Tyson Foods Posts $145M Profit as Sales Dip in Fiscal Q2

Tyson Foods CEO Donnie King (Photo provided by Tyson Foods)

Tyson Foods Inc. of Springdale (NYSE: TSN) on Monday reported second-quarter income of $145 million, an improvement from the loss of $97 million a year ago.

The company has posted two consecutive positive quarters after ending fiscal 2023 with three consecutive losing quarters.

Earnings per share came to 41 cents, up from a loss of 28 cents a year ago.

The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 35 cents per share.

Tyson posted revenue of $13.07 billion in the period, down about 0.5%  from $13.13 billion in the same quarter a year ago.

“During the second quarter, we continued our positive momentum and made progress on our key initiatives,” Tyson Foods CEO Donnie King said in a statement. “The strategies we have implemented are delivering tangible results, as evidenced by our return to year-over-year bottom line growth.

“Looking to the back half of the year, we will continue to focus on executing the fundamentals and leveraging our multi-protein portfolio. We are energized by our progress to-date and laser-focused on driving long-term value.”

Shares of the company were down about 7% on Monday morning to $57.33. Year to date, shares were up about 3%.

The beef segment reported second-quarter sales of $4.95 billion, up from $4.6 billion. Operating income was a negative $35 million; for the first half of the year, the beef segment’s operating income was a negative $241 million, down from $166 million a year ago.

The chicken segment reported sales of $4.07 billion, down from $4.4 billion. Operating income was $158 million, up from a loss of $258 million a year ago; the chicken segment had a negative operating income of $770 million in 2023 but is up $335 million in the first six months of 2024.

The prepared foods segment reported sales of $2.4 billion, down from $2.42 billion. Operating income was $230 million, down from $241 million.

The pork segment reported sales of $1.49 billion, up from $1.42 billion. Operating income was a loss of $1 million, an improvement from a loss of $33 million a year ago.

The international segment reported sales of $580 million, down from $634 million. Operating income was a loss of $40 million, down from a  positive $1 million a year ago.

Tyson has moved to shut down nine of its plants since early 2023 in a bid to return to profitability and improve efficiency. Most have been facilities that served the company’s struggling chicken segment. The company has also cut costs by reducing its leadership positions by 15% and its corporate positions by 10%.

Tyson expects sales to remain flat in 2024 but raised its guidance for operating income from $1 billion-$1.5 billion to $1.4 billion-$1.8 billion.

The Associated Press contributed information to this report.