At a glance
Hormel Foods Corporation is worth $11.82B, about 25 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue grew 1.6% to $12.11B in fiscal 2025, with 4.0% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 4.7% a year. It pays a 5.4% dividend yield, raised every year for at least 9 years, and returned $2.95B to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned +4.9% over the past year with dividends reinvested and −9.8% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 17.3% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 18.5% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%).
The business in plain English
Hormel Foods is a branded food company that George A. Hormel founded as a meat processor in Austin, Minnesota, in 1891. It sells meat, nuts and other foods in all 50 US states and abroad, under brands such as SPAM, Planters, Jennie-O, Skippy, Applegate, Hormel Black Label and Fontanini, plus more than 30 others. It makes money by turning raw materials such as pork, turkey, beef, chicken and nuts into branded products that sell for more than the ingredients cost. It raises most of its own turkeys.
In fiscal 2025, which ended October 26, 2025, revenue was $12.1 billion across three segments. Retail (61.6%) sells to US grocery stores, mass merchandisers, club stores, dollar chains and online sellers. It also includes MegaMex Foods, a Mexican food joint venture Hormel partly owns. Foodservice (32.6%) sells to distributors and operators that feed people away from home, such as restaurants, hospitals, schools and convenience stores. International (5.9%) covers exports, operations in China and Brazil, royalties from companies licensed to make its products, and minority stakes in food companies in the Philippines and Indonesia.
Sales lean on a few large buyers. Walmart accounted for 15.6% of gross sales in fiscal 2025, and the top five customers about 38%. Perishable foods made up 72.9% of revenue. Shelf-stable foods, which keep without refrigeration, made up 27.1%.
Price history
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HRL +4.9% over the year to Nov 2, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
How it makes money
By product or service
| Perishable | $8.82B | 72.9% |
| Shelf-stable | $3.28B | 27.1% |
By business segment
| Retail | $7.46B | 61.6% |
| Foodservice | $3.94B | 32.6% |
| International | $709.1M | 5.9% |
Latest results
- In Q3 FY2026 (ended Jul 26, 2026), revenue was $2.96B, down 2.4% from a year earlier, and net income was $59.6M (-67.6%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $12.11B (+1.6% year over year; +4.7% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 4% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +4.7% watch |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 5.9% watch |
| Free cash flow margin | 4.4% watch |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 6.1% weak |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 3.6% watch |
| Net cash (cash minus debt) | $-1.99B weak |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $9.61B | $908.1M | $760.5M |
| FY2021 | $11.39B | $908.8M | $769.5M |
| FY2022 | $12.46B | $1000.0M | $856.1M |
| FY2023 | $12.11B | $793.6M | $777.6M |
| FY2024 | $11.92B | $805.0M | $1.01B |
| FY2025 | $12.11B | $478.2M | $534.3M |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $11.82B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 24.7 |
| Dividend yield | 5.4% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HRL price data to Nov 2, 2026 | -4.4% | +4.9% | -9.7% | -9.8% | -2.8% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | -4.4% |
| 2025 | -21.3% |
| 2024 | +1.2% |
| 2023 | -27.4% |
| 2022 | -4.7% |
| 2021 | +7.0% |
| 2020 | +5.3% |
| 2019 | +7.9% |
| 2018 | +19.7% |
| 2017 | +6.7% |
| 2016 | -10.6% |
| 2015 | +54.4% |
| 2014 | +17.3% |
| 2013 | +47.2% |
| 2012 | +8.8% |
| 2011 | +16.4% |
| 2010 | +36.0% |
| 2009 | +26.0% |
| 2008 | -22.8% |
| 2007 | +8.8% |
| 2006 | +14.7% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 16.9% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 40.9%, back to its old high 14.6 months after the low |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 12.7% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 17.3%, back to its old high 0.2 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 5.7% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 18.5%, not recovered by the end of the data |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-30 to 2026-10-30 (25 read): 1 open-market purchases ($201K) and 1 sales ($495K).
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 8, 2026 | Gary C. Bhojwani Director | sell | $495K |
| Oct 5, 2026 | William A Newlands Director | buy | $201K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| STATE STREET CORPORATION | 5% | Dec 31, 2025 |
ETFs with the most weight in HRL
| VSDA VictoryShares Dividend Accelerator ETF | 2.85% |
| RSPS Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Consumer Staples ETF | 2.75% |
| FTXG First Trust Nasdaq Food & Beverage ETF | 2.73% |
| UPGD Invesco Bloomberg Analyst Rating Improvers ETF | 2.27% |
| PEY Invesco High Yield Equity Dividend Achievers™ ETF | 2.09% |
| SNPD Xtrackers S&P Dividend Aristocrats Screened ETF | 1.72% |
| TMDV ProShares Russell U.S. Dividend Growers ETF | 1.7% |
| NOBL ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF | 1.54% |
What could go wrong
- Walmart and a few retailers dominate sales. Walmart made up 15.6% of gross sales in fiscal 2025 and the top five customers about 38%. Losing one of them, or getting worse terms, could seriously hurt results.
- Animal disease could hit supply and margins. Hormel raises most of the turkeys it needs and buys hogs for its Austin, Minnesota plant. Disease outbreaks in livestock or poultry flocks could cut supply and hurt sales and profit margins.
- Deals and overseas stakes can lose value. Hormel took a $163.7 million charge in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 to mark down its roughly 30% stake in Indonesia's Garudafood. Joint ventures and partial stakes also limit its control.
- Cost-cutting program may fall short. Hormel expects its Transform and Modernize program to cut costs and lift profit. Operating profit was 5.9 cents per dollar of sales in fiscal 2025, leaving little room if savings fall short.
- Swings in meat, grain and nut prices. Costs for pork, turkey, beef, chicken, nuts, grain and fuel can jump. Hedges, contracts that lock in prices, cover only part of purchases, and cashews bought abroad add pricing and supply risk.
- Food safety scares could damage trusted brands. Contamination or a recall at Hormel's plants or outside manufacturers could hurt sales. Because the company sells on trusted names such as SPAM, Planters and Skippy, damage to a brand's reputation could be costly.
Recent events
- Executive or board change
- Major agreement signed; Investor presentation or announcement
- Quarterly results released
- Executive or board change
- Executive or board change
- Executive or board change
- Quarterly results released
- Quarterly results released
- Executive or board change; Shareholder vote results
- Quarterly results released
For income and retirement investors
SEC data show Hormel's dividend rising every year from fiscal 2016 to fiscal 2025, at least nine straight increases. The company says it belongs to the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, a group known for long streaks of increases. Dividends per share grew from $0.93 in fiscal 2020 to $1.16 in fiscal 2025, or 4.5% a year. But fiscal 2025 dividends of $633 million equaled 132% of earnings and 119% of free cash flow (cash left after running and investing in the business). Buybacks totaled just $32 million over fiscal 2021–2025. The yield was 5.63% as of October 28, 2026, lifted by a share price down about 42% over five years.
The stock fell 40.9% in 2008 and needed 14.6 months from its low to recover. It dropped 17.3% in the 2020 COVID crash but recovered within days. It fell 18.5% in 2022 and had not regained that peak by October 28, 2026. Single stocks carry more risk than diversified funds.
Questions investors ask
Does Hormel raise its dividend every year?
Yes. SEC data show Hormel's dividend rising every year from fiscal 2016 to fiscal 2025, at least nine straight increases. The company says it is a member of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, a group known for long streaks of increases. Dividends per share grew from $0.93 in fiscal 2020 to $1.16 in fiscal 2025. Past raises don't guarantee future ones, and fiscal 2025 dividends were larger than earnings.
How does Hormel Foods make money?
Hormel makes money by turning pork, turkey, beef, chicken and nuts into branded foods sold under names such as SPAM, Planters, Jennie-O and Skippy. Of its $12.1 billion in fiscal 2025 revenue, 61.6% came from Retail sales to US grocery stores, club stores, dollar chains and online sellers. Another 32.6% came from Foodservice sales to distributors and operators of restaurants, schools and other places people eat away from home. International made up 5.9%.
Is Hormel's dividend safe?
It is under pressure: fiscal 2025 earnings did not cover it. Hormel paid $633 million in dividends that year, 132% of its $478 million net income and 119% of its $534 million free cash flow (cash left after operating and investment costs). Net income fell 40.6%, partly due to a $163.7 million charge on its Garudafood stake. It was down 67.6% from a year earlier in the quarter ended July 26, 2026. Paying out more than it earns can't last indefinitely, so continued raises depend on profits recovering.
Why has Hormel stock dropped so much?
The drop has come alongside shrinking profits. As of October 28, 2026, the stock was down about 42% over five years and 8.1% over one year, including calendar-year declines of 27.4% in 2023 and 21.3% in 2025. Diluted earnings per share, the profit attributed to each share, fell from $1.82 in fiscal 2022 to $0.87 in fiscal 2025. Revenue grew just 1.6% in fiscal 2025 and fell 2.4% from a year earlier in the quarter ended July 26, 2026.
What is Hormel's dividend yield?
Hormel's dividend yield was 5.63% as of October 28, 2026. Yield is the yearly dividend divided by the share price, so it rises when the price falls. Hormel's shares were down about 42% over the five years to that date. On the same date, the stock traded at 23.7 times fiscal 2025 earnings per share of $0.87, and the company's stock market value was about $11.3 billion.