ConAgra Brands (CAG) shares are down over 2% premarket Thursday after the company reported earnings for its latest quarter, with EPS guidance coming in lower-than-anticipated.
The company reported Q2 EPS of $0.71, $0.03 better than the analyst estimate of $0.68, while revenue for the quarter came in at $3.2 billion versus the consensus estimate of $3.24 billion. Revenue also fell 3.2% year-on-year.
The company put the sales decline down to a 0.5% negative impact from price/mix and a 2.9% decrease in volume, primarily due to continued lower consumption trends.
The company noted the ongoing challenging macro environment but said it saw several positive signs in Q2.
"In particular, volume trends in our domestic retail business improved substantially, as inflation-driven volume declines were cut in half compared to Q1," commented Sean Connolly, president and chief executive officer of Conagra Brands (NYSE:CAG). "Most importantly, our targeted investments in our frozen business generated strong lifts and market share gains. These developments reinforced our confidence in investing to build momentum in the second half and set up a strong FY25."
Looking ahead, ConAgra sees FY2024 earnings per share between $2.60 and $2.65 per share, versus the consensus of $2.67, while organic net sales are expected to decrease between 1% and 2% compared to 2023.