Zacks Research Reduces Earnings Estimates for General Mills

General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research reduced their FY2026 earnings estimates for General Mills in a research report issued on Thursday, March 26th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the company will earn $3.43 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $3.44. Zacks Research has a “Strong Sell” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for General Mills’ current full-year earnings is $4.36 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for General Mills’ Q1 2027 earnings at $0.82 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $0.70 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $0.66 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $3.26 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $0.84 EPS and Q3 2028 earnings at $0.72 EPS.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 18th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $4.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.53 billion. General Mills had a net margin of 12.05% and a return on equity of 19.19%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.12 EPS.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on GIS. Weiss Ratings downgraded General Mills from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on General Mills from $47.00 to $44.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on shares of General Mills from $53.00 to $48.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut General Mills from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $45.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of General Mills in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $44.61.

General Mills Stock Up 1.2%

GIS stock opened at $36.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.91 and a beta of -0.05. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. General Mills has a twelve month low of $35.63 and a twelve month high of $62.61.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GIS. World Investment Advisors grew its holdings in General Mills by 91.6% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 17,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $803,000 after purchasing an additional 8,257 shares during the last quarter. Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of General Mills in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 190,783 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,882,000 after buying an additional 5,593 shares during the period. Union Savings Bank acquired a new position in General Mills in the 4th quarter valued at $99,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in General Mills by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,269,781 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,040,000 after buying an additional 109,063 shares during the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

General Mills Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $0.61 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.7%. General Mills’s payout ratio is presently 59.66%.

More General Mills News

Here are the key news stories impacting General Mills this week:

• Positive Sentiment: New product momentum — General Mills is rolling out seasonal and co‑branded cereal SKUs (Lucky Charms Unicorn Cotton Candy; Tropical Trix with Disney’s Moana), which can help top‑line growth and brand engagement in core categories. Lucky Charms and Trix Bring Bold Flavors to the Breakfast Table Through New Cereals Made with Colors from Natural Sources
• Neutral Sentiment: High dividend yield draws income buyers but masks underlying risk — the 6.5% yield may support the share price in the short term, yet analysts warn that rising input costs and margin pressure could limit upside. The General Mills Dividend Yields 6.53%. Is That Enough to Make Up for an Oil Price Shock?
• Negative Sentiment: Fertilizer/supply disruption risk — coverage notes that closure of the Strait of Hormuz threatens fertilizer and feed inputs, raising agricultural and commodity cost risk for food producers including General Mills; this geopolitical shock is cited as a driver of higher input inflation and margin risk. One-Third of the World’s Fertilizer Passes Through the Strait of Hormuz. That Could Have Serious Repercussions for This Consumer Staples Company.
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts are cutting estimates and ratings — Zacks has trimmed multiple quarterly and FY forecasts and carries a “Strong Sell” stance, flagging weaker EPS outlooks that weigh on investor sentiment (multiple estimate downgrades were issued).
• Negative Sentiment: Price‑target cuts reflect cost pressure — TD Cowen lowered its PT to $32 (maintained Hold), citing likely higher input costs from the Iran conflict and weaker pricing power; another outlet reported a ~15% PT reduction to $42.84. These revisions constrain near‑term upside. General Mills price target lowered to $32 from $37 at TD Cowen General Mills (GIS) price target decreased by 15.29% to 42.84
• Negative Sentiment: Earnings and fundamental concerns persist — recent quarter missed estimates and revenue declined year‑over‑year; coverage notes shareholders face continued margin and growth headwinds beyond the single weak quarter. General Mills’ (NYSE:GIS) Shareholders Have More To Worry About Than Only Soft Earnings

About General Mills

General Mills, Inc (NYSE: GIS) is a multinational consumer foods company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of branded food products. Its product categories include ready-to-eat and hot cereals, baking mixes and ingredients, snacks and bars, refrigerated and frozen doughs, yogurt and other dairy products, and a variety of shelf-stable meals and meal components. The company’s portfolio features widely recognized consumer brands across grocery store, mass channel and foodservice outlets.

Founded in the early 20th century and incorporated under its current name in 1928, General Mills has grown through both internal brand development and strategic expansion to become a global food company.