J&J Snack Foods Corp. JJSF reported first-quarter fiscal 2025 results, wherein the top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate and showed year-over-year growth, while the bottom missed the same and declined year over year.
J&J Snack Foods’ revenue growth was driven by strong sales in Frozen Beverages, solid performance across most core Food Service products and strong growth in frozen novelties within Retail Supermarkets. Despite this, results were impacted by a less favorable sales mix, particularly in the bakery and churros segments, as well as input cost inflation that was not fully offset by price increases. While Frozen Beverages saw significant earnings improvement, foreign exchange headwinds from the Mexican Peso limited overall gains. The decline in gross profit, combined with higher operating expenses, ultimately pressured the bottom line in the quarter.
JJSF’s Quarterly Performance: Key Metrics & Insights
J&J Snack Foods posted quarterly earnings of 33 cents per share, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 62 cents and decreased 36.5% from 52 cents reported in the prior year period.
Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.
J & J Snack Foods Corp. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
J & J Snack Foods Corp. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | J & J Snack Foods Corp. Quote
Total revenues of the company rose 4.1% year over year to $362.6 million and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $361 million. This growth was driven by a combination of volume expansion and price increases.
Gross profit decreased 0.7% to $93.9 million from $94.6 million in the year-ago quarter. The gross margin contracted 130 basis points (bps) to 25.9% compared with 27.2% in the first quarter of fiscal 2024. This decline was caused by a less favorable product mix, foreign exchange impacts and input cost inflation, partially offset by pricing actions.
Operating expenses of $87.7 million increased 3.3% year over year. The metric as a percentage of sales were 24.2%, contracted 20 bps from 24.4% reported in the prior quarter.
Adjusted EBITDA totaled $25.3 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2025. The figure was down from $30.2 million in the prior-year quarter.
JJSF’s Segment-Wise Performance Details
Revenues for Food Services rose 4.5% year over year to $238.9 million, surpassing our estimate of $238 million. However, operating income for the segment fell 72.2% to $1.7 million, primarily due to product mix and input cost inflation. The figure was significantly below our expectation of $7.9 million.
Retail Supermarket’s revenues increased 2.2% year over year to $44.7 million, exceeding our prediction of $44 million. However, operating income declined 13.3% to $0.4 million, impacted by higher operating expenses. The figure was well below our expectation of $2.6 million.
Frozen Beverages’ revenues grew 4% year over year to $79 million. The figure was in line with our estimate. The segment’s operating income rose 29.9% to $4.2 million, outperforming our prediction of $3.6 million.
JJSF’s Financial Snapshot
J&J Snack Foods ended the fiscal first quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $73.6 million and total shareholders’ equity of $946.8 million. During the three months ended Dec. 28, 2024, the net cash flow provided by operations was $35.2 million.
This Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock has lost 20.2% in the past three months compared with the industry’s decline of 8.4%.
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Stocks to Consider
United Natural Foods, Inc. UNFI distributes natural, organic, specialty, produce and conventional grocery and non-food products in the United States and Canada. It currently sports a Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The consensus estimate for United Natural Foods’ current financial-year sales and earnings indicates growth of 0.3% and 442.9%, respectively, from the year-ago period’s reported figure. UNFI delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 553.1%, on average.
TreeHouse Foods THS manufactures and distributes private brands snacks and beverages in the United States and internationally. It presently holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). THS delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 20.4%, on average.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Treehouse Foods’ current-quarter earnings indicates growth of 26% from the year-ago reported figures.
US Foods Holding USFD engages in marketing, sale and distribution of fresh, frozen and dry food and non-food products to foodservice customers in the United States. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. USFD delivered an earnings surprise of 3.7% in the last reported quarter.
The consensus estimate for US Foods’ current full-year sales and earnings indicates growth of 6.5% and 18.6%, respectively, from the prior-year reported levels.
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