Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. LW is likely to witness top-line growth when it reports fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings on July 24. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $1.7 billion, indicating an increase of 1.5% from the prior-year quarter’s reported figure.
The consensus mark for earnings has risen by a penny over the past 30 days to 62 cents a share, which suggests a decline of 28.7% from the figure reported in the year-ago period. LW has a trailing four-quarter surprise of 23.5%, on average.
Lamb Weston Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Lamb Weston price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Lamb Weston Quote
Factors Likely to Influence LW’s Upcoming Results
Lamb Weston’s North America business is likely to have remained a key growth driver in the fiscal fourth quarter. Customer wins, market-share gains and strong retention, supported by a streamlined commercial strategy and deeper customer relationships, are expected to have aided volumes. Management projected high-single-digit North America volume growth for the second half of fiscal 2026, with the fourth quarter also benefiting from an additional selling week. Our model suggests a fourth-quarter volume increase of 4% for the North America segment.
The company’s Focus to Win strategy is also expected to have supported quarterly performance. Structural cost reductions, improving manufacturing productivity and disciplined capital deployment may have helped cushion inflationary and pricing pressures. Management noted that fiscal 2026 savings were running ahead of plan, while better operating efficiencies in North America are likely to have provided additional support.
Lamb Weston raised the lower end of its fiscal 2026 sales guidance to $6.45 billion, retained the upper end at $6.55 billion and narrowed its adjusted EBITDA outlook from $1-$1.2 billion to $1.08-$1.14 billion. The updated outlook, which incorporates favorable currency translation, an additional selling week, and anticipated tariff and Middle East-related impacts, signals management’s confidence heading into the fiscal fourth quarter.
However, price/mix is likely to have remained unfavorable despite expectations for pricing pressure to moderate following a March price increase. Continued customer trade support, value-oriented mix shifts, weak international traffic, excess European capacity and Middle East disruptions may have weighed on margins. We expect the adjusted gross margin to contract 210 basis points to 18.4% in the fourth quarter.
Earnings Whispers for LW
Our proven model predicts an earnings beat for Lamb Weston 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 exactly the case here.
Lamb Weston currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 and has an Earnings ESP of +3.56%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Other Stocks With the Favorable Combination
Here are some other companies worth considering, as our model shows that these also have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this reporting cycle.
Archer-Daniels-Midland Company ADM currently has an Earnings ESP of +12.50% and a Zacks Rank of 2. The consensus estimate for ADM’s quarterly revenues is pinned at $22.4 billion, which calls for 5.7% growth from the figure reported in the prior-year quarter. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Archer-Daniels’ upcoming quarter’s EPS is pegged at $1.28, which implies a 37.6% rise year over year. ADM delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 5.4%, on average.
Kimberly-Clark Corporation KMB currently has an Earnings ESP of +2.70% and a Zacks Rank of 3. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Kimberly-Clark’s upcoming quarterly revenues is pegged at $4.2 billion. The figure implies a 1.7% increase from the prior-year quarter.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Kimberly-Clark’s quarterly earnings per share is pegged at $2.00, indicating a 4.2% gain from the year-ago period figure. KMB delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 19.1%, on average.
Monster Beverage Corporation MNST currently has an Earnings ESP of +0.45% and a Zacks Rank of 3. The consensus estimate for Monster Beverage’s quarterly revenues is pinned at $2.4 billion, which suggests 14.6% growth from the figure reported in the prior-year quarter.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the upcoming quarter’s EPS is pegged at 59 cents, which suggests a 13.5% jump year over year. MNST delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 9.6%, on average.
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Lamb Weston (LW): Free Stock Analysis Report
Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM): Free Stock Analysis Report
Kimberly-Clark Corporation (KMB): Free Stock Analysis Report
Monster Beverage Corporation (MNST): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).