General Mills is showing early signs that its fiscal 2026 trough may be behind it, though the latest quarter does not yet establish a full recovery. Organic sales were flat in the first quarter, North America Retail organic sales declined 3% but retail sales growth improved by two percentage points sequentially, and management said new products rose from 3% to 5% of sales over two years, with CEO Jeff Harmening crediting marketing and product news rather than pricing for gains in brands such as Lucky Charms, Reese's Puffs, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Profitability still lags, with adjusted gross margin down 90 basis points to 33.3%, adjusted operating profit down 11% in constant currency, and adjusted EPS down 13% to $0.75, while management expects input inflation around 4% in the first three quarters and roughly 6% in the fourth and targets at least $750 million of fiscal 2027 savings. Analysts are divided: Deutsche Bank raised its price target to $34 from $33 with a Hold rating, TD Cowen called the quarter encouraging, Barclays raised its target to $37 from $36 but kept Equal Weight, while BofA cut its target to $40 from $43 and Freedom Broker cut its target to $38 from $42. At roughly 11.6 times forward earnings, General Mills trades near Campbell's at 11.9 times, with short interest at 44.83 million shares, or 10.91% of the float.
General Mills IncMixed analyst reactions with split price-target changes (DB/Barclays up, BofA/Freedom down) and adjusted EPS down 13% to $0.75, offset by early turnaround signs.
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