Minneapolis, Minnesota-based General Mills, Inc. (GIS) is a global manufacturer and marketer of branded consumer foods. It operates through North America Retail, International, Pet, and North America Foodservice segments. With a market cap of $32.4 billion, General Mills boasts an extensive portfolio of 100+ brands.
The company has significantly underperformed the broader market over the past year, GIS stock has plunged 7.7% over the past 52 weeks and 7.8% on a YTD basis, lagging behind the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 20.6% surge over the past year and 2.5% gains in 2025.
Zooming in further, General Mills has also lagged behind the industry-focused Invesco Food & Beverage ETF’s (PBJ) 5.2% gains over the past year and 1.6% returns in 2025.
Despite reporting better-than-expected results General Mills’ stock prices declined 3.1% after the release of its Q2 results on Dec. 18. The company’s net sales increased nearly 2% year-over-year to $5.2 billion which surpassed Street’s expectations by a notable 1.6%. Meanwhile, its non-GAAP operating profits for the quarter increased 7.5% year-over-year to $1.1 billion which surpassed analysts’ estimates by a notable margin.
However, the favorable figures were influenced by an increase in retailer inventory in North America Retail, partially due to the Thanksgiving holiday shifting from the last week of the second quarter of fiscal 2024 to the first week of the third quarter of fiscal 2025, as well as favorable trade and expense timing. These impacts are anticipated to reverse in the second half of fiscal 2025.
For the current fiscal 2025, ending in May, analysts expect a 2.7% year-over-year drop in EPS to $4.40. Nevertheless, the company has a strong earnings surprise history. It has surpassed the Street’s bottom-line estimates in each of the past four quarters.
Among the 18 analysts covering the GIS stock, the consensus rating is a “Moderate Buy.” That’s based on five “Strong Buy” and ten “Hold” ratings.
This configuration is slightly more bullish than two months ago when only four analysts gave a “Strong Buy” recommendation.
On Jan. 24, Stifel analyst Matthew Smith maintained a “Buy” on GIS, while lowering the price target to $72.
GIS’ mean price target of $69.83 suggests 18.7% premium to current price levels, while its street-high target of $84 indicates a 42.8% upside potential.
