: General Mills stock gains after profit and sales top expectations, as inflation moderates and supply chains stabilize

Shares of General Mills Inc. GIS gained 1% in premarket trading Wednesday, after the branded consumer foods company reported fiscal first-quarter results that topped expectations and affirmed its full-year outlook, as inflation has moderated, supply chains have stabilize and an “increasingly cautious consumer” has remained resilient. Net income for the quarter to Aug. 27 fell to $673.5 million, or $1.14 a share, from $820.0 million, or $1.35 a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share of $1.09 beat the FactSet consensus of $1.08. Sales grew 4.0% to $4.905 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $4.883 billion, as a six percentage-point increase in prices helped offset a 2 percentage-point decline in volume. For fiscal 2024, the company continues to expect adjusted EPS growth of 4% to 6%, while the current FactSet EPS consensus of $4.47 implies 4% growth. The stock has tumbled 18.3% over the past three months through Tuesday, while the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF XLP has slipped 3.0% and the S&P 500 SPX has gained 1.3%.

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