Shelf-Stable Food Stocks Q1 Recap: Benchmarking J&J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF)

Let's dig into the relative performance of J&J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) and its peers as we unravel the now-completed Q1 shelf-stable food earnings season.

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 21 shelf-stable food stocks we track reported a decent Q1; on average, revenues beat analyst consensus estimates by 0.5%. while next quarter's revenue guidance was 1.6% below consensus. Valuation multiples for many growth stocks have not yet reverted to their early 2021 highs, but the market was optimistic at the end of 2023 due to cooling inflation. The start of 2024 has been a different story as mixed signals have led to market volatility, and while some of the shelf-stable food stocks have fared somewhat better than others, they collectively declined, with share prices falling 3% on average since the previous earnings results.

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 $359.7 million, up 6.5% year on year, topping analysts' expectations by 5.6%. It was a very strong quarter for the company, with an impressive beat of analysts' gross margin estimates and a solid beat of analysts' operating margin estimates.

Dan Fachner, J&J Snack Foods Chairman, President, and CEO, commented, “J&J Snack Foods delivered another period of strong financial results, including the highest fiscal second quarter net sales in our company’s history -topping our previous record achieved in the prior year. Top line performance was driven by higher volumes of our core products and brands, as well as strong new business performance in our Food Service and Retail channels. Our investments over the last two years to increase production capacity in churros and pretzels have positioned us to pursue new sales opportunities. Also, the ongoing success of our initiatives to enhance profit margins and drive efficiency across our business led to a 330-basis point improvement in gross margin to 30.1%. This resulted in adjusted operating income and adjusted EBITDA growth of 81.0% and 43.1%, respectively, and a more than 90% increase in net earnings, EPS, and adjusted EPS.”

The stock is up 21% since the results and currently trades at $166.72.

Is now the time to buy J&J Snack Foods? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free.

Best Q1: 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 $3.25 billion, up 8.9% year on year, outperforming analysts' expectations by 4.5%. It was a stunning quarter for the company, with an impressive beat of analysts' gross margin and EPS estimates.

The stock is down 6.2% since the results and currently trades at $183.73.

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

Weakest Q1: Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW)

Best known for its Grown in Idaho brand, Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) produces and distributes potato products such as frozen french fries and mashed potatoes.

Lamb Weston reported revenues of $1.46 billion, up 16.3% year on year, falling short of analysts' expectations by 11.8%. It was a weak quarter for the company, with full-year revenue guidance missing analysts' expectations and a miss of analysts' operating margin estimates.

Lamb Weston had the weakest performance against analyst estimates and weakest full-year guidance update in the group. The stock is down 16.2% since the results and currently trades at $84.7.

Read our full analysis of Lamb Weston's results here.

BellRing Brands (NYSE:BRBR)

Spun out of Post Holdings in 2019, Bellring Brands (NYSE:BRBR) offers protein shakes, nutrition bars, and other products under the PowerBar, Premier Protein, and Dymatize brands.

BellRing Brands reported revenues of $494.6 million, up 28.3% year on year, surpassing analysts' expectations by 5.9%. It was an exceptional quarter for the company, with an impressive beat of analysts' organic revenue growth estimates,

BellRing Brands scored the fastest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is down 2.6% since the results and currently trades at $55.69.

Read our full, actionable report on BellRing Brands here, it's free.

B&G Foods (NYSE:BGS)

Started as a small grocery store in New York City, B&G Foods (NYSE:BGS) is an American packaged foods company with a diverse portfolio of more than 50 brands.

B&G Foods reported revenues of $475.2 million, down 7.1% year on year, falling short of analysts' expectations by 1.4%. It was a weak quarter for the company, with a miss of analysts' operating margin and earnings estimates.

B&G Foods had the slowest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is down 26.9% since the results and currently trades at $8.45.

Read our full, actionable report on B&G Foods here, it's free.

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