Key Highlights

  • Adjusted diluted EPS was $0.26 versus $0.58 a year earlier, and GAAP diluted EPS was $0.23 versus $0.63.
  • Sales fell 8.3% to $3,437 million, from $3,747 million.
  • Packaged Meats operating profit rose to $230 million at an 11.6% margin, from $226 million at 10.8%.
  • Fresh Pork posted an operating loss of $89 million, against a $10 million profit a year earlier.
  • Full-year 2026 adjusted operating profit is guided to $900 million to $1,000 million.

Smithfield Earnings: Is a Fresh Pork Loss Hiding Packaged Meats Strength?

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) reported third-quarter results on Tuesday, October 27, with adjusted diluted EPS of $0.26, down from $0.58 a year earlier and in line with the $0.26 estimate as screened. GAAP diluted EPS was $0.23, versus $0.63. Sales fell 8.3% to $3,437 million.

The answer is largely yes. Packaged Meats grew profit, but a loss in Fresh Pork and a sharp drop in Hog Production pulled adjusted operating profit down to $145 million, a 4.2% margin, from $310 million and 8.3%. Adjusted EBITDA was $227 million, a 6.6% margin, compared with $398 million and 10.6%.

Smithfield is a pork processor and packaged meats producer that also raises hogs. The result landed inside the $115 million to $175 million adjusted operating profit range the company gave in its September 8 update, when it cited a falling USDA pork cutout and lower hog prices.

Segment Results: How Far Did Pork Prices Pull Down Profit?

Packaged Meats sales slipped 5.2% to $1,982 million, yet operating profit rose to $230 million from $226 million. Margin widened to 11.6% from 10.8%. The chief executive said the segment remains on track for a fifth consecutive year above $1 billion of operating profit.

Fresh Pork sales fell 17.0% to $1,814 million and the segment lost $89 million, against a $10 million profit. Hog Production sales fell 15.0% to $691 million, with profit down to $34 million from $89 million on lower hog prices. Other operations, which cover Mexico and Bioscience, grew sales 15.2% to $151 million but lost $5 million.

2026 Guidance: What Do the Ranges Imply for the Fourth Quarter?

The company guided full-year adjusted operating profit to $900 million to $1,000 million and sales down low-single digits. Packaged Meats is guided to $1,090 million to $1,140 million, a narrower band than the $1,075 million to $1,150 million reaffirmed in September. Fresh Pork is guided to a loss of $50 million to breakeven, and Hog Production to a loss of $25 million to a $25 million profit.

Capital expenditures are guided to $350 million to $375 million. The outlook includes 53 weeks and roughly two months of Nathan's Famous, acquired on October 26, and excludes the proposed Sioux Falls facility. Against nine-month adjusted operating profit of $783 million, the range implies about $117 million to $217 million in the fourth quarter (calculated).

Management said softer fresh pork and hog markets are expected to keep pressuring upstream results into the fourth quarter. Nine-month operating cash flow was $365 million, versus $121 million.

Cash was $1,178 million and total debt $2,004 million at September 27, leaving net debt of $827 million, or 0.5 times trailing adjusted EBITDA. Liquidity was $3,481 million. The quarterly dividend is $0.3125 per share, an annual rate of $1.25.

What to Watch Next: Can Packaged Meats Carry the Fourth Quarter Through Nathan's Closing?

Investors will track the pork cutout and hog prices, which drive the Fresh Pork and Hog Production ranges, along with the first contribution from Nathan's Famous and any decision on the Sioux Falls investment. The fourth-quarter report will show whether the implied $117 million to $217 million adjusted operating profit range holds.