GIS US S&P 500Russell 1000 Earnings call
General Mills (GIS) · Q3 2026 results and valuation
Share price: $34.21 · 2026-11-11
General Mills is an American manufacturer and marketer of branded consumer foods. The company sells its products through retail stores. Source: Wikipedia
Results Q3 2026 vs Q2 2026 · previous quarter · fiscal Q1 2027 · published 23 Sep 2026 and 1 Jul 2026
Net income turned to a profit from a loss last quarter. Management sounded cautious, in its script and in answers to analysts.
1 · Numbers
Turned profit
Net income vs Q2 2026
Outlook given
Net income 397.0M vs -2.01B
Revenue −4.8%
2 · How management spoke
Cautious
Among the least upbeat of all company calls
Answers to analysts: typical, in line with the script.
Similar to last call.
3 · What stood out
General Mills expects a low single-digit headwind from inventory this year as the customer mix shifts toward customers who maintain lower inventory levels.
Valuation
Is General Mills undervalued?
Reverse DCF. Free cash flow from the last full fiscal year (2026-05-31), grown for 10 years, discounted back, plus a terminal value. “Implied growth” is the rate the current price assumes.
At −2.9% growth a year (3-year revenue growth), the model's fair value is $3.60 a share — the stock trades 850% above it. Today's price assumes 7.3% growth a year.
Current price
$34.21
close of 2026-11-11
Market implies growth of iThe yearly free-cash-flow growth, for the next 10 years, that today’s share price already assumes. If you believe the company grows faster than this, the stock is cheap under this model; slower, and it is expensive.
+7.3% for 10 yrs
Fair value / share
$3.60
Buy below
$2.70
Price vs fair value
Overvalued >200%
Price vs buy-below price
Overvalued >200%
Read between the lines
-
Figure
The proportion of net sales from this segment rose from 3% to 5% over the last two years, reflecting a 50% increase in that area.
Source quote
“We've increased by about 50% over the last 2 years. We've gone from 3% of net sales to 5% of net sales.”
-
Figure
GIS plans to address product mix, premium innovation, and price pack architecture starting in Q2.
Source quote
“We will start to do that in Q2, and we like the plans we have against product mix, premium innovation and price pack architecture.”
-
Key theme
Management expects Q1, Q2, and Q3 to be roughly similar, with Q4 projected to be at around 6% based on current information.
Source quote
“I would expect Q1, Q2, Q3 to be roughly similar and Q4 to be just a touch outside the range at around 6% based on everything in front of us right now.”
-
Key theme
GIS expects a low single-digit headwind from inventory this year because the customer mix is shifting toward customers who maintain lower inventory levels.
Source quote
“I do think based on the customer mix progression that we still expect a low single-digit headwind from inventory over the course of the year, mainly as our mix skews more and more towards customers who carry lower inventory levels.”
-
Key theme
Gross margins net are expected to be roughly flat when excluding the mechanical factor.
Source quote
“If you strip that out, actually, we would expect our gross margins net to be roughly flat ex that mechanical factor.”
4 more
-
Guidance
GIS expects input cost inflation to be at the higher end of the previously communicated 4% to 5% range.
-
Key theme
The company expects to maintain its current performance range as it moves forward into future periods.
Source quote
“I have every confidence that, that is the range that we would expect to carry with us as we go forward from here.”
-
Guidance
The company expects it will take at least a couple of years of work on HMM and transformation savings to reach its target of 3x net debt to EBITDA.
-
Key theme
GIS signed an external partner to improve packaging innovation efficiency and speed to accelerate growth in e-commerce, where the majority of food growth is occurring.
Source quote
“We have just recently signed on a partner, an external partner in order to help us get more packaging innovation more efficiently and effectively and at better pace, and that will allow us to accelerate our growth in e-commerce, where we know the majority of the food growth is going.”
Tone
How upbeat the language was, compared with other companiesiTone counts positive minus negative finance words, adjusted for length. Executives mostly speak positively, so the labels compare each call with every company's latest call: “typical” is the middle third, “very upbeat” the top tenth, “cautious” the bottom tenth.. Dot: Q3 2026. Ring: Q2 2026.
Script and answers carried a similar tone, so the script's message held up under questioning.
Sentences that drove the tone
“We have just recently signed on a partner, an external partner in order to help us get more packaging innovation more efficiently and effectively and at better pace, and that...”
“I do think based on the customer mix progression that we still expect a low single-digit headwind from inventory over the course of the year, mainly as our mix skews...”
“We have strong innovation sorry, strong renovation coming.”
Full figures
USD · SEC EDGAR XBRL (10-Q, period end 2026-08-30)
| Metric | Q3 2026period end 2026-08-30 | Q2 2026period end 2026-05-31 | Change | Q3 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 4.39B | 4.61B | −4.8% | 4.52B | −2.8% |
| Gross profit | 1.49B | 1.60B | −7.3% | 1.53B | −3.0% |
| Operating income | 633.6M | -2.09B | Turned profit | 1.73B | −63.3% |
| Net income | 397.0M | -2.01B | Turned profit | 1.20B | −67.0% |
| EPS | 0.74 | -3.72 | Turned profit | 2.22 | −66.7% |
| P/E | 12-mo loss | 12-mo loss | — | 9.5 | — |
Topics
Most discussed now
- New General Mills is leaning into significant new products in its snacks categories.
- As General Mills thinks about its pet business, it is encouraged by the start to the...
- General Mills evens have its treat business back to growth, and it has got a good fall lineup of innovation on that.
- General Mills has really good product innovation, blasted rolls.
- This year, General Mills has seen pretty good improvement, and it is encouraged by the momentum.
Faded since Q2 2026
- Fading Really how General Mills finishes fiscal 2026, and then where General Mills is headed in fiscal 2027.
- Fading Recall, as General Mills entered fiscal 26, it made a bold decision to reinvest in Remarkability.
- Dropped Before General Mills gets going today, I thought I would provide a brief summary of some of the main messages for...
Latest announcements
Official filings, newest first. Summaries are generated from each filing and its attachment; every figure is checked against the source.
- Articles or bylaws amended; Shareholder vote results · SEC 8-K · routine
- Director or officer change · SEC 8-K
General Mills announced that Dana McNabb will become Chief Executive Officer on January 1, 2027, succeeding Jeff Harmening, who will transition to Executive Chair of the Board.
- Results of operations · SEC 8-K
General Mills reported net sales of $4.4 billion, down 3 percent from the previous year, and diluted EPS of $0.74, down 67 percent compared to the prior year.
- Results of operations · SEC 8-K
General Mills reported fourth-quarter net sales of $4.6 billion, up 1 percent from the previous year, and full-year net sales of $18.4 billion, down 5 percent from the previous year.
- Director or officer change · SEC 8-K
General Mills appointed Dana McNabb as Chief Operating Officer and a board member effective June 1, 2026, following fiscal 2025 net sales of $19 billion.
- Director or officer change · SEC 8-K
General Mills, Inc. filed a Form 8-K on May 4, 2026, regarding a change in directors or officers.
- Other events · SEC 8-K
General Mills, Inc. filed a Form 8-K on April 16, 2026, listing various notes due between 2027 and 2034 with interest rates ranging from 1.500% to 3.907%.
- Results of operations · SEC 8-K
General Mills reported third-quarter net sales of $4.4 billion, down 8 percent from the previous year, and diluted earnings per share of $0.56, down 50 percent.
Catalyst calendar
management-stated targets — from the latest earnings call; plans, not promises.
-
Q2
start to lap base price investments
Source quote
“We will start to do that in Q2, and we like the plans we have against product mix, premium innovation and price pack architecture.”
-
throughout the year
improved dollar performance for Totino's business
Source quote
“We've cut those declines in half. That's an area we'll continue to focus on, and we expect to see improved dollar performance throughout the year.”
-
Q1, Q2, Q3
inflation expected to be roughly similar
Source quote
“I would expect Q1, Q2, Q3 to be roughly similar”
-
Q4
inflation expected to be just a touch outside the range at around 6%
Source quote
“and Q4 to be just a touch outside the range at around 6% based on everything in front of us right now.”
-
over the course of the year
low single-digit headwind from inventory
Source quote
“I do think based on the customer mix progression that we still expect a low single-digit headwind from inventory over the course of the year, mainly as our mix skews more and more towards customers who carry lower inventory levels.”