Key Takeaways
- Kraft Heinz shares fell more than 3% Wednesday as the food giant reported fourth-quarter sales and issued 2025 guidance that missed analysts’ estimates.
- Kraft Heinz blamed “continued shifts in consumer behavior due to economic uncertainty” and a decline in its Lunchables-branded foods for its weak sales.
- Kraft Heinz shares have lost more than a fifth of their value in the past year.
Kraft Heinz (KHC)Â shares fell 3.5% intraday Wednesday as the food giant reported fourth-quarter sales and issued 2025 guidance that missed analysts’ estimates.
The maker of Heinz ketchup and Kraft Mac & Cheese said fourth-quarter sales declined 4% year-over-year to $6.58 billion, falling short of Visible Alpha consensus. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS)Â of 84 cents rose nearly 8% and surpassed forecasts.Â
Kraft Heinz said that “continued shifts in consumer behavior due to economic uncertainty” and a decline in its Lunchables-branded foods were to blame for the weaker sales.
In November, the company removed Lunchables prepackaged meal kits from schools, following heavy opposition from health advocates over adding processed foods to school-meal programs, according to the Associated Press. (Kraft Heinz told the AP that it had pulled Lunchables from schools because “demand did not meet our targets,” and that the business impact was “negligible.”)
CEO Calls 2024 ‘Challenging Year’
CEO Carlos Abrams-Rivera called 2024 “a challenging year,” noting that sales of $25.85 billion came in below the company’s expectations.
Kraft Heinz said it expects 2025 organic sales to be between 2.5% lower and flat, and adjusted EPS between $2.63 and $2.74. Both missed analysts’ estimates.
Kraft Heinz shares are down by more than a fifth in the past 12 months.