Tyson Foods Inc. (NYSE:TSN) reported third-quarter fiscal 2026 results on Monday that fell short of Wall Street forecasts, while lowering its full-year earnings outlook as ongoing challenges in its beef business continued to weigh on performance.
The weaker-than-expected results sent the company’s shares down 3.50% in pre-market trading.
Earnings and Revenue Fall Short of Forecasts
Tyson posted adjusted earnings per share of $0.99 for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.06.
Revenue totaled $13.87 billion, below the expected $14.15 billion. Excluding a $98 million legal contingency accrual recorded in the prior year, sales increased 0.6% year over year.
Company Lowers Fiscal 2026 Guidance
Tyson reduced its fiscal 2026 adjusted operating income forecast to between $2.1 billion and $2.3 billion, compared with its previous guidance of $2.2 billion to $2.4 billion.
The company also narrowed its expected annual revenue growth range to 2.5% to 3.5%, versus its earlier forecast of 2% to 4%. The updated outlook remains below analysts’ expectations for approximately 4.3% revenue growth.
Chicken and Prepared Foods Continue to Perform Well
Tyson’s Chicken segment delivered its seventh consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth in both sales and volume.
Sales increased to $4.26 billion from $4.22 billion a year earlier, while shipment volumes rose 1.0%.
Prepared Foods also posted modest growth, with sales climbing to $2.56 billion from $2.52 billion. Volume edged up 0.1%, supported by continued strength across the company’s retail brands.
Beef Business Remains a Drag
The Beef segment continued to face pressure from limited cattle supplies.
Sales declined to $5.39 billion, while shipment volumes dropped 15.9%. The division recorded an operating loss of $138 million during the quarter.
By contrast, the Pork segment delivered stronger results, with volumes increasing 5.2% and revenue reaching $1.58 billion, supported by healthy consumer demand and ample hog supplies.
Cash Flow and Balance Sheet Improve
Despite lowering its outlook, Tyson highlighted continued operational execution and financial discipline.
“Strong Q3 execution reinforces confidence in our ability to grow and improve across operational and controllable aspects of the business in 2026 and beyond,” the company stated in its earnings presentation.
During the first nine months of fiscal 2026, Tyson generated free cash flow of $913 million and reduced its net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA ratio to 2.1x from 2.6x in the comparable period last year.