By Patrick Thomas

Tyson Foods, America's largest meat supplier, shrugged off the impact that heightened trade tensions may have on its exports of pork and chicken.

The company plans to shift shipments of products such as chicken leg quarters away from Mexico to other countries if it needs to, said Chief Executive Donnie King.

"We've been preparing for this," King said on an investor call. "Mexico is a large trading partner for us."

Tyson's stock rose Monday, even as the S&P 500 sold off. Cheap chicken feed and high consumer demand for protein helped boost profit in the latest quarter.

Tyson-which provides one-fifth of all chicken, beef and pork-reported a $359 million profit for the period ended Dec. 28. In the same period a year earlier, its profit was $107 million.

The Arkansas company is benefiting from cheaper chicken feed, due in part to weaker grain prices. Its operating income from the chicken business nearly doubled to $351 million. Chicken-feed costs are the most expensive part of raising chickens.

Tyson's chicken profits offset continued losses in its beef business, where a shortage of cattle is squeezing meatpacker profits. Buying cattle for slaughter is getting more expensive as ranchers thin their cattle herds. The Department of Agriculture said last week that the amount of cattle in the U.S. is at its lowest level since 1951.

Overall, Tyson's sales and adjusted profit for its fiscal first quarter came in ahead of analysts' estimates.

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February 03, 2025 10:20 ET (15:20 GMT)

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