ConAgra Brands (CAG) Updates 2025 Outlook Ahead of CAGNY Conference

Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE: CAG) announced that its upcoming presentation at the annual Consumer Analyst Group of New York (CAGNY) Conference will detail Conagra's advantaged market position, perspective on the evolving consumer environment, and unique focus on the science of growth. Conagra will also preview a series of new innovations expected to launch in calendar year 2025 and provide detail on its updated fiscal 2025 financial guidance.

As previously announced, Sean Connolly, president and chief executive officer, Dave Marberger, executive vice president and chief financial officer, and Bob Nolan, senior vice president, growth science, will present on February 18 at 9:00 a.m. ET.

Fiscal 2025 Outlook Update
The company has experienced customer service interruptions during the third quarter due to supply constraints on two product platforms: frozen meals containing chicken and frozen vegetables. In addition, foreign exchange rates are now expected to provide a further headwind to adjusted earnings per share.

As a result of these challenges, the company is making the following updates to its fiscal 2025 financial outlook¹:

The company's expectations for capital expenditures, free cash flow conversion, interest expense, Ardent Mills' contribution, pension income, adjusted effective tax rate and inflation remain unchanged from our second quarter earnings materials. The company's updated guidance does not include any potential impacts from new tariffs. Conagra's long-term financial targets are unchanged.

CEO Perspective
Sean Connolly, president and chief executive officer of Conagra Brands, commented, "We are committed to investing behind our brands and innovation, and delivering the high-quality products our customers expect. We are pleased with the strong and consistently improving demand we have experienced this year as a result of those investments. While we've faced recent challenges servicing that demand, our investments in infrastructure and strategic partnerships position us for long-term success."

Frozen Meals Containing Chicken
In the third quarter, the company has experienced manufacturing challenges at the primary facility that prepares and cooks chicken used in frozen meals. When the company began to see product quality inconsistencies coming off the production lines it promptly took corrective action. This included temporarily stopping production, implementing operational adjustments, and restarting at a slower pace to restore product consistency. The company also engaged with third-party manufacturers. While these actions enabled the company to resume production that meets our strict quality standards, the net impact of this issue is lower volume, net sales, and profit in the second half of the fiscal year.

Conagra had previously planned to implement substantial modernizing upgrades to this facility this upcoming summer. That work remains on track, with targeted completion by the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2026. To ensure supply during this period, the company is continuing to work with third-party manufacturers to build up inventory ahead of the planned upgrades. In the short term, the facility will maintain operations at a reduced pace.

Frozen Vegetables
Building on strong second quarter performance, consumption growth rates in Conagra's frozen vegetable business nearly doubled through December and early January versus the year-ago period. The higher-than-anticipated demand depleted inventory on hand and led to out-of-stocks in stores. In turn, the company put customers on a strict product allocation and reduced merchandising from January through March 2025 in an effort to rebuild inventories ahead of the Easter holiday. The net effect is lost volume, primarily in the third quarter of fiscal 2025.

Given the strong consumer response to Conagra's investments in its frozen vegetables business in fiscal 2025, the company has invested in increased surge capacity moving forward to accommodate the sustained growth in demand.

CAGNY Conference Presentation Webcast
A live audio webcast of the CAGNY presentation and presentation slides will be available on Feb. 18, at approximately 9 AM Eastern, on conagrabrands.com/investor-relations under Events & Presentations. A replay of the webcast will be available until Feb. 18, 2026.

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