priced. Furthermore, there's a growing emphasis on health-conscious and sustainable food options. Packaged food stocks are considered resilient investments. People always need to eat, so these companies can enjoy consistent demand as long as they stay on top of changing consumer preferences. The industry spans from multinational corporations to smaller specialized firms and is subject to food safety and labeling regulations.

The 18 shelf-stable food stocks we track reported a decent Q1; on average, revenues beat analyst consensus estimates by 0.8%. while next quarter's revenue guidance was 1.6% below consensus. Inflation progressed towards the Fed's 2% goal at the end of 2023, leading to strong stock market performance. The start of 2024 has been a bumpier ride, as the market switches between optimism and pessimism around rate cuts due to mixed inflation data, and while some of the shelf-stable food stocks have fared somewhat better than others, they collectively declined, with share prices falling 0.2% on average since the previous earnings results.

B&G Foods (NYSE:BGS)

Started as a small grocery store in New York City, B&G Foods (NYSE:BGS) is an American packaged foods company with a diverse portfolio of more than 50 brands.

B&G Foods reported revenues of $475.2 million, down 7.1% year on year, falling short of analysts' expectations by 1.4%. It was a weak quarter for the company, with a miss of analysts' revenue and earnings estimates.

B&G Foods delivered the slowest revenue growth of the whole group. The stock is down 18.1% since the results and currently trades at $9.47.

Read our full report on B&G Foods here, it's free.

Best Q1: Hershey (NYSE:HSY)

Best known for its milk chocolate bar and Hershey's Kisses, Hershey (NYSE:HSY) is an iconic company known for its chocolate products.

Hershey reported revenues of $3.25 billion, up 8.9% year on year, outperforming analysts' expectations by 4.5%. It was a stunning quarter for the company, with an impressive beat of analysts' revenue and EPS estimates. That the company reiterated its full year guidance means it's staying squarely on track.

The stock is up 0.7% since the results and currently trades at $197.3.

Is now the time to buy Hershey? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free.

Weakest Q1: Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW)

Best known for its Grown in Idaho brand, Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) produces and distributes potato products such as frozen french fries and mashed potatoes.

Lamb Weston reported revenues of $1.46 billion, up 16.3% year on year, falling short of analysts' expectations by 11.8%. It was a weak quarter for the company, with full-year revenue guidance missing analysts' expectations and a miss of analysts' revenue estimates.

Lamb Weston had the weakest performance against analyst estimates and weakest full-year guidance update in the group. The stock is down 12.2% since the results and currently trades at $88.78.

Read our full analysis of Lamb Weston's results here.

BellRing Brands (NYSE:BRBR)

Spun out of Post Holdings in 2019, Bellring Brands (NYSE:BRBR) offers protein shakes, nutrition bars, and other products under the PowerBar, Premier Protein, and Dymatize brands.

BellRing Brands reported revenues of $494.6 million, up 28.3% year on year, surpassing analysts' expectations by 5.9%. It was an exceptional quarter for the company, with an impressive beat of analysts' organic revenue growth and EPS expectations, driven by a whopping 42.7% increase in its sales volumes - that type of growth is unheard of in the stable consumer staples sector and was led by Premier Protein's outperformance.

BellRing Brands pulled off the fastest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is up 2% since the results and currently trades at $58.36.

Read our full, actionable report on BellRing Brands here, it's free.

Mondelez (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

Founded as Nabisco in 1903, Mondelez (NASDAQ:MDLZ) is a packaged snacks powerhouse best known for its Oreo, Cadbury, Toblerone, Ritz, and Trident brands.

Mondelez reported revenues of $9.29 billion, up 3% year on year, surpassing analysts' expectations by 1.5%. It was a very strong quarter for the company, with an impressive beat of analysts' revenue and EPS estimates. The company maintained its full year guidance for organic revenue growth and EPS growth, showing that the demand environment is unchanged from roughly three months ago when they gave the prior outlook.

The stock is down 4.7% since the results and currently trades at $68.57.

Read our full, actionable report on Mondelez here, it's free.

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