ConAgra Foods, Inc. Consumer Staples - Food Products | Reports April 7, Before Market OpensKey Takeaways
- The Estimize consensus is calling for EPS of $0.59 on $2.89 billion in revenue, 1 cent higher than Wall Street on the bottom line and $15 million more on top
- ConAgra made headlines this quarter with the sale of its private label unit and the decision to disclose GMO products
- Despite missing revenue quarter after quarter, shares are up 19.14% in the past 12 months.
Packaged food brand ConAgra Foods (NYSE:CAG) is scheduled to report fiscal third-quarter earnings Thursday before the market opens. Conagra is responsible for popular brands including Slim Jim, Healthy Choice, Snack Pack and many more. The company is coming off a weaker-than-expected second quarter, where it missed on both the top and bottom line. In fact, sales have steadily declined in each of the past three quarters with a high possibility of making it a fourth. Yet, shares are up 19.14% in the past 12 months.
The Estimize consensus is calling for EPS of $0.59 on $2.89 billion in revenue, 1 cent higher than Wall Street on the bottom line and $15 million more on top. However our Select Consensus, which heavily weights our most accurate analysts and recent estimates, is expecting weaker revenue of $2.86 billion. Ahead of its earnings report, ConAgra has seen unfavorable revisions activity with revenue falling 7%. Given the company’s track record of poor revenue results, it comes as no surprise that sales are predicted to decline 25% on a year-over-year basis.
Conagra Foods made headlines at the close of 2015 when it finalized a deal to sell its private label operations to Treehouse Foods (NYSE:THS) for $2.7 billion in cash. The deal marks a transition to a higher margin and better-performing company. ConAgra still plans to retain some private-label units connected to its brand names such as canned pasta, cooking spray and peanut butter. Moreover, ConAgra recently announced it would use labels to disclose the presence of GMOs in its food throughout the United States. ConAgra is among other major food manufacturers, including General Mills (NYSE:GIS) and Kellogg (NYSE:K), which have decided to use such labels nationwide.
That said, ConAgra continues to fall short on revenue quarter after quarter. The company’s continued use of GMO’s and other unhealthy byproducts has turned off a new wave of health fanatics. Furthermore, a strong U.S. dollar, weak commodity conditions and intense competition have adversely hampered operations. 
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