By Evie Liu and George Glover

Campbell's stock was falling Wednesday after the packaged-food company posted quarterly earnings and announced that its CEO Mark Clouse would be leaving after six years at the helm.

Shares were down 1.4% to $44.88 in premarket trading. Futures tracking the benchmark S&P 500 index rose 0.2%.

Campbell's, which dropped the name Soup at its annual meeting last month, reported adjusted earnings of 89 cents a share on sales of $2.77 billion after Tuesday's stock market close. Analysts were expecting earnings of 87 cents a share on sales of $2.8 billion, according to FactSet consensus estimates. The results covered the quarter ended Oct. 27.

The canned foods producer also said that Clouse would be departing on Jan. 31 to take up a new role as president of the Washington Commanders National Football League franchise. He'll be replaced by Mick Beekhuizen, who currently heads up the company's meals and beverages business.

Beekhuizen is taking over at a tricky time. Last month's rebrand signaled that Campbell's wants to shift from the canned soups that made its fortune to snacks and other packaged food -- but the path forward looks murky.

Campbell's diversified its business by closing a deal to buy Rao's pasta sauce maker Sovos Brands earlier this year. It also warned that weak consumer spending is dragging on its sales of snacks like Goldfish crackers.

D.A. Davidson analyst Brian Holland said in a research note that the latest results looked "low quality given a modest top-line shortfall," but noted that the Sovos acquisition had overdelivered. The deal contributed $310 million in sales over the quarter. Holland rates the stock at Neutral, with a $51 price target that implies it can climb 12% from its level as of Tuesday's close.

Campbell's shares are up 5.3% this year. The S&P 500 has risen 27%.

Write to Evie Liu at evie.liu@barrons.com

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December 04, 2024 07:04 ET (12:04 GMT)

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