By Heather Schlitz and Neil J Kanatt
(Reuters) -Tyson Foods beat Wall Street expectations for fourth-quarter profit on Tuesday and said its rebounding chicken business would limit fallout from ongoing struggles in its beef division over the coming year, sending shares soaring nearly 9%.
After struggling in recent quarters to match supply to demand and shuttering multiple chicken plants last year, Tyson executives said its chicken business benefited from low feed costs and increased plant efficiency.
Shares were up 8.6% at $63.87 in late-morning trading.
Tyson expects chicken to help offset continued losses in beef, which has struggled with a tight cattle supply and poor margins.
"It's clear we've built a fundamentally stronger chicken business," Tyson CEO Donnie King said during an earnings call.
The largest U.S. meatpacker notched an adjusted operating margin of 3.8% in its fiscal fourth quarter ended Sept. 30, up from 1.8% a year earlier.
Chicken volumes fell slightly, but operating income in the company's second-largest segment jumped to $409 million in the quarter from a loss of $267 million a year earlier.
Tyson expects over half its adjusted 2025 operating income of $1.8 billion to $2.2 billion to come from chicken.
Beef operating margins improved from a dismal year-ago quarter, though they remained in the red.
"The current cattle cycle remains challenging. There are no clear signs of sustained herd rebuilding intentions," King said, referring to ranchers' plans.
The United States saw its herd shrink to its smallest level in seven decades as years of drought burned up pastures and forced farmers to send more cows to slaughter.
Adjusted earnings of 92 cents per share topped analysts' estimates of 69 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Net sales rose 1.6% to $13.57 billion, compared with the average estimate of $13.39 billion.