Tyson Foods (TSN) reported results Monday that were better than expected for its fiscal third quarter. A consumer focus on protein and a lack of immediate impact from President Trump’s tariff policies boosted results.
“Consumers are prioritizing protein … over other foods, but they’re also prioritizing food as essential versus the non-essential things like apparel, … bigger ticket items,” Tyson Foods CEO Donnie King said.
As far as the impact of President Trump’s tariffs, King said, “I would not call anything we’ve seen from tariffs today, not only beef, but in pork, chicken. I don’t see a material impact from that at this point.”
In the quarter, Tyson reported sales grew 4% to $13.88 billion, topping forecasts for revenue to tally $13.55 billion, according to Bloomberg data. Adjusted earnings per share were $0.91 in the quarter, ahead of forecasts for $0.78.
The company also said its sales for its fiscal year 2025, which wraps up during the current quarter, will rise 2% to 3% from last year, better than its previous outlook for sales to be flat to up 1%. Tyson Foods stock rose about 3% following the results on Monday. Year to date, the stock remains down over 5%, trailing the S&P 500’s roughly 7.5% gain.
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Chicken was the company’s strongest category during the quarter, with volumes rising 2.4% alongside an average price increase of 1.1%. Consumers leaned into frozen items like Tyson Simple Ingredient nuggets, which have higher protein. Tyson’s fresh chicken business grew volume by 2.3%.
Tyson now expects its chicken segment to post operating income of $1.3 billion to $1.4 billion for the year, up from the previously expected range of $1 billion to $1.3 billion.
“Our chicken business is obviously running a lot better than it has,” King said. “This has been a multiyear journey, but it’s running more efficiently.” King said the company is also seeing the benefit from the closure of four chicken plants two years ago.
Its pork business is having a moment too. Volume for that segment grew 1.5% against forecasts for a 2.3% decline. Pork delivered its strongest third quarter adjusted operating income for the company in four years.
All the momentum offset a more challenging quarter for its beef business.
The average price for beef increased 10%, higher than the 7.3% jump expected. Volumes declined 3.1%, more than the 2% expected, as the tightened cattle supply made fewer available for Tyson to buy and drove costs higher. Still, King said its beef consumer “has been very resilient” in the face of higher prices.
For ranchers, higher beef prices have been good news, according to Texas A&M professor David Anderson, as these prices reverse the situation “for ranchers who have dealt with low prices, high costs, and drought in recent years.”
Fewer imports from Mexico have hit the US cattle supply, however, creating another challenge for Tyson.
“I expect the tariff and retaliatory tariffs from China have introduced more struggles in [the ranchers’] business,” Anderson said. “I should say it’s not just high prices but fewer cattle that make it hard to get enough cattle to operate.”
Brooke DiPalma is a senior reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X at @BrookeDiPalma or email her at bdipalma@yahoofinance.com.
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