The Campbell's Company CPB is likely to witness a top and bottom-line decline when it reports third-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings on June 8. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $2.39 billion, indicating a decrease of 3.6% from the prior-year quarter’s reported figure.
The consensus mark for earnings has fallen by a penny over the past 30 days to 48 cents a share, which suggests a decline of 34.3% from the figure reported in the year-ago period. CPB has a trailing four-quarter negative earnings surprise of about 4%, on average.
The Campbell's Company Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
The Campbell's Company price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | The Campbell's Company Quote
Factors Likely to Influence CPB’s Upcoming Results
Campbell’s third-quarter performance is likely to have remained under pressure, reflecting continued weakness in its Snacks business. During the second-quarter earnings discussion, management highlighted challenged demand trends across the segment, particularly in chips and pretzels, where increased competitive activity and share pressures weighed on performance.
The company has been focused on restoring competitiveness through sharper value offerings, promotional support and improved in-market execution. However, management indicated that the Snacks recovery would take time, suggesting that category headwinds and competitive pressures likely continued to weigh on volumes and sales during the quarter. Our model suggests a 4.8% volume decline and a 3.9% revenue decline for the Snacks segment for the third quarter.
Another factor likely to hurt third-quarter results is the continued disruption within the Fresh Bakery business. On its last earnings call, management noted that manufacturing and distribution execution challenges had emerged before the winter storms and were expected to remain a third-quarter headwind as the company worked to improve service levels and on-shelf availability. Management also indicated that certain promotional activities would be scaled back while operational improvements were implemented, with normalization not anticipated until the fourth quarter. Execution challenges and reduced promotional support may have constrained sales and profitability in the reported quarter.
Margin performance is also likely to have remained pressured. Campbell’s continues to face cost inflation, tariff-related expenses and broader supply-chain cost headwinds, which weighed on profitability in the first half of fiscal 2026. Management signaled plans for incremental trade investments and targeted promotional activity to enhance value perception and strengthen competitiveness in key categories. Persistent volume softness in Snacks may have also resulted in manufacturing and overhead deleverage, weighing on bottom-line performance. We expect the gross margin to contract 330 basis points to 27.1% in the third quarter.
On the positive side, Campbell’s Meals & Beverages segment has continued to demonstrate resilience, supported by favorable cooking-at-home trends and solid in-market performance across key brands. Continued strength in Rao’s, along with demand for broth, cooking-oriented soup offerings and meal solutions, is likely to have offset weakness in Snacks.
Earnings Whispers for CPB
Our proven model doesn’t conclusively predict an earnings beat for Campbell's this time. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat, which is not the case here.
Campbell's carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) and has an Earnings ESP of +0.81%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Stocks With the Favorable Combination
Here are some companies worth considering, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this reporting cycle.
Altria Group, Inc. MO currently has an Earnings ESP of +2.72% and a Zacks Rank of 2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its upcoming quarter’s revenues is pegged at $5.35 billion, indicating a 1.1% rise from the figure reported in the prior-year quarter. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The consensus estimate for Altria’s earnings is pegged at $1.48 per share, implying 2.8% growth from the year-ago quarter. MO delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 2.9%, on average.
Albertsons Companies ACI currently has an Earnings ESP of +14.25% and a Zacks Rank of 3. The consensus estimate for the quarterly revenues is pinned at $24.82 billion, which indicates a 0.3% dip from the figure reported in the prior-year quarter.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Albertsons’ upcoming quarter’s EPS is pegged at 55 cents, which is in line with the year-ago period figure. ACI delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 8.9%, on average.
Darling Ingredients DAR currently has an Earnings ESP of +22.16% and a Zacks Rank #3. The consensus estimate for quarterly revenues is pegged at $1.73 billion, which indicates an increase of 17.1% from the figure reported in the prior-year quarter.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Darling Ingredients’ upcoming quarter’s earnings per share is pegged at $1.20, calling for a substantial jump from the year-ago period’s figure of 9 cents. DAR delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 16.1%, on average.
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Altria Group, Inc. (MO): Free Stock Analysis Report
Albertsons Companies, Inc. (ACI): Free Stock Analysis Report
The Campbell's Company (CPB): Free Stock Analysis Report
Darling Ingredients Inc. (DAR): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).