Investing.com - Defensive corners of the market were not spared from the selloff Friday as consumer staples fell, led by plummeting shares of Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) on the back of disappointing earnings.
Kraft Heinz fell about 9% after it posted mixed quarterly results showing a miss on earnings, but a beat on revenue, as margins were squeezed by rising costs and lower prices.
The earnings miss prompted a wave of bearish calls from analysts, who questioned how quickly the company can turn its fortunes around at a time when others in the food sector are also feeling the heat from rising costs.
Kraft "has pivoted from a top-line oriented show-me story to a margin oriented show-me story," and for now, consensus estimates "are too high," Goldman Sachs said.
Molson Coors (NYSE:TAP) fell 5% on Friday, cooling its four-day winning streak, following the company's above-forecast earnings report early this week.
On the earnings call, Molson Coors CEO Mark R. Hunter piqued investor interest, vowing to "secure a meaningful share" of the cannabis-infused beverage market when edibles are legalized in Canada.
Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB) fell more than 3% after accusing activist hedge fund Third Point of copying its turnaround plan.
In a letter to shareholders, Campbell Soup urged shareholders to vote in support of the current board of directors and reject Third Point's board candidates.
By copying Campbell's turnaround plan, Third Point is "wasting everyone's time," and is attempting to seize control of the company with a "slate of underqualified candidates," Campbell's said in a letter to shareholders.
The consumer staples sector fell about 1%, nursing losses of about 4.1% year to date.