As the Q3 earnings season comes to a close, it’s time to take stock of this quarter’s best and worst performers in the shelf-stable food industry, including Hershey (NYSE: HSY) and its peers.

As America industrialized and moved away from an agricultural economy, people faced more demands on their time. Packaged foods emerged as a solution offering convenience to the evolving American family, whether it be canned goods or snacks. Today, Americans seek brands that are high in quality, reliable, and reasonably priced. Furthermore, there's a growing emphasis on health-conscious and sustainable food options. Packaged food stocks are considered resilient investments. People always need to eat, so these companies can enjoy consistent demand as long as they stay on top of changing consumer preferences. The industry spans from multinational corporations to smaller specialized firms and is subject to food safety and labeling regulations.

The 20 shelf-stable food stocks we track reported a mixed Q3. As a group, revenues were in line with analysts’ consensus estimates while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 5.7% below.

While some shelf-stable food stocks have fared somewhat better than others, they have collectively declined. On average, share prices are down 4.2% since the latest earnings results.

Hershey (NYSE: HSY)

Best known for its milk chocolate bar and Hershey's Kisses, Hershey (NYSE: HSY) is an iconic company known for its chocolate products.

Hershey reported revenues of $2.99 billion, down 1.4% year on year. This print fell short of analysts’ expectations by 2.8%. Overall, it was a softer quarter for the company with a miss of analysts’ EPS and organic revenue estimates.

"We believe in the resiliency of our snacking categories and the strength of our brands," said Michele Buck, The Hershey Company President and Chief Executive Officer.

Unsurprisingly, the stock is down 3.8% since reporting and currently trades at $170.

Is now the time to buy Hershey? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Best Q3: General Mills (NYSE: GIS)

Best known for its portfolio of powerhouse breakfast cereal brands, General Mills (NYSE: GIS) is a packaged foods company that has also made a mark in cereals, baking products, and snacks.

General Mills reported revenues of $5.24 billion, up 2% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 1.9%. The business had a very strong quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ gross margin estimates.

Although it had a fine quarter compared its peers, the market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 3.6% since reporting. It currently trades at $63.51.

Is now the time to buy General Mills? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Weakest Q3: J&J Snack Foods (NASDAQ: JJSF)

Best known for its SuperPretzel soft pretzels and ICEE frozen drinks, J&J Snack Foods (NASDAQ: JJSF) produces a range of snacks and beverages and distributes them primarily to supermarket and food service customers.

J&J Snack Foods reported revenues of $426.8 million, down 3.9% year on year, in line with analysts’ expectations. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ EBITDA and gross margin estimates.

As expected, the stock is down 9.1% since the results and currently trades at $157.56.

Read our full analysis of J&J Snack Foods’s results here.

Utz (NYSE: UTZ)

Tracing its roots back to 1921 when Bill and Salie Utz began making potato chips in their kitchen, Utz Brands (NYSE: UTZ) offers salty snacks such as potato chips, tortilla chips, pretzels, cheese snacks, and ready-to-eat popcorn, among others.

Utz reported revenues of $365.5 million, down 1.7% year on year. This result met analysts’ expectations. It was a strong quarter as it also recorded a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

The stock is down 3.4% since reporting and currently trades at $15.66.

Read our full, actionable report on Utz here, it’s free.

Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ: KHC)

The result of a 2015 mega-merger between Kraft and Heinz, Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ: KHC) is a packaged foods giant whose products span coffee to cheese to packaged meat.

Kraft Heinz reported revenues of $6.38 billion, down 2.8% year on year. This result lagged analysts' expectations by 0.6%. Zooming out, it was a mixed quarter as it also logged full-year EPS guidance slightly topping analysts’ expectations but a slight miss of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

The stock is down 12% since reporting and currently trades at $30.64.

Read our full, actionable report on Kraft Heinz here, it’s free.

Market Update

Thanks to the Fed's series of rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has cooled significantly from its post-pandemic highs, drawing closer to the 2% goal. This disinflation has occurred without severely impacting economic growth, suggesting the success of a soft landing. The stock market has thrived in 2024, spurred by recent rate cuts (0.5% in September and 0.25% each in November and December), and a notable surge followed Donald Trump's presidential election win in November, propelling indices to historic highs. Nonetheless, the outlook for 2025 remains clouded by the pace and magnitude of future rate cuts as well as potential changes in trade policy and corporate taxes once the Trump administration takes over. The path forward is marked by uncertainty.

Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Strong Momentum Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.

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