Cost savings should spur earnings

Article Excerpt

KRAFT HEINZ CO. $35 is a buy. The company (Nasdaq symbol KHC; Income Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $42.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.7; Dividend yield: 4.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.kraftheinzcompany.com) is a leading producer of processed foods. Its top brands include Philadelphia cream cheese, Oscar Meyer hot dogs, and Maxwell House coffee. In the second quarter of 2024, Kraft’s sales fell 3.6%, to $6.48 billion from $6.72 billion a year earlier. Excluding divestitures and currency rates, sales decreased 2.4% as higher selling prices (up 1.0%) offset lower volumes (down 3.4%). Earnings before unusual items fell 1.3%, to $0.78 a share (or a total of $943 million) from $0.79 (or $977 million). The company now aims to cut $2.5 billion from its annual costs by the end of 2027 by streamlining its product lineup, optimizing its delivery routes and reducing its waste. Those savings should lift its earnings for all of 2024 by about 2% to $3.02 a share; the stock…