Campbell's outlook is deteriorating. It cut its dividend from 39 cents to 25 cents, lowered guidance and said 2027 looks even worse. x.com 

Campbell's earnings estimates are in an absolutely brutal death march. x.com 

Campbell's should keep falling toward a buyout point near $12 a share, where a market cap of about $4 billion would price in bankruptcy. Its BBB- rating with a negative outlook amounts to rating agencies flagging bankruptcy risk, so institutions and hedge funds will sell or short until it gets there. With no near-term debt due, it would be bought out rather than go bankrupt, as Kenvue was, while Red Robin and Wendy's follow the same path. Buybacks and dividends mean little given its leverage. … Show more

Consumer staples are a lose-lose here because they are already overvalued at 26x forward earnings versus a 22.7x five-year average, the highest since just before the tech bubble burst. With stocks this richly valued, there is little left to rotate into if the economy weakens next year, and the healthcare rotation is well under way. If the economy holds, high rates hurt staples; if it weakens, they are too expensive to hold up even with rate cuts, except perhaps Campbell's. x.com  x.com 

McCormick's deal to roughly double its share count to buy Europe's slowest-growing food consumer packaged goods business looks like a poor move made after its compounder multiple had already disappeared. Volumes held up until 2022 before some mix of price elasticity and GLP-1 drugs hurt them, and management incentives tied to three-year cumulative net sales growth help explain chasing size. x.com  x.com  x.com 

General Mills will struggle to raise prices or grow as GLP-1 drugs and inflation push shoppers toward store brands and away from cereals. It has two years of negative EPS growth and estimates, and its operating cash flow and margins should suffer in that environment. The company does produce cash and is cheap, as @calvinfroedge notes with $2-3B of annual operating cash flow and a shareholder yield above 10%. x.com  x.com 

J.M. Smucker is underrated because its brands, including Jif, Smucker's, Dunkin' packaged coffee, Milk-Bone, Meow Mix and fast-growing Uncrustables, are bought every week regardless of the economy. Coffee costs, supply-chain inflation and an underperforming Hostess deal hurt this year, but fiscal Q4 revenue rose 6% and adjusted EPS 20% to $2.77. It has raised its dividend 28 straight years, keeps the payout under 50% and still trades below its historical valuation. x.com