Daniel Foelber, The Motley Fool
7 min read
In This Article:
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Packaged food companies are in an industry-wide downturn.
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J.M. Smucker continues to generate excellent free cash flow to support its growing dividend.
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The stock’s valuation is beyond cheap.
J.M. Smucker's (NYSE: SJM) stock price tumbled 15.6% on Tuesday after the packaged food giant reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 results and updated its fiscal 2026 guidance. The stock price of the maker of Uncrustables, Folgers, Jif peanut butter, Twinkies, pet brand Milk-Bone, and other products is now hovering around its lowest level in over a decade.
Here are three reasons why the sell-off has made J.M. Smucker too cheap to ignore, and why the high-yield dividend stock is a great buy for the second half of 2025.
Net sales fell 3% year over year in J.M. Smucker's Q4 but were still up a solid 7% for the full fiscal year. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) rose 2% to $10.12. For fiscal 2026, the company expects net sales to increase by 2% to 4%, but adjusted EPS to fall to $8.50 to $9.50.
The stock is likely taking a hit because earnings are sliding, and it remains to be seen if the company will be able to pass along cost pressures to consumers. For example, coffee net sales rose 11% in the company's latest quarter, but that was heavily due to price increases from June and October of last year. J.M. Smucker is dealing with record-high green (unroasted) coffee production costs. So it plans to hike prices again in May and stage yet another price increase in August.
J.M. Smucker said it will be able to offset higher costs if the price increases work. But if customers push back on these price hikes, then sales volumes would decline, affecting profitability. However, the company believes that its at-home coffee brands will appeal to people looking for affordable experiences outside of coffee shops.
Price increases are happening across the company's portfolio. J.M. Smucker just increased prices on its popular Uncrustables sandwiches for the first time in over three years, as net sales in its Frozen Handheld and Spreads segment ground to a halt.
For pet foods, the company is seeing good results from its Meow Mix cat brand, but weakness from dog brand Milk-Bone as consumers pull back on discretionary spending -- like on dog treats.
Sweet Baked Snacks continues to be one of the worst performers for J.M. Smucker, dragged down by Hostess. J.M. Smucker bought Hostess Brands in November 2023 for $5.6 billion -- which, in hindsight, was not a good use of capital.