Hormel Foods (HRL) reported $3.14 billion in revenue for the quarter ended October 2024, representing a year-over-year decline of 1.9%. EPS of $0.42 for the same period compares to $0.42 a year ago.

The reported revenue compares to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.14 billion, representing a surprise of -0.05%. The company delivered an EPS surprise of -2.33%, with the consensus EPS estimate being $0.43.

While investors closely watch year-over-year changes in headline numbers -- revenue and earnings -- and how they compare to Wall Street expectations to determine their next course of action, some key metrics always provide a better insight into a company's underlying performance.

Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance.

Here is how Hormel performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts:

• Net Sales- Retail: $1.91 billion compared to the $1.88 billion average estimate based on two analysts. The reported number represents a change of -3.8% year over year.
• Net Sales- International: $185.01 million versus $186.15 million estimated by two analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +1.4% change.
• Net Sales- Foodservice: $1.05 billion versus the two-analyst average estimate of $1.08 billion. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +1.3%.
• Segment Profit- Foodservice: $154.34 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $171.19 million.
• Segment Profit- International: $27.06 million compared to the $21.05 million average estimate based on two analysts.
• Segment Profit- Retail: $152.93 million versus the two-analyst average estimate of $137.27 million.

View all Key Company Metrics for Hormel here>>>

Shares of Hormel have returned +2.3% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +5.8% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term.

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