Cal-Maine Posts $1.26 Q1 Loss as Egg Prices Stay Depressed
CALM is trading near its 52-week low of $66.62 (0.9% above the low) on elevated volume (1.8× avg).
Summary
Cal-Maine reported a Q1 loss of $1.26 per share, a sharp deterioration from the prior year's profit of $199.3 million, and posted no dividend. Q1 revenue missed as conventional egg prices tumbled, with first-quarter net sales falling 42% to $539.6 million, below Wall Street estimates for $561.6 million. CEO Sherman Miller said wholesale egg prices fell nearly 60% in September and industry indicators show flock growth moderating, including slowing breeder activity, increasing chick cancellations, softer hatchery demand, and more aggressive flock rotations. Underlying demand for eggs remains healthy, and healthy demand for specialty eggs helped mitigate pricing pressures, with specialty eggs and prepared foods accounting for more than half of net sales in the recent quarter. This follows a Q4 loss of $0.76 per share and a 74% drop in full-year net income, confirming the egg price collapse continues to hammer results. The stock is trading near its 52-week low, reflecting investor concern over the prolonged downturn, and shares fell 3.4% to $66.22. The company's new $250 million credit facility provides some liquidity cushion, but the core issue remains weak egg prices. Watch for any commentary on price recovery or production cuts in the earnings call.
Updated with a Dow Jones Newswires report · What changed
Updates
· Dow Jones Newswires — CEO Sherman Miller said wholesale egg prices fell nearly 60% in September and industry indicators show flock growth moderating; shares fell 3.4% to $66.22.
- Demand and Product Mix — Underlying demand for eggs remains healthy. Healthy demand for specialty eggs helped mitigate pricing pressures, and specialty eggs and prepared foods accounted for more than half of net sales in the recent quarter.
- Industry Supply Indicators — Industry steps to limit overabundance include slowing breeder activity, increasing chick cancellations, softer hatchery demand, and more aggressive flock rotations. CEO Miller said these indicators do not establish that the market will turn, but they provide important context on the potential direction of supply.
- Q1 Sales — First-quarter net sales fell 42% to $539.6 million, missing Wall Street estimates for $561.6 million. The quarter ended Aug. 29.
- Q1 Loss — The Q1 loss compared with a profit of $199.3 million in last year's comparable period. Analysts polled by FactSet expected a Q1 loss of 77 cents a share.
All 10 details
- Underlying demand for eggs remains healthy.
- Industry steps to limit overabundance include slowing breeder activity, increasing chick cancellations, softer hatchery demand, and more aggressive flock rotations.
- Healthy demand for specialty eggs helped mitigate pricing pressures.
- Specialty eggs and prepared foods accounted for more than half of net sales in the recent quarter.
- First-quarter net sales fell 42% to $539.6 million.
- First-quarter net sales missed Wall Street estimates for $561.6 million.
- The quarter ended Aug. 29.
- The Q1 loss compared with a profit of $199.3 million in last year's comparable period.
- Analysts polled by FactSet expected a Q1 loss of 77 cents a share.
- CEO Miller said these indicators do not establish that the market will turn, but they provide important context on the potential direction of supply.
· SEC 8-K — Cal-Maine's Q1 net loss was $58.6 million on revenue of $539.6 million, with conventional egg prices down 59.3%.
At the time of this announcement, CALM was trading at $67.21 on NASDAQ in the Trade & Services sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $3.2B. The 52-week trading range was $66.62 to $98.44. This news item was assessed with negative market sentiment and an importance score of 8 out of 10. Source: Dow Jones Newswires.