guvendemir/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Introduction The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ: KHC ) saw its stock price decline by nearly 14% since I rated it a hold back in late April 2025. A lot has been going on at the company, such as the recent quarterly earnings and the suspension of its corporate split. With all of that in mind, I want to dive into why I believe that it is too little too late...
guvendemir/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Introduction The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ: KHC ) saw its stock price decline by nearly 14% since I rated it a hold back in late April 2025. A lot has been going on at the company, such as the recent quarterly earnings and the suspension of its corporate split. With all of that in mind, I want to dive into why I believe that it is too little too late to justify an investment in the famed company. Current Dynamics KHC posted mixed earnings as Q4 Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.67, a 6-cent beat, while revenue came in at $6.35B, a $20MM miss and a 3.5% Y/Y decline. For the full year, KHC reported net sales of $24.9B, also a 3.5% Y/Y decrease. Consolidated net income for the year was also highly overshadowed by the massive $9.3B non-cash impairment charge , primarily directed at the North American segment. This has pushed the company to report an operating loss of $4.7B for the year, and the impairment served as the formal admission that the carrying value of legacy assets such as Oscar Mayer had been overstated. The bottom-line beat was great, but it was largely due to disciplined financial oversight and top-line momentum or gross margin expansion. Diving deeper, gross profit margins are sustaining pressure through 2025, ending Q4 at an adjusted rate of 33.1%. This has been mainly linked to inflationary pressures in commodity and manufacturing costs that successfully outpaced the company’s efficiency strategy. More specifically, the high input costs in the coffee category have required pricing actions that negatively impacted volume. Segment-wise, we can assess that the North American category has been the epicenter of volume atrophy as it experienced a 5.4% decline in organic net sales during Q4. The full decline was driven by three areas of weakness that were identified by management: Lunchables, Spoonables, frozen meals, and snacks. For example, the erosion of Lunchables is highly significant as the brand was initially con...
cherdchai chawienghong/iStock via Getty Images While the Consumer Price Index remains “fairly benign,” the inflation metric that truly matters for equity markets ( SP500 ), ( COMP:IND ), ( DJI ) is the widening gap between CPI and PPI, according to Gina Martin Adams, chief market strategist for HB Wealth. Adams argued this spread has been “going the wrong way since October,” signaling potential tr...
cherdchai chawienghong/iStock via Getty Images While the Consumer Price Index remains “fairly benign,” the inflation metric that truly matters for equity markets ( SP500 ), ( COMP:IND ), ( DJI ) is the widening gap between CPI and PPI, according to Gina Martin Adams, chief market strategist for HB Wealth. Adams argued this spread has been “going the wrong way since October,” signaling potential trouble ahead for corporate profits and stock valuations. S&P 500 operating margin vs. PPI - CPI (HB Wealth, Bloomberg ) The timing of this shift appears significant, the strategist noted. “It’s not likely a coincidence that October was also the latest peak in growth stocks and value has been on a tear since,” Adams said. The rotation from growth ( IVW ) to value stocks ( IVE ) has closely tracked the deteriorating relationship between consumer and producer prices, suggesting investors are already pricing in concerns about corporate pricing power. The implications for the broader market could be substantial if current trends persist. According to Adams, if “core producer prices continue to rise at a faster pace than core consumer prices, it may indicate fading pricing power.” This dynamic threatens to undermine the optimistic outlook many analysts have held for corporate America. The chief market strategist warned that sustained pressure from rising producer costs could “reverse consensus forecasts for broad S&P 500 ( SP500 ) margin gains in the year ahead.” For investors, the message is clear: headline CPI figures tell only part of the story, and the underlying spread between what companies pay and what consumers will bear may prove the more consequential indicator for equity returns, according to Adams. ETFs that track the main U.S. indexes: ( DIA ), ( DDM ), ( DOG ), ( DXD ), ( SDOW ), ( SPY ), ( VOO ), ( IVV ), ( RSP ), ( SSO ), ( UPRO ), ( SH ), ( SDS ), ( SPXU ), ( QQQ ), ( QQQM ), ( TQQQ ), ( QID ), and ( SQQQ ). More on the markets January CPI Tame, But PCE Inflation ...
A worker stocks angus beef top sirloin filets in the meat section of a grocery store in Washington, D.C. Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images Inflation decelerated in January as price pressures eased across a range of consumer staples such as food and gasoline, though they remain elevated for certain categories, including electricity and home heating, economists said. The consumer pric...
A worker stocks angus beef top sirloin filets in the meat section of a grocery store in Washington, D.C. Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images Inflation decelerated in January as price pressures eased across a range of consumer staples such as food and gasoline, though they remain elevated for certain categories, including electricity and home heating, economists said. The consumer price index , a key inflation gauge, rose 2.4% in January from 12 months earlier, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday. That was down from 2.7% in December and lower than expected . Inflation is still running above the target of policymakers at the Federal Reserve, the U.S. central bank, which aims for an inflation level around 2%, economists said. Effect of tariffs and immigration policy Inflation would likely be at the Fed's target absent Trump administration policies on tariffs and immigration, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's. Tariffs levied by President Donald Trump on a host of trading partners have put upward pressure on prices, as many businesses pass at least some of those import taxes on to U.S. consumers, economists said. Immigration policy has also put some upward pressure on prices for services by reducing labor supply, they said. "Broadly speaking, inflation is still too high for most Americans and the Fed," Zandi said. "But I think we've seen the worst of it. If there are no changes in policy — to tariffs and immigration policy — we should get inflation back to something more comfortable by this time next year." The Yale University Budget Lab estimated in January that the U.S.' effective tariff rate had risen to 16.9%, the highest since 1932. The Supreme Court is poised to rule on the constitutionality of a large swath of Trump's tariffs in the coming weeks. 'Big caveat' in CPI report The slowdown in inflation was "relatively broad-based" in January, aside from "some pockets of acceleration in services (particularly transportation costs)," Jason...
Earnings Call Insights: Flowers Foods (FLO) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Ryals McMullian opened the call by highlighting progress on business transformation, stating, "Led by the strong performance of our leading brands and disciplined execution of efficiency initiatives, we produced results at the high end of our 2025 guidance range." He noted that the 2026 guidance "does reflect ongoing category ...
Earnings Call Insights: Flowers Foods (FLO) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Ryals McMullian opened the call by highlighting progress on business transformation, stating, "Led by the strong performance of our leading brands and disciplined execution of efficiency initiatives, we produced results at the high end of our 2025 guidance range." He noted that the 2026 guidance "does reflect ongoing category challenges, 1 fewer week, inflationary pressures, but also additional investments in our leading brands." McMullian announced a comprehensive review of operations, including "brand portfolio, supply chain and financial strategy, to strengthen execution and position our business to reignite top line growth and expand margins over time." McMullian emphasized the challenge in the traditional loaf segment, specifying, "The real issue for us is traditional loaf where we under-index, and that has been underperforming the category." CFO Diego Scaglione described the review as "a measured approach," adding, "It's a thoughtful and broad review. It's really not intended to be just for this year, but it's a multiyear process." Scaglione addressed dividend concerns, stating, "We remain committed, and I think we mentioned this in the prepared remarks as well, to our strong balance sheet and we recognize the benefit of the investment-grade rating." Outlook Management stated that 2026 guidance reflects "ongoing category challenges, 1 fewer week, inflationary pressures, but also additional investments in our leading brands." The company is conducting a comprehensive review, but is "just in the early stretches right now." Scaglione indicated that the guidance range for 2026 is "down roughly about 180 basis points to slightly up, effectively flat," and expects the category to be down 4% from a headwind, with "extra week adds about 150 basis points of pressure." No explicit figures for EPS or revenue guidance were provided in the transcript. Financial Results No specific quarterly financial r...
After four straight days of gains, SSR Mining (NASDAQ: SSRM) stock took a breather yesterday, falling nearly 6% -- then perked right back up! In morning trading, 10:35 a.m. ET Friday, shares of the gold miner (which also mines copper, silver, lead, and zinc) are up 6.2% -- right back to Wednesday's price. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
After four straight days of gains, SSR Mining (NASDAQ: SSRM) stock took a breather yesterday, falling nearly 6% -- then perked right back up! In morning trading, 10:35 a.m. ET Friday, shares of the gold miner (which also mines copper, silver, lead, and zinc) are up 6.2% -- right back to Wednesday's price. Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading