Cal-Maine Says Egg-Market Rebound Is Unclear

Cal-Maine Foods Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM) stock fell more than 8% in Wednesday premarket trading after the egg producer reported worse-than-expected fiscal 2027 first-quarter results.Cal-Maine reported a loss of $1.26 per share, missing the Wall Street estimate for a loss of 64 cents.Net sales fell 41.5% year over year to $539.6 million, missing the analyst consensus estimate of $574.8 million.The company posted an operating loss of $82.2 million, compared with operating income of $249.2 million a year earlier.Cal-Maine ended the quarter with $767.6 million in cash and short-term investments.Specialty, Prepared Foods Gain ImportanceCal-Maine continued to diversify beyond conventional shell eggs. Specialty Shell Eggs and Prepared Foods together accounted for 54.1% of net sales during the quarter.Conventional Shell Egg sales fell 59.5% to $201.7 million. The decline primarily reflected a 59.3% drop in the average selling price per dozen, while volumes remained relatively flat.Specialty Shell Egg sales declined 14% to $236.9 million. The average selling price per dozen fell 10.7%, while volumes declined 3.8%.Prepared Foods sales decreased 13% to $63 million. Pounds sold fell 19.3%, primarily because of temporary production reductions tied to capacity expansion and network optimization. A 7.9% increase in the average selling price per pound partially offset the decline. See More: Top Value Stocks CEO CommentaryCal-Maine Foods President and CEO Sherman Miller said first-quarter results reflected continued weakness in the conventional shell egg market as well as the company’s broader shift toward a more diversified earnings base.He said conventional egg prices remain under pressure because of excess industry supply, even as consumer demand stays healthy. Meanwhile, Specialty Shell Eggs and Prepared Foods now account for about 54% of net sales, highlighting Cal-Maine’s progress in expanding beyond its traditional egg business.Miller said the company remains focused on its core Conventional Shell Egg operations while expanding its Specialty and Prepared Foods businesses and seeking stronger returns from recent investments.Looking ahead, Miller pointed to two key factors: when the conventional egg market returns to better supply-demand balance and when investments in Prepared Foods begin making a larger contribution to earnings.While the timing of a recovery in conventional egg pricing remains uncertain, he said the company has greater visibility into the earnings potential of its Prepared Foods expansion.Miller added that current results reflect both a weak commodity cycle and elevated investment spending ahead of future growth. He said those factors do not fully capture the company’s longer-term earnings potential.Cal-Maine plans to increase Prepared Foods capacity by more than 60% through the first half of fiscal 2028. Miller said the company’s strong balance sheet, expanding Prepared Foods operations and continued opportunities in Specialty Shell Eggs should help it build a more diversified and resilient earnings profile.Buybacks Continue, Dividend PausedCal-Maine Foods repurchased 66,601 shares for $5 million during the first quarter of fiscal 2027 under its existing share repurchase program.The program authorizes the company to repurchase up to $500 million of its common stock. Cal-Maine had $315.7 million remaining under the authorization at the end of the quarter.After the quarter ended, the company repurchased another 204,888 shares for $14.9 million.Cal-Maine will not pay a cash dividend for the fiscal 2027 first quarter under its variable dividend policy.The company said it will not resume dividend payments following a profitable quarter until it returns to cumulative profitability from the date of the last quarter in which it paid a dividend.As of Aug. 29, Cal-Maine had a cumulative loss of $94.5 million that must be recovered before it can pay another dividend under the policy.CALM Price ActionCALM Price Action: Cal-Maine Foods shares were down 8.16% at $62.96 during premarket trading on Wednesday. The stock is trading at a new 52-week low, according to Benzinga Pro data.Image via Shutterstock Read Also: AMZN, MSFT, GOOGL Need $1 Trillion in Revenue To Earn 15% Return on AI Capex — Here's What Goldman Says About Their $1.69 Trillion Backlog