General Mills (NYSE:GIS) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.09 EPS

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.09), FiscalAI reports. General Mills had a net margin of 12.05% and a return on equity of 19.19%. The company had revenue of $4.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. General Mills’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Here are the key takeaways from General Mills’ conference call:

• Management is pursuing a deliberate reinvestment strategy to improve brand remarkability, and has reaffirmed fiscal 2026 guidance, expecting a meaningful sequential improvement in Q4 driven by the 53rd week, retailer inventory normalization, and trade expense timing tailwinds.
• Q3 results were weak—organic net sales fell ~3%, adjusted operating profit declined ~32%, and adjusted EPS dropped ~37%—with management attributing nearly two-thirds of the decline to reinvestment, divestitures, and timing headwinds, plus retailer inventory and weather-related supply chain disruptions.
• North America Retail fundamentals are improving, with baseline volume up (a six-point improvement in top 10 categories), household penetration rising in 7 of the top 10 categories, and innovation/packaging investments (e.g., Cheerios Protein, Chex Mix tubs) driving product-led growth.
• North America Pet shows strong momentum—all-channel retail sales grew >2%, cat feeding rose 6%, and the Love Made Fresh launch reached >5,000 coolers with early mid-single-digit market share in initial customers as the company expands formats and distribution.
• Management emphasized efficiency and cash generation, targeting about $600 million in total savings this fiscal year, 5% gross COGS savings in FY26, at least 4% HMM savings in FY27, and free cash flow conversion of at least 95% of adjusted after-tax earnings.

General Mills Price Performance

GIS opened at $37.48 on Friday. General Mills has a twelve month low of $37.13 and a twelve month high of $62.61. The firm has a market cap of $20.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.16 and a beta of -0.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.73.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. General Mills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.66%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On General Mills

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of General Mills by 2,970.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,466,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $347,201,000 after acquiring an additional 7,223,487 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of General Mills by 366.1% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,117,287 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,954,000 after acquiring an additional 4,019,319 shares in the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new position in General Mills in the second quarter valued at about $84,862,000. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in General Mills by 82.8% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 3,415,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,226,000 after purchasing an additional 1,546,993 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in General Mills by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,780,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $408,291,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115,465 shares in the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on GIS shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of General Mills from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Barclays reduced their target price on General Mills from $46.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Mizuho cut their price objective on General Mills from $47.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered General Mills from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Bank of America cut General Mills from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $44.61.

General Mills News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting General Mills this week:

• Positive Sentiment: General Mills is pushing into protein and fiber (Cheerios Protein on track for ~$100M this year), giving management a tangible growth product to drive share and margins. General Mills Bets on Protein and Fiber to Win Back Consumers
• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler kept an overweight rating and a $45 target (still ~20% upside), signaling some firms see recovery potential if turnaround gains traction. Piper Sandler rating change
• Positive Sentiment: Several buy/outperform shops (Stifel, RBC among them) retained constructive views despite lower targets, indicating divergent analyst views and potential upside if execution improves. Analyst coverage roundup
• Positive Sentiment: Management continues portfolio reshaping (including Brazil unit sale) to sharpen focus and boost margins over time. Is GIS’ Portfolio Reshaping Strategy Key to Long-Term Growth?
• Neutral Sentiment: Company reaffirmed full‑year guidance despite the miss — a stability signal but not enough to soothe investors after the quarter. General Mills reaffirms full year guidance as Q3 earnings miss estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Mizuho and Goldman lowered targets but kept neutral ratings, reflecting expectations for a slow recovery rather than collapse. Mizuho & Goldman adjustments
• Neutral Sentiment: TD Cowen trimmed its target to $37 and stayed at hold — signaling near‑term limited upside/flat performance risk. TD Cowen rating update
• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies reaffirmed a hold rating, adding to the picture of mixed analyst conviction. Jefferies Reaffirms Their Hold Rating on General Mills (GIS)
• Negative Sentiment: Q3 results missed expectations: $0.64 EPS vs. ~$0.73 estimate and revenue below consensus; organic sales and margins were weaker, prompting the sell‑side reset. General Mills Q3 earnings and call
• Negative Sentiment: Several firms cut price targets and/or ratings (JPMorgan to $36/underweight; UBS to $35/sell), pressuring sentiment and prompting near‑term selling. Analyst cuts after Q3
• Negative Sentiment: Market commentators (e.g., Jim Cramer) expressed skepticism that the quarter was strong enough to mark a turnaround, reinforcing negative investor reaction. Jim Cramer on General Mills

About General Mills

General Mills, Inc (NYSE: GIS) is a multinational consumer foods company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of branded food products. Its product categories include ready-to-eat and hot cereals, baking mixes and ingredients, snacks and bars, refrigerated and frozen doughs, yogurt and other dairy products, and a variety of shelf-stable meals and meal components. The company’s portfolio features widely recognized consumer brands across grocery store, mass channel and foodservice outlets.

Founded in the early 20th century and incorporated under its current name in 1928, General Mills has grown through both internal brand development and strategic expansion to become a global food company.