J.M. Smucker: cat food offsets dog snack weakness in the last quarter

J.M. Smucker’s pet food business generated $401.7 million (€341.4M) in net sales during the fourth quarter (Q4) of fiscal year (FY) 2026, ended 30 April 2026. This represents a 2% year-over-year (YoY) expansion. The segment accounted for 18% of the company’s total net sales.

According to CEO Mark Smucker, the increase was driven by continued momentum in cat food, partially offset by weaker performance in dog snacks.

The cat food category was supported by 8% net sales growth in the Meow Mix brand, while the dry cat food segment, which represents approximately 85% of the company’s cat portfolio, continued to gain dollar share. 

Meanwhile, the dog snacks category recorded a 1% decline in net sales, driven by softness in the biscuits business, which impacted its Milk-Bone brand.

Increased profitability

Segment profit rose 18% YoY to $125.7 million (€106.8M), while profit margin improved by 450 basis points (bps) to 31.3%. The improvement was driven by higher net price realization and lower marketing spending.

Net price realization contributed 3 percentage points (p.p.) to net sales growth, reflecting higher pricing for cat food and dog snack products.

Meanwhile, volume/mix dropped by 2 p.p., primarily due to lower dog snacks sales and the lapping of contract manufacturing sales related to divested pet food brands in the prior year. 

Full-year performance

For FY2026, the pet food segment delivered $473.3 million (€402.3M) in profit, up 3% YoY, despite a 3.8% drop in net sales to $1.6 billion (€1.4B). Profit margin for the year stood at 29.6%, up 2 basis points. 

Dog snacks accounted for 53% of the segment’s net sales, while the remaining 47% came from cat food and snacks.

Company-wide results

Across the company, net sales grew 6% YoY to $2.3 billion (€2B) in Q4. Net income was $388.1 million (€336M), reversing from a net loss of $729 million (€631M) in the same period last year.

For the full fiscal year, net sales rose 4% YoY to $9.1 billion (€7.7B), exceeding the midpoint of the company’s original guidance. Meanwhile, net loss narrowed to $138.7 million (€120M) from $1.2 billion (€1B) in FY2025.

Smucker notes that gains in net sales were driven by the Coffee, Away From Home, Pet Foods, and Frozen Handheld and Spreads segments.

Outlook

J.M. Smucker expects net sales to decline by 3% to 4% in FY2027, reflecting a 2 p.p. decrease from net price realization and a 1% decline in volume/mix.

According to CFO Tucker Marshall, the expected decline is primarily attributable to a high-single-digit sales decrease in the US Retail Coffee segment, reflecting the impact of anticipated green coffee deflation.

“For the remainder of the portfolio, we expect low-single-digit declines in net sales for the Sweet Baked Snacks and US Retail Frozen Handheld and Spreads businesses, which will be mostly offset by low-single-digit growth in US Retail Pet Foods and Away From Home,” he says.

Adjusted earnings per share are expected to range between $9.75 (€8.41) and $10.25 (€8.84), up 7% to 12% compared with the previous year.