McCormick Stock Heats Up On Q4 Earnings Beat: Retail Mood Brightens

Shares of McCormick & Co ($MKC) surged 2% on Thursday after the condiments and spices maker posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter results, lifting retail sentiment.

The company posted revenues of $1.8 billion in the fourth quarter, rising 3% year-over-year and beating consensus estimates of about $1.77 billion, Fly.com reported. The sales increase was driven by "volume," the company said.

Adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.80, beating analyst estimates of $0.77. 

"We are pleased to report strong performance for both fourth quarter and fiscal year 2024, an important year for McCormick, in which we built momentum and strengthened our leadership, returning to differentiated and sustainable volume-led growth," Brendan Foley, chairman, president, and CEO, said. "We successfully delivered on our objectives for the year. Our strategic investments in core categories enabled us to drive positive volume growth, expand our margins, and deliver robust earnings growth."

In addition, it sees FY25 revenue growth of flat to up 2%, the company said. Consensus estimates for FY25 are at $6.86 billion, according to Fly.com.

The company said its 2025 outlook continues to reflect its prioritized investments in core categories to strengthen volume trends, expand operating margins, and drive long-term profitable growth.

"The company's CCI program is continuing to fuel growth investments while also driving operating margin expansion. The company expects foreign currency rates to unfavorably impact sales by 1%, adjusted operating income by 1%, and adjusted earnings per share by 2%."

Sentiment on Stocktwits improved to 'bullish' from 'neutral' a day ago. Message volumes were in the 'extremely high' zone.

MKC sentiment meter and message volumes on Jan 24 as of 2:47 am ET

McCormick makes and distributes herbs, spices, seasonings, and condiments across 150 countries. Its brands incude French's, Zatarain's, Simply Asia, Thai Kitchen, and Gourmet Garden.

McCormick stock is down 1.94% year-to-date.

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