TLDR
- Conagra Brands beat Wall Street estimates for fiscal first-quarter profit and sales.
- Adjusted earnings came in at 41 cents per share, topping the 28-cent estimate.
- Net sales fell 1% to $2.6 billion, roughly matching forecasts.
- The company reaffirmed its full-year sales and profit outlook.
- Premarket trading showed mixed price moves following the report.
Conagra Brands stock moved in premarket trading Wednesday after the food maker posted fiscal first-quarter results that topped Wall Street’s profit estimates. The company behind Slim Jim and Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn reported adjusted earnings of 41 cents per share.
That figure crushed the 28 cents analysts had expected. Net sales came in at $2.6 billion, roughly matching forecasts despite falling 1% from a year earlier.
Reported profit rose to $174.3 million, or 36 cents a share. That’s up from $164.5 million, or 34 cents a share, in the same quarter last year.
CONAGRA BRANDS $CAG Q1’27 EARNINGS HIGHLIGHTS
🔹 Revenue: $2.6B (Est. $2.59B) 🟢; -1.4% YoY
🔹 Organic Net Sales: -1.1%
🔹 Adj. EPS: $0.41 (Est. $0.28) 🟢; +5.1% YoY
🔹 Adj. Operating Margin: 11.5%
🔹 Adj. Oper Profit: $297.9M (Est. $235M) 🟢; -4.1% YoY
🔹 Adj. EBITDA: $451.4M…— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) September 30, 2026
New CEO John Brase, who took over in June, called it a solid start to fiscal 2027. He pointed to progress on margins and cost control as key drivers.
Segment Performance Was Mixed
The Refrigerated & Frozen segment saw net sales drop 2%. Lower volumes and softer pricing both weighed on the unit.
Grocery and snacks fared worse, with sales down 3%. Lower volumes there outweighed price increases the company pushed through.
Pricing and product mix added 1% to organic net sales company-wide. That helped soften the blow from weaker volumes across the business.
Adjusted gross profit slipped 4% year-over-year. A small $4 million boost from tariff refunds offered a bit of cushion.
Outlook Stays Steady
Conagra reaffirmed its full-year guidance. The company still expects organic net sales to fall between 1% and 3%.
Adjusted earnings guidance stayed at $1.40 to $1.50 per share. That range brackets the $1.44 analysts are penciling in.
Brase said the company is acting on priorities laid out earlier this year. Those include restoring margins, cutting complexity, and rebalancing how capital gets spent.
The quarter comes after a rough stretch for Conagra. The company halved its annual dividend back in July.
At the time, management said it was reviewing non-core assets. Brase indicated some brands could be sold off if they no longer fit the company’s strategy.
Reuters reported Conagra shares were down 3% in premarket trading following the release. The Wall Street Journal reported shares up 2.6% to $14.49 in premarket action, highlighting some divergence in early trading reactions.
Conagra’s fiscal year just started, and this quarter sets the tone. The company says its turnaround plan is starting to show up in the numbers, even as sales volumes remain under pressure.
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