TLDR
- McCormick’s fiscal third-quarter sales rose 17% to $2.02 billion, beating Wall Street’s $1.98 billion estimate.
- Adjusted earnings per share came in at 86 cents, topping the 76-cent forecast from analysts.
- Net income fell to $97.6 million, down from $225.5 million a year earlier.
- Shares climbed roughly 4% in premarket trading following the report.
- McCormick reaffirmed its full-year adjusted earnings guidance of $3.05 to $3.13 a share.
McCormick (MKC) stock moved higher Thursday after the spice and flavor company posted a strong quarter. Shares rose about 4% in premarket trading.
McCormick & Company, Incorporated, MKC
The company’s fiscal third-quarter sales climbed 17% to $2.02 billion. That topped the $1.98 billion analysts had expected.
Adjusted earnings per share landed at 86 cents. Wall Street was looking for 76 cents, so McCormick cleared that bar with room to spare.
Net income told a different story on paper. It dropped to $97.6 million, or 36 cents a share, down from $225.5 million, or 84 cents a share, a year ago.
The dip in net income came alongside one-time items tied to the pending deal with Unilever’s food business. Strip those out, and the adjusted numbers show a business that grew.
Segment Performance
McCormick’s consumer segment saw sales jump 25%. Most of that growth came from the McCormick de Mexico acquisition rather than organic demand.
McCormick, $MKC, Q3-26.
Sales/EPS beats lift shares ~3.5% premarket, but growth is mostly acquisition-driven.
🟢 Revenue: $2.02B | vs. $1.98B est.
🟢 Adj. EPS: $0.86 | vs. $0.76 est.
📈 Gross margin: 39.3% | +190 bps
🌶️ Organic sales: +1.9% | FY26 outlook reaffirmed pic.twitter.com/2vD6F8WwDN— EarningsTime (@Earnings_Time) October 1, 2026
On an organic basis, consumer sales rose just 1%, with higher prices making up for softer volumes. The flavor solutions segment grew 8%, or 3% organically.
Gross profit margin expanded 190 basis points to 39.3%. The company credited the Mexico acquisition, higher sales, and its ongoing cost-savings program for the improvement.
Rising commodity and freight costs worked against those gains. McCormick said productivity efforts helped offset that pressure.
CEO Brendan Foley pointed to the company’s flavor-focused model as a driver of the results. He said the quarter reflected strong sales growth, including organic gains across the global flavor portfolio.
The Unilever Deal
McCormick is still working toward combining with Unilever’s food business. Foley said the company has made real progress on integration planning.
That includes naming a future leadership team and operating model. Cross-functional teams are already mobilized, and the company has built out plans for business continuity once the deal closes.
Looking ahead, McCormick kept its full-year guidance intact. The company still expects adjusted earnings between $3.05 and $3.13 a share for the fiscal year ending Nov. 30.
Net sales are projected to rise 13% to 17% for the year. Up to 13 percentage points of that growth is expected to come from the McCormick de Mexico deal.
Analysts currently forecast adjusted earnings of $3.09 a share for the full year. That would land on sales of $7.91 billion, a roughly 16% increase from last year.
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