With a market cap of $29.6 billion, General Mills, Inc. (GIS) is a leading American multinational food company headquartered in Minnesota, known for iconic brands like Cheerios, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Nature Valley, and Blue Buffalo. The company operates globally across North America, Europe, and Asia, with products sold in over 100 countries.
The food giant has significantly underperformed the broader market over the past year, plunging 24.8% over the past 52 weeks and 16.5% on a YTD basis. In contrast, the S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has surged 12.3% over the past year and is up marginally in 2025.
Zooming in further, General Mills has also struggled to keep up with the Invesco Food & Beverage ETF’s (PBJ) 1.6% fall over the past year and 1.2% returns in 2025.
General Mills has trailed the broader market over the past year due to declining sales, lowered earnings guidance, rising costs, and shifting consumer preferences toward cheaper, private-label products. Regulatory scrutiny over food additives and weak international performance, especially in markets like China, have further pressured the stock.
General Mills shares dropped over 1% on May 13, in line with a broader decline in defensive food and beverage stocks, even as the overall market moved higher.
For the current year, ending in May, analysts expect GIS’ earnings to decline 7.3% year-over-year to $4.19 per share. Nevertheless, the company has a solid earnings surprise history. It has surpassed the Street’s bottom-line estimates in each of the past four quarters.
Among the 18 analysts covering the GIS stock, the consensus rating is a “Hold.” That’s based on five “Strong Buy,” 13 “Hold,” and two “Strong Sell” ratings.
On Apr. 23, UBS Group AG (UBS) analysts initiated coverage on General Mills with a “Sell” rating and a price target of $54, citing a challenging outlook for the company. UBS also flagged reinvestment pressures, the impact of yogurt business divestitures, and changes to incentive compensation as risks to profitability.
GIS’ mean price target of $61.50 suggests a 15.4% premium to current price levels, and its Street-high target of $70 indicates a 31.4% upside potential.
On the date of publication, Kritika Sarmah did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
