Latest news with #Folgers
Hindustan Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
84,000 Baristas, One Champ: Inside the Battle for Starbucks' Coffee-Making Crown
LAS VEGAS—Every second counts. Points are at stake. Controversies are brewing: Should anaerobic processing be allowed? How about yeast fermentation? Welcome to the competitive barista circuit, where coffee reputations are made and destroyed in 15-minute routines. Events that began around 2000 have mushroomed into cutthroat competitions grading everything from espresso shots to bespoke beverages. There are even pundits. On the 'Golden Brown Coffee' YouTube channel last year, the hosts dissected the one-point win by Mikael Jasin of Indonesia over Australian Jack Simpson in what they dubbed 'the most controversial World Barista Championship ever.' While Jasin adopted a 'day spa routine' with his flowing beige attire and references to the body and soul of coffee, Simpson went high-tech. He treated his espresso with 'ultralow frequency magnetic waves' and anaerobic fermentation for 150 hours 'followed by a thermal shock.' 'That's insane,' said one of the hosts about the tiny margin between completely different routines. Now, the company that made craft coffee mainstream wants in on the action. Starbucks is holding a global competition exclusively among its baristas to showcase their skills and pump up the brand. The coffee giant has held regional contests for around a decade, but now it wants to crown its own world champ. In Las Vegas this month, tension was high after 84,000 entrants were winnowed down to 12 contestants who sought to dazzle clipboard-toting judges with decades of coffee know-how. Hosts narrated the moves for cheering audience members. 'We've just seen the most beautiful rosetta from Sumayyah. That was gorgeous,' said one of the semifinal hosts, Laurence Unsworth, wearing a green and blue sequin jacket. Participants crafted beverages with toasted sesame and citrus notes, explained coffee roasts in Italian and Japanese, and connected their drinks back to their lives. 'I'm going for a cherry pie vibe here,' said Cali Hegeman, a 22-year-old barista from Chicago, who dyed her hair burgundy and described growing up eating cherries from her neighbor's tree to showcase her layered, fruity espresso drinks. The U.S. coffee scene has come a long way from Folgers and Maxwell House. The 'third wave' coffee movement starting in the early 2000s brought more sophisticated brewing practices to Americans, such as drinks made from coffee beans roasted in small batches. Competitions came with it, offering contestants a chance to win cash, equipment and trips to coffee-growing countries. After Dismas Smith went to his first World Barista Championships in Miami in 2001, he traveled to Denmark to boost his skills. One thing the Danes, who were then among the Scandinavians ruling the international coffee competition scene, imparted: Dress better. When they competed in the U.S. qualifiers in 2002, Smith and his team strode onto the competition floor in coordinated chef jackets. 'We looked like Cobra Kai,' said Smith, 54 years old, who is developing a new coffee roasting company. When Smith went to the world championships later that year, he placed sixth. He didn't realize his machine cleaning towel had become soiled. (Contestants accrue points based on rounds of assessments from technical and sensory judges, scoring everything from an espresso's aftertaste to whether it has an unbroken sheen on top.) 'My Danish friends make fun of me for it to this day,' he said. Competitions have grown more elaborate—and expensive. Hiring coaches, sourcing coffee from distant lands and acquiring a laboratory's worth of equipment can easily add up to tens of thousands of dollars in expenses. Agnieszka Rojewska, the 37-year-old World Barista Championship winner in 2018, built a table on top of her prep table to have more space for her routines. The Polish coffee master practiced for eight hours a day for three months. 'You put all of it together and keep repeating it until you don't like it anymore,' Rojewska said. Ryan Wibawa, the World Brewers Cup third place finisher last year, spent nearly $15,000 to prepare for his performance, in which he blended coffees from Panama, Colombia and Indonesia. The 33-year-old employed a 'double immersion technique with the V60 Switch'—a seeping technique —to bring out the sweetness in his brews. 'It's definitely a big investment,' said Wibawa, who is now coaching contestants himself. Starbucks paid for coaches for its competitors to refine their skills ahead of the Vegas showcase. Adrian Mata Pantoja, a 24-year-old Starbucks barista who last year placed in the top three in the company's North America championships, also turned to his cats and dogs to practice his presentations. With all the rehearsing comes a lot of caffeine. 'My coach has had to put a limit on how much I drink,' Mata Pantoja said. For the semifinals, latte art competitors had to make concoctions randomly assigned by a Plinko board. In the signature drink round, an Italian barista crafted a 'Golden Ticket Milano Express.' Contestants were battling for the chance to have one of their own drinks featured in Starbucks locations across North America. 'She is an inspiration to this. I love you mom,' said Victor Diab, a New York City barista, after brewing a beverage inspired by black forest cake. The final four contenders came from China, Japan and Jordan. During the battle royal, held before more than 14,000 ecstatic Starbucks store leaders, attendees gasped when they heard about some of the drink additions, like apple juice and a secret sauce of Japanese yuzu. Japan's Nobuki Shimode took the top prize with his 'Blooming Yuzu Espresso' and called to the judges to 'please take a cup and smell it.' 'I think you are destined for the Food Network next,' Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol said to Shimode after his win. Write to Heather Haddon at Get 360° coverage—from daily headlines to 100 year archives.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
3 Reasons Why This Dirt Cheap High-Yield Dividend Stock Is a Buy for the Second Half of 2025
Packaged food companies are in an industry-wide downturn. J.M. Smucker continues to generate excellent free cash flow to support its growing dividend. The stock's valuation is beyond cheap. 10 stocks we like better than J.M. Smucker › J.M. Smucker's (NYSE: SJM) stock price tumbled 15.6% on Tuesday after the packaged food giant reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 results and updated its fiscal 2026 guidance. The stock price of the maker of Uncrustables, Folgers, Jif peanut butter, Twinkies, pet brand Milk-Bone, and other products is now hovering around its lowest level in over a decade. Here are three reasons why the sell-off has made J.M. Smucker too cheap to ignore, and why the high-yield dividend stock is a great buy for the second half of 2025. Net sales fell 3% year over year in J.M. Smucker's Q4 but were still up a solid 7% for the full fiscal year. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) rose 2% to $10.12. For fiscal 2026, the company expects net sales to increase by 2% to 4%, but adjusted EPS to fall to $8.50 to $9.50. The stock is likely taking a hit because earnings are sliding, and it remains to be seen if the company will be able to pass along cost pressures to consumers. For example, coffee net sales rose 11% in the company's latest quarter, but that was heavily due to price increases from June and October of last year. J.M. Smucker is dealing with record-high green (unroasted) coffee production costs. So it plans to hike prices again in May and stage yet another price increase in August. J.M. Smucker said it will be able to offset higher costs if the price increases work. But if customers push back on these price hikes, then sales volumes would decline, affecting profitability. However, the company believes that its at-home coffee brands will appeal to people looking for affordable experiences outside of coffee shops. Price increases are happening across the company's portfolio. J.M. Smucker just increased prices on its popular Uncrustables sandwiches for the first time in over three years, as net sales in its Frozen Handheld and Spreads segment ground to a halt. For pet foods, the company is seeing good results from its Meow Mix cat brand, but weakness from dog brand Milk-Bone as consumers pull back on discretionary spending -- like on dog treats. Sweet Baked Snacks continues to be one of the worst performers for J.M. Smucker, dragged down by Hostess. J.M. Smucker bought Hostess Brands in November 2023 for $5.6 billion -- which, in hindsight, was not a good use of capital. For context, J.M. Smucker's market cap has fallen to just $10.05 billion -- and Hostess is not even close to being worth half of the company. In J.M. Smucker's latest quarter, Sweet Baked Sales was the company's smallest segment by revenue, generating roughly 12% of total net sales. The segment had by far the worst comparable results, with net sales down 26% year over year. Longer term, J.M. Smucker expects the Sweet Baked Snacks segment to achieve just 3% net sales growth per year. J.M. Smucker generated $816.6 million in free cash flow (FCF) in fiscal 2025, which was plenty to cover $455.4 million in dividend payments. For fiscal 2026, management expects even higher FCF of $875 million, which is roughly double its dividend. On the earnings call, management said that it is confident in the company's ability to deliver $1 billion in annual FCF over the long term. Despite lackluster results, J.M. Smucker maintains a cash flow that can support its growing dividend. The company has raised its dividend for 29 consecutive years, making it a reliable source of passive income. Its yield has ballooned to 4.6% due to the sell-off in the stock and continuous dividend raises. Typically, when a company's yield jumps, it can be a red flag that its dividend is becoming unaffordable. But that's not the case with J.M. Smucker. The company has an FCF yield of 6.5%, meaning it could theoretically support a 6.5% dividend yield if it funded the whole expense with FCF. Based on the company's long-term guidance for $1 billion in FCF and a market cap around $10 billion, simple math tells us that J.M. Smucker would have an FCF yield of a whopping 10% if its stock price stayed depressed and it hit its FCF target. All told, J.M. Smucker is a solid source of passive income even during this challenging operating environment. Based on its fiscal 2026 guidance for $875 million in FCF and $8.50 to $9.50 in adjusted EPS, J.M. Smucker has a forward price-to-FCF ratio of just 11.5 and a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 10.5 at the midpoint of its adjusted earnings guidance. These are bargain-bin levels, even for a traditionally low-growth company. For context, J.M. Smucker's 10-year median price-to-FCF ratio is 15.4, and its 10-year median P/E is 21.6. This suggests that the company is being valued at a steep discount compared to historical averages. J.M. Smucker stock is under pressure because its earnings are falling, and it increasingly relies on price hikes to offset costs across key categories. During inflationary periods, investors may want to take caution when looking at a company's sales growth and focus more on operating margins and earnings. J.M. Smucker is guiding for a slight increase in net sales in its upcoming fiscal year. But if costs are rising at an even faster rate, it's really a net negative in sales growth. Cost pressures and potential volume declines are likely why J.M. Smucker is guiding for lower earnings in fiscal 2026. The outlook is bleak, but J.M. Smucker has already delivered a lot of bad news, setting the stage for a recovery in the stock even if results are just mediocre. For example, the company has reset expectations for Hostess so investors can digest the poor acquisition and move on. Investors can also appreciate that the company is foreshadowing price increases to offset costs, rather than surprising them later in the fiscal year. There are valid reasons for the stock's pullback, but J.M. Smucker is simply too beaten down for a company that continues to generate tons of FCF and can afford to grow its dividend. Investors are getting an opportunity to scoop up shares of this high-yield dividend stock at a bargain level, making it a great buy for the second half of 2025. Before you buy stock in J.M. Smucker, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and J.M. Smucker wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $655,255!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $888,780!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 999% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 174% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 9, 2025 Daniel Foelber has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends J.M. Smucker. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 3 Reasons Why This Dirt Cheap High-Yield Dividend Stock Is a Buy for the Second Half of 2025 was originally published by The Motley Fool
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why J.M. Smucker Stock Plummeted This Week
J.M. Smucker is home to a wide array of instantly recognizable food and beverage brands. However, the company is still reeling from the aftermath of overpaying for its 2023 acquisition of Hostess Brands. Smucker remains a remarkably stable cash generator, but its immense debt load leaves the company at a disadvantage. 10 stocks we like better than J.M. Smucker › Shares of packaged food and beverage giant J.M. Smucker (NYSE: SJM) were down 13% this week as of 2:30 p.m. ET Thursday, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Smucker reported dismal fiscal fourth-quarter earnings, with sales and adjusted earnings per share falling 3% and 13%. Making matters worse, the company took another $980 million impairment charge on its $5.6 billion Hostess Brands acquisition, bringing the total amount written down to $2 billion. While this charge doesn't mean Smucker "lost" that money in Q4, it acts more as an admission that it dramatically overpaid for the Twinkie maker two years ago. When you look at J.M. Smucker's brands, there's a lot to like: Folgers, Cafe Bustelo, and Dunkin MeowMix, Milk Bone, and Pupperoni Uncrustables, Jif, and Smuckers jelly Twinkies, Donettes, and Ho-Hos In fact, thanks to its collection of popular brands, Smucker estimates that roughly 90% of U.S. households already buy its products. However, that widespread adoption is also part of the problem now facing the company -- minimal growth. While Smucker grew sales by 4% annually over the last decade, this figure dipped to 1% since 2020 -- and Q4's results only made things worse. This slowdown undoubtedly contributed to the company's questionable acquisition of Hostess for a precipitous 30 times after-tax earnings. Now, Smucker holds $7.3 billion in debt versus a market capitalization of $10.2 billion, meaning the company will likely focus on paying down debt and streamlining its operations, rather than delivering any significant sales growth. Though Smucker consistently generates positive free cash flow (FCF) -- and its 4.5% dividend yield only uses 56% of its FCF -- investors may want to wait for signs of improvement before jumping in. Before you buy stock in J.M. Smucker, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and J.M. Smucker wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $657,871!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $875,479!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 998% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 174% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 9, 2025 Josh Kohn-Lindquist has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends J.M. Smucker. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Why J.M. Smucker Stock Plummeted This Week was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Bloomberg
13-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Stock Movers: Halliburton, Smuckers, Oracle
On this episode of Stock Movers: - Halliburton (HAL), along with shares in several energy and oil companies, rose toward the end of the week on heightened tensions in the Middle East. Iran fired hundreds of ballistic missiles against Israel following an unprecedented direct attack on its nuclear facilities, ramping up a conflict between sworn enemies that threatens to engulf the Middle East and disrupt global oil supplies. Multiple waves of missiles targeting Israeli cities amount to the most forceful step yet by Tehran since Israel's overnight raids killed top Iranian generals and badly damaged key military infrastructure. Israel said it identified missiles launched from the Islamic Republic and reported explosions from interceptions and falling debris from incoming projectiles. There was dramatic video footage of at least one large explosion in Tel Aviv, and reports of explosions over Jerusalem. - Smuckers (SJM) declined the most in nearly four decades after saying US tariffs increasing costs in its coffee business will hurt profit, continuing a challenging run for the biggest US packaged food producers. The company, which owns the Folgers and Cafe Bustelo coffee brands, said adjusted earnings this fiscal year will be as much as $9.50 a share. The impact of higher coffee costs and US levies reduced that forecast by roughly $1 a share, Smuckers said. Shares sank 16% on Tuesday in New York, the biggest drop in data compiled by Bloomberg that extends back to 1988. The stock had risen about 1.6% this year through Monday's close, less than the S&P 500 Index's gain of roughly 2%. - Oracle (ORCL) shares soared to a record high after the software maker projected a 70% gain in cloud infrastructure sales this fiscal year, giving a bullish outlook for the closely watched business. The company, long known for its database software, has been gaining traction in its effort to become a major player in the business of cloud computing — renting out computing power and storage — by targeting clients focused on artificial intelligence work. Earlier this year, it announced a joint venture dubbed Stargate to provide OpenAI with massive sums of computing power. The shares gained 13% to $199.85 at the close on Thursday in New York, marking the biggest single-day increase in a year. Oracle had already climbed 17% in the last month as investors grew more optimistic that tariffs and other geopolitical issues wouldn't disrupt the software industry.
Business Journals
10-06-2025
- Business
- Business Journals
Tariffs and green coffee costs drive Smucker's quarterly loss
Story Highlights J.M. Smucker Co. reported $729 million fourth-quarter loss largely due to tariffs. Smucker's shares fell 15% following the earnings report. Company plans 20% price increase on coffee brands by 2026. J.M. Smucker Co. shares slid Tuesday after the Orrville, Ohio-based food maker reported a fiscal fourth-quarter loss largely because of tariffs and higher prices for buying green coffee, which is not produced in the United States. Shares of Smucker (NYSE: SJM) fell more than 15% to $94.41 in regular trading on Tuesday at more than 10 times the shares' average daily trading volume. GET TO KNOW YOUR CITY Find Local Events Near You Connect with a community of local professionals. Explore All Events GET TO KNOW YOUR CITY Find Local Events Near You Connect with a community of local professionals. Explore All Events Smucker reported a net loss of $729 million, or $6.85 a diluted share, in the fiscal fourth quarter, ended April 30, compared with the same period in 2024. The company's net sales fell 3% to $2.1 billion over the same period. Smucker's tariff exposure is multifaceted Smucker's tariff exposure is complicated, Tucker Marshall, Smucker's CFO, told securities analysts during a Tuesday conference call. First, the main ingredients in Smucker's food items — what the company calls "direct materials" — are exposed to tariffs. "The primary driver there is green coffee, which we view as an unavailable natural resource in the United States, so we procure [it] from Brazil and Vietnam, among others," Marshall said Tuesday. Second, retaliatory tariffs are pressuring sales of Smucker's goods — particularly peanut butter, ice cream toppings and coffee — that are sold in Canada, he said. Third, Smucker is paying tariff-hiked prices for its co-manufactured foods produced outside the United States, namely liquid coffee and wet cat food, Marshall said. "The greatest [tariff] exposure that we have in the portfolio is across those first three areas, but the leading driver is green coffee," he said. As a result, Smucker plans to raise the prices of its Folgers, Dunkin' and Café Bustelo coffees by 20% during the full fiscal 2026 year, which would end in April 2026, Marshall said. More than coffee prices created Smucker's quarterly loss On top of those pressures, Smucker is paying tariff-boosted prices for capital goods — equipment, machinery and the like — that it buys primarily from the European Union and uses in its manufacturing plants, Marshall said. Even without the effects of tariffs and green coffee inflation, Smucker likely would have reported a fourth-quarter loss. The company took $980 million in non-cash charges to write off goodwill related to the acquisition of Hostess and other companies in its Sweet Baked Snacks reporting unit. The financial challenges — some out of Smucker's control — clouded what CEO Mark Smucker called "a year of significant progress as we delivered positive results in a challenging environment." Smucker reported a net loss of $1.2 billion, or $11.57 a diluted share, in fiscal 2025, ended April 30. Net sales grew 7% to $8.7 billion in that period. "Our performance reflects top-line growth supported by strong consumer demand for our portfolio of leading brands, and bottom-line growth driven by disciplined cost management and execution," CEO Smucker said in a statement. In addition, the Orrville company "reignited innovation that is resonating with our consumers" in the just-ended year, "resulting in one of our most successful years of innovation in recent history," Smucker said. "We launched Jif Peanut Butter and Chocolate Flavored Spread, new varieties of Uncrustables sandwiches, Café Bustelo multi-serve coffee and Milk-Bone Peanut Buttery Bites, just to name a few, all of which are exceeding expectations," he said. Sign up for the Business Journal's free daily newsletter to receive the latest business news impacting Cleveland.
