TLDR
- General Mills posted adjusted EPS of 64 cents, missing the 73-cent analyst estimate
- Net sales fell 8% year-over-year to $4.44 billion, slightly above the $4.41 billion consensus
- Organic sales dropped 3%, trailing Nielsen-measured global retail sales by about 1.5 points
- The company reaffirmed its full-year outlook: organic sales down 1.5%–2%, adjusted profit down 16%–20%
- GIS stock slipped 0.8% in premarket trading and is down 17% in 2026, over 34% in the past 12 months
General Mills reported a mixed set of results for its fiscal third quarter on Wednesday, with earnings falling short of expectations while sales edged just past analyst estimates. The company then reaffirmed guidance it had already cut last month — offering investors little in the way of relief.
$GIS | General Mills Q3 FY2026 Earnings just dropped & IT’S UGLY
🔹 Adj. EPS: $0.64 — missed $0.73 consensus by 12%
🔹 Net Sales: $4.44B (-8% YoY) — slight beat vs $4.43B est
🔹 Organic Net Sales: -3% YoY
🔹 Adj. Operating Margin: 12.3% (-420bps YoY)
🔹 Adj. Operating Profit:… pic.twitter.com/DKz6Rc4rk3— Invest Alpha Pro (@InvestAlphaPro) March 18, 2026
Adjusted EPS came in at 64 cents, well below the 73 cents analysts had pencilled in. Net sales, including the effect of divestitures and acquisitions, dropped 8% year-over-year to $4.44 billion, though that was enough to beat the $4.41 billion consensus.
On an organic basis, sales fell 3% — trailing Nielsen-measured global retail sales by roughly 1.5 percentage points. That gap suggests General Mills is losing ground at the shelf, not just dealing with macro headwinds.
The stock slipped 0.8% in premarket trading following the report. Coming into Wednesday, GIS was already down 17% in 2026 and more than 34% over the past 12 months, making it one of the worst performers in the packaged food space.
Consumers Keep Choosing Cheaper Options
The broader story here isn’t complicated. Shoppers stretched thin by rising costs are reaching for private-label and store-brand products instead of name-brand staples like Cheerios, Lucky Charms, and Pillsbury.
That shift has been building for a while now. Companies across the packaged food industry that leaned heavily on price hikes during the inflation surge are now feeling the hangover. General Mills is no exception.
On top of that, dietary preferences are moving away from processed and packaged foods. The fast-growing adoption of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs has added to that pressure, nudging consumers toward different eating habits.
Uncertainty around consumer spending — partly tied to geopolitical tensions including the Iran war — has added another layer of drag on demand for pantry staples.
Full-Year Outlook Unchanged After Last Month’s Cut
General Mills did not change its full-year guidance, though that guidance was already lowered last month. The company still expects organic net sales to fall 1.5% to 2% for the fiscal year.
Adjusted operating profit and adjusted earnings are both expected to decline 16% to 20% in constant currency. That’s a steep drop, and the market has been pricing it in for months.
The reaffirmation didn’t do much to steady investor nerves. With organic sales trailing retail measurements and the earnings miss adding to an already rough stretch, there wasn’t much in Wednesday’s report to shift the narrative.
The S&P 500 futures were up 0.4% on Wednesday, with the benchmark index down 1.9% so far in 2026.
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