General Mills Offers Weak Q3 Guidance; Shares Fall (GIS)

Cereal maker General Mills, Inc. (GIS) on Friday surprised the markets with much weaker-than-expected fiscal third quarter earnings guidance, sending its shares lower in premarket trading.

The Minneapolis-based maker of Cheerios, Wheaties, and Lucky Charms forecast fiscal third quarter adjusted earnings of 61 to 62 cents per share, which would badly missed analysts’ outlook of 68 cents per share. The company will deliver its latest results on Wednesday, March 19.

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The quarter, which ended on Feb. 23, was negatively affected by a 1% drop in sales volume. GIS noted that downturn was “consistent with recent food industry trends in developed markets.” Currency fluctuations also played a role in the weak performance, the company said.

Despite the lower-than-expected guidance, General Mills left its full-year outlook unchanged. The company’s shares fell $1.61, or -3.2%, in premarket trading Friday. Year-to-date, the stock is up around 2%.