Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) outlined record annual revenue and strong profitability for fiscal 2025, while acknowledging softer year-over-year fourth-quarter margins and highlighting a stepped-up investment plan aimed at expanding prepared foods, strengthening key customer partnerships, and reducing earnings volatility.
Full-year results set new milestones
For fiscal 2025, management said net revenues reached $18.5 billion and Adjusted EBITDA rose to $2.3 billion, producing an Adjusted EBITDA margin of 12.3%. CFO Matt Galvanoni said fiscal-year net revenues increased from $17.9 billion in 2024 to $18.5 billion in 2025, while Adjusted EBITDA increased from $2.211 billion to $2.27 billion. He described 2025 as the company’s second consecutive year with Adjusted EBITDA margins above 12%.
Fourth-quarter margin declined year-over-year as pricing headwinds hit
In the fourth quarter of 2025, Pilgrim’s Pride reported net revenues of $4.52 billion, up from $4.37 billion a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA totaled $415.1 million, down from $525.7 million in the prior-year quarter. The Adjusted EBITDA margin was 9.2%, compared with 12% in Q4 2024.
Galvanoni said the U.S. delivered Q4 Adjusted EBITDA of $274.2 million with a margin of 10.6%, supported by momentum in fresh retail and QSR customer demand and improving operations in Big Bird. However, he said the U.S. faced year-over-year commodity market pricing headwinds that weighed on profitability.
Regional performance: Europe improved, Mexico pressured
Europe posted higher profitability in the quarter and year, with Galvanoni reporting Q4 Adjusted EBITDA of $131.4 million, up from $117.1 million in 2024. For the full year, Europe’s Adjusted EBITDA rose 11.4% to $453.1 million. He attributed improvement to growth in poultry sales and benefits from operating efficiencies implemented over the past several years, alongside a streamlined organizational structure and a focus on innovative offerings.
Mexico results weakened in Q4, with Adjusted EBITDA of $9.5 million compared with $36.9 million a year earlier. For the full year, Mexico generated $186.7 million in Adjusted EBITDA, with an 8.8% margin, below the prior year’s 11.8% margin. Sandri said Mexico faced difficult circumstances from increased imports of animal-based protein and “unbalanced fundamentals” in the live market, though he emphasized that branded fresh and prepared offerings continued to grow.
On the Q&A, Sandri said Q4 pressure in Mexico reflected increased exports into Mexico—especially breast meat—along with a rise in pork exports that boosted overall meat supply. He added that improved growing conditions in central Mexico increased chicken supply and weighed on live market pricing. Looking ahead, he said the market appeared to be returning to more typical seasonal patterns, with a slowdown in growing conditions in the central region and reduced likelihood of further export increases into the northern region because “freezers are completely full.”
Demand, supply, and input-cost outlook
Sandri framed chicken’s affordability as a key driver of demand. He said boneless, skinless breast prices at retail decreased 1% versus the prior quarter, while other protein prices rose, “especially ground beef,” which he said was reaching new all-time highs. He also said that compared with two years ago, boneless chicken prices at retail were down 1.7%, while ground beef prices increased 22%, creating “record pricing spreads” that supported chicken demand.
On supply, Sandri cited USDA data showing U.S. ready-to-cook production rose 2.1% year-over-year in 2025. For 2026, he pointed to USDA indications of a 1.9% year-over-year decline in the layer flock in January and a 3.1% drop in pullet placements versus Q4 2024, with USDA estimates suggesting moderate chicken production growth of about 1% in 2026.
Sandri also discussed hatchability, saying it improved sequentially in Q4 with seasonality and a younger flock but remained below the five-year average. In response to analyst questions, he said the company evaluates bird performance based on overall profitability—including hatchability, feed conversion, and yields—and he does not expect significant near-term changes in breed selection.
On feed inputs, management said corn moved marginally higher in Q4 versus the prior quarter but moderated in January due to record U.S. harvest area, yield, and supply. Soybeans and soybean meal rallied in Q4 on renewed U.S. soybean sales to China and strong demand for soybean meal, though the company said ample supplies could limit upside due to favorable South American growing conditions and higher expected ending stocks.
Capital spending ramps in 2026; balance sheet remains conservative
Pilgrim’s Pride ended 2025 with net debt of approximately $2.45 billion and a leverage ratio of less than 1.1x trailing twelve-month Adjusted EBITDA, according to Galvanoni. Liquidity at year-end totaled more than $1.8 billion of cash and available credit. He said the company has no near-term refinancing pressure, with bonds maturing between 2031 and 2034 and U.S. credit facilities expiring in 2028.
Capital expenditures were $711 million in 2025, including growth projects in Mexico, a Big Bird plant conversion to support a key retail customer, and early progress on a new prepared foods facility in Walker County, Georgia. The company forecast 2026 CapEx of $900 million to $950 million as it advances projects tied to prepared foods growth and other initiatives. Sandri said investment related to the Georgia prepared foods facility would extend into 2027, and he also noted the company may convert a Small Bird plant toward more deboning capacity as demand trends shift toward boneless cuts.
Other financial items discussed included:
- Net interest expense of $110 million in 2025, with 2026 net interest expense forecast at $115 million to $125 million.
- Effective tax rate of 27.9% for 2025, with management expecting approximately 25% in 2026 due to the absence of a discrete Q4 catch-up item related to U.S. state unitary taxes.
- Depreciation and amortization expected to be about $520 million in 2026, up from about $460 million in 2025.
- SG&A guidance framework of roughly $140 million per quarter in 2026, “maybe just a little north of that,” with 2025 SG&A described as flat year-over-year.
Sandri also highlighted brand momentum in prepared foods, saying Just BARE retail sales across fresh and prepared exceeded $1 billion for the year and that prepared foods sales grew 18% in the quarter versus the prior year. He said the company’s new prepared facility in Georgia remains on schedule to meet demand for fully cooked offerings.
About Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC)
Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation is a leading poultry producer in the United States and Mexico and a wholly owned subsidiary of JBS SA Headquartered in Greeley, Colorado, and Pittsburg, Texas, the company specializes in the production, processing and distribution of fresh, frozen and value-added chicken products. Pilgrim’s Pride serves a diverse customer base that includes retail grocery chains, foodservice distributors and restaurant operators across North America and in select international markets.
The company’s vertically integrated operations encompass breeding, hatching, feed milling, processing plants and cold storage facilities.
