Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.06 EPS

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.06, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $6.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.38 billion. Kraft Heinz had a positive return on equity of 7.26% and a negative net margin of 17.35%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.84 EPS. Kraft Heinz updated its FY 2026 guidance to 1.980-2.100 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Kraft Heinz’s conference call:

• Company will deploy $600 million of incremental investment, ramping in Q2 with about half focused on price, product and packaging and the rest on marketing, R&D and sales hires to drive market-share recovery.
• Management has paused the planned separation with no end date to concentrate 100% of resources on the turnaround, saying this preserves optionality for future portfolio moves.
• They expect a measurable trend inflection in the back half of the year, aim to exit 2026 with improved trends and target a return to organic growth in 2027.
• Kraft Heinz expects roughly a 100 basis point headwind from SNAP funding cuts (SNAP ≈13% of its U.S. retail sales vs 11% industry), and plans targeted opening price points in ~40% of categories to mitigate the impact.
• Capital priorities remain reinvestment in the business and debt reduction toward a ~3x net leverage target, so excess cash will go to growth and deleveraging rather than buybacks for now.

Kraft Heinz Stock Performance

KHC traded down $0.63 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $24.37. The company had a trading volume of 3,719,628 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,819,039. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $24.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.13. Kraft Heinz has a 12-month low of $21.99 and a 12-month high of $33.35. The stock has a market cap of $28.84 billion, a PE ratio of -6.53 and a beta of 0.08.

Kraft Heinz Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.6%. Kraft Heinz’s payout ratio is currently -42.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KHC has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Kraft Heinz from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Kraft Heinz from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Kraft Heinz from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Kraft Heinz from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $22.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Kraft Heinz from $27.00 to $26.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $25.75.

Insider Transactions at Kraft Heinz

In other Kraft Heinz news, insider Miguel Patricio sold 125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.82, for a total value of $3,102,500.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 686,817 shares in the company, valued at $17,046,797.94. The trade was a 15.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kraft Heinz

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the first quarter worth $207,000. Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 39.0% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 73,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,243,000 after purchasing an additional 20,690 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Kraft Heinz by 16.6% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 51,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,323,000 after purchasing an additional 7,307 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Kraft Heinz by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 522,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,482,000 after buying an additional 4,003 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kraft Heinz during the second quarter valued at about $207,000. Institutional investors own 78.17% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Kraft Heinz

Here are the key news stories impacting Kraft Heinz this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KHC beat Q4 EPS expectations ($0.67 vs. $0.61) and highlighted a healthy balance sheet/free cash flow potential, which supports the dividend and near‑term cash returns. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: The board declared a $0.40 quarterly dividend (6.4% yield), a clear shareholder cash-return that can cushion investor sentiment amid uncertainty. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: New CEO Steve Cahillane is redirecting the split plan and committing $600M to marketing, sales and product development — a growth investment that could help stabilize volumes and brands if execution succeeds. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and writeups provide deeper context on the quarter and strategy shift (brand focus, investment ramp, and transcript of management comments) useful for modeling outcomes. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Full Q4 earnings call transcript and slide materials are available — read management’s tone on turnaround timelines and assumptions before adjusting forecasts. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: KHC paused its planned separation into two companies — investors had priced potential value unlocking from a breakup; the pause is viewed as a negative catalyst and triggered an initial sell‑off. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Management’s FY‑2026 EPS guidance (1.98–2.10) came in materially below consensus, signaling weaker near‑term profitability and prompting downward revisions to analyst models. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan downgraded KHC to underweight with a $22 price target, explicitly flagging “limited near‑term upside” after the breakup pause — a notable sell signal from a large shop. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Underlying top‑line pressure: organic sales and volumes declined, and revenue slightly missed estimates, which helps explain margin pressure and the conservative outlook. Read More.

Kraft Heinz Company Profile

The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ: KHC) is a global food and beverage company formed in 2015 through the merger of Kraft Foods Group and H.J. Heinz Company. The combination created one of the largest packaged-food companies in the world, built around well-known consumer brands. The merger was supported by major investors and established a multi-national platform for branded food products.

Kraft Heinz develops, manufactures, markets and distributes a broad portfolio of branded packaged foods and condiments.