Smithfield Foods third-quarter net income falls to $89 million from $248 million

Smithfield Foods, Inc. (SFD) reported third-quarter fiscal 2026 net income attributable to Smithfield of $89 million, down from $248 million a year earlier.

The company said in a filing on Tuesday that sales fell 8.3% to $3.4 billion for the quarter ended September 27, 2026.

Adjusted operating profit was $145 million, compared with $310 million a year earlier. Reported operating profit was $127 million.

Here's how the company did:

• Diluted earnings per share: $0.23, compared with $0.63 a year earlier
• Adjusted diluted earnings per share: $0.26, compared with $0.58 a year earlier
• Sales: $3,437 million, compared with $3,747 million a year earlier
• Operating profit: $127 million, compared with $310 million a year earlier
• Adjusted operating profit: $145 million, compared with $310 million a year earlier

The Packaged Meats segment's sales fell 5.2% to $1.98 billion from $2.09 billion.

Its operating profit rose to $230 million from $226 million, and its operating margin was 11.6%, up from 10.8%.

Fresh Pork sales fell 17.0% to $1.81 billion from $2.19 billion. The segment posted an operating loss of $89 million, compared with an operating profit of $10 million a year earlier.

Hog Production sales fell 15.0% to $691 million from $813 million. Its operating profit fell 61.3% to $34 million from $89 million.

Other, which consists of the company's Mexico and Bioscience operations, had sales of $151 million, up 15.2% from $131 million. It posted an operating loss of $5 million, compared with an operating profit of $10 million a year earlier.

Smithfield President and CEO Shane Smith said: “We reported third quarter adjusted operating profit within the range we provided in September, led by strong results in our cornerstone Packaged Meats segment, with our upstream segments challenged by lower pork commodity markets.”

The company said Packaged Meats remains on track to deliver its fifth consecutive year above $1 billion in operating profit in fiscal 2026.

“While we expect commodity market pressure in our upstream businesses to continue in the fourth quarter, our teams remain focused on navigating this environment with operational discipline,” Smith said.

For the first nine months of fiscal 2026, sales were $10.9 billion, down 3.2% from $11.3 billion. Operating profit was $750 million, compared with $892 million a year earlier.

Diluted earnings per share for the nine months were $1.45, compared with $1.68. Adjusted diluted earnings per share were $1.52, compared with $1.72.

Net cash flows from operating activities were $365 million for the nine months, up $244 million from a year earlier.

The company ended the quarter with $3,481 million of available liquidity. That consisted of $1,178 million in cash and cash equivalents and $2,303 million of availability under its committed credit facilities.

Its ratio of net debt to adjusted EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization adjusted for unusual items, was 0.5x on a trailing twelve-month basis.

The company paid dividends of $0.3125 per share on April 21, May 28 and August 27, 2026. It expects one more quarterly dividend of $0.3125 per share in fiscal 2026, for an annual rate of $1.25 per share.

The company updated its fiscal 2026 outlook. It expects total company sales to be down low-single-digits compared to fiscal year 2025.

Total adjusted operating profit is expected to range from $900 million to $1,000 million. Packaged Meats adjusted operating profit is expected to range from $1,090 million to $1,140 million.

The Fresh Pork adjusted operating result is expected to range from a loss of $50 million to breakeven. The Hog Production result is expected to range from a loss of $25 million to a profit of $25 million.

Capital expenditures are expected to be between $350 million and $375 million. The effective tax rate is expected to be between 22.5% and 24.5%.

The outlook includes 53 weeks of results and about two months of results for Nathan's Famous after its October 26, 2026 acquisition close. It excludes investment in the proposed processing facility in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

The company said it completed the Nathan's Famous acquisition on October 26, 2026. The filing does not give the purchase price or other terms of the deal.

The quarter included $12 million of litigation charges. It also included $5 million of plant closure costs tied to the exit of the company's leased dry sausage production facility in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Net income attributable to Smithfield was $89 million, or 23 cents per diluted share, for the third quarter.