Cal-Maine Foods Inc (CALM)

The imminent changeover in Administrations is of greater import for our coverage universe than many other sectors as it portends material changes on multiple fronts, including regulatory policy (food and biofuels) and tariffs. Many of…

Bird flu’s jump to dairy herds has been a game changer for the egg industry, resulting in a nearly year-round threat. There have been multiple large outbreaks over the past month (very early in the…

In an early September WSJ Op-Ed, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK) laid out prospective policy ideas that warrant examination given his nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) – his nomination…

Cal-Maine’s Q1 results disappointed relative to both HJR and consensus; relative to HJR, feed costs came in materially lower than our estimate, but were more than offset by lower-than-expected price realization. We had attempted to…

Given the ferocity of Hurricane Helene’s winds and its drenching rains, damage to the broiler industry that is concentrated in the Southeast is to be expected. The industry is no stranger to hurricane damage as…

Due to higher-than-expected egg prices, we have raised our Q1 estimate to $3.19 from $2.70 (cons $2.83) and our full-yr goes to $8.04 from $6.71. Pricing has fallen sharply over the past 2-3 weeks, but…

2024 has borne a striking resemblance to 2014/2015 – sharp contraction in cattle herd (bottomed in 2014, down 9% from 2007 peak), dropping feed costs, bird flu and supply challenges within the broiler industry. This…

Although below us and consensus, CALM reported relatively strong Q4 results. Reported EPS were $2.32, equal to our projection, but our estimate did not include insurance recoveries (we exclude those as they are largely nonrecurring…

Pricing during the H2 of CALM’s Q4 was weaker than we had originally anticipated and feed costs were somewhat higher. Further, we believe its results may have been pressured by lower fixed cost absorption (likely…

With the exception of beef processors, the protein industry is enjoying strong, even robust, profitability. Supply has been the key factor, but demand seems to have positively inflected, as well. In our view, this should…