Markets
Frozen french fries taste test for feature in Food.
Frozen french fries photographed for Food in Washington, DC.

Lamb Weston soars on big earnings beat and cost-cutting plans

The french fry maker said its turnaround plan will cook up hundreds of millions of savings in the coming years.

Nia Warfield

Lamb Weston shares jumped 17% Wednesday after the frozen potato producer topped Q4 expectations and doubled down on its cost-cutting plan.

Diluted earnings per share came in at $0.85. Excluding one-time items, adjusted EPS were $0.87, well above the $0.63 analysts expected. Meanwhile, revenue hit $1.68 billion, beating Wall Street’s forecast of $1.59 billion.

Lamb Weston is one of the world’s largest frozen potato processors. The quarter got a boost from an 8% jump in volume thanks to new contract wins, though that was partly weighed down by slower global restaurant traffic.

As the company faces some operational pressure, it’s working to reset costs and streamline the business. Lamb Weston also outlined additional cost cutting, expecting to rack up at least $250 million of savings by the end of fiscal 2028.

In a note Wednesday, Barclays analysts said the company’s better-than-expected volume growth helps restore credibility, while its clearer cost-cutting targets offer “incremental visibility” into a turnaround. The firm has an overweight or “buy” rating on the stock with a $61 price target, about 5% above current trading levels.

Looking ahead, Lamb Weston expects a stronger second half of the year, with full-year net sales projected between $6.35 billion and $6.55 billion — largely in line with consensus estimates of $6.40 billion.

Lamb Weston shares are still down about 13% year to date.

More Markets

See all Markets
markets

SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

markets

Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

  • Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

Latest Stories

Sherwood Media, LLC and Chartr Limited produce fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and are fully owned subsidiaries of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate, including Robinhood Markets, Inc., Robinhood Financial LLC, Robinhood Securities, LLC, Robinhood Crypto, LLC, Robinhood Money, LLC, Robinhood U.K. Ltd, Robinhood Derivatives, LLC, Robinhood Gold, LLC, Robinhood Asset Management, LLC, Robinhood Credit, Inc., Robinhood Ventures DE, LLC and, where applicable, its managed investment vehicles.