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DATE
Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026
CALL PARTICIPANTS
- Head of Strategy, Investor Relations and Sustainability - Andrew Rojeski
- President and Chief Executive Officer - Fabio Sandri
- Chief Financial Officer - Matthew R. Galvanoni
TAKEAWAYS
- Net Sales -- $4.65 billion, representing a 2.2% decrease compared to $4.76 billion in the third quarter of 2025.
- GAAP Earnings Per Share -- $0.49, a 66% decline from $1.44 in the prior-year period.
- Adjusted EBITDA -- $316.3 million, down from $633.1 million a year ago due to lower commodity pricing and higher grain costs.
- Adjusted EBITDA Margin -- 6.8%, compared to 13.3% in the same quarter last year.
- U.S. Adjusted EBITDA Margin -- 6.9%, down from 16.9% in the prior-year period.
- Europe Adjusted EBITDA Margin -- 7.4%, compared to 7.9% in the third quarter of 2025.
- Mexico Adjusted EBITDA Margin -- 4.9%, versus 8.2% in the prior-year quarter.
- U.S. Prepared Foods Volume -- rose more than 15% year over year, while profitability for the segment nearly doubled compared to the third quarter of 2025.
- Mexico Retail Branded Volume -- grew more than 40% year over year, driven by fresh branded offerings and investments in sales execution.
- U.S. Chicken Retail Volume -- increased 1.4% year over year, while overall fresh category growth at retail was 0.2%.
- U.S. Freezer Inventories -- fell 5% compared to the previous year, with boneless breast inventories declining nearly 8%.
- Full Year Capital Expenditures -- estimated at approximately $875 million, including investments in the Walker County plant and the Ellijay expansion.
- 2027 U.S. Chicken Production Forecast -- projected to grow 1.2% according to the USDA, a deceleration from the 3.3% growth estimated for 2026.
- U.S. Ready-To-Cook Production -- rose 2.2% year over year, primarily driven by higher exits as hatchability and livability remained similar to last year.
- Just BARE Retail Share -- grew by more than 300 basis points in the frozen fully-cooked category compared to the same period last year.
- Net Debt -- totaled less than $2.5 billion, resulting in a leverage ratio of 1.76 times the last 12 months' adjusted EBITDA.
- Total Liquidity -- exceeded $2.1 billion at the end of the quarter, including cash and available credit following a ‐500 million bond offering.
- Full Year Net Interest Expense -- projected at approximately $130 million, excluding losses on early extinguishment of debt.
- Full Year Effective Tax Rate -- expected to approximate 26% based on the geographical mix of pretax earnings.
- U.S. Branded Foodservice Sales -- increased more than 12% year over year, outpacing the overall foodservice channel.
- Net Meat Availability Forecast -- projected to grow 0.6% in 2027, representing a deceleration from the estimated 1.8% growth in 2026.
- U.S. Ready-to-Eat Chicken Volume -- rose 1.6% year over year in the retail deli department, led by appetizers and wings.
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RISKS
- Galvanoni stated, "These improvements helped compensate for pressured pork margins due to higher European imports in The UK, increased costs driven by the Middle East conflict and decreases in food service traffic," noting external challenges to the European segment.
- Sandri noted that supply adjusted in Mexico given extended challenges in producer economics, especially for small players.
SUMMARY
Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) reported a decrease in quarterly revenue and earnings as higher chicken supply in the U.S. market pressured commodity values. Management emphasized the company's focus on diversifying its portfolio through prepared foods and branded retail offerings to mitigate the impact of volatile market fundamentals. The company completed a plant expansion in Georgia and continues to progress on a new facility to support long-term growth in high-value segments. Strategic efforts in Europe and Mexico remain focused on operational efficiency and addressing shifting consumer demand for affordable protein options.
- CEO Sandri stated, "Innovation remains a key pillar of growth within Prepared Foods, and the recent Pilgrim's launch of Flamin' Hot demonstrates our ability to generate meaningful consumer excitement with industry leading partners."
- The company expects to complete the acquisition of Walkers Deli and Sausage in early 2027, which is intended to further integrate the pork value chain into premium segments.
- CFO Galvanoni indicated that the company's liquidity of over $2.1 billion provides flexibility to pursue organic growth and disciplined investment in high-return projects.
- Management noted the U.S. chicken market is absorbing additional supply, as total freezer inventories fell 5% compared to the previous year.
- The company's Better Futures program has received applications from over 485 team members or dependents for free college tuition since its inception in 2021.
INDUSTRY GLOSSARY
- RTC (Ready to Cook): Poultry that has been processed and is ready for cooking but has not yet been cooked.
- QSR (Quick Service Restaurant): A restaurant characterized by fast food cuisine and minimal table service.
- Case Ready: Meat products that are pre-packaged and labeled at a processing facility, ready for retail sale without further butchering.
- Adjusted EBITDA: A non-GAAP financial measure that represents earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, adjusted for certain nonrecurring items.
- Cutout Value: The estimated value of a meat carcass based on the individual values of its component parts.
- Small Bird: Poultry typically weighing between 3 and 4 pounds, used primarily for bone-in parts or small fillets in fast-food service.
- Big Bird: Poultry grown to larger weights, often 6 to 9 pounds, used for deboning and processing into prepared food products.
Full Conference Call Transcript
Operator: Good morning, and welcome to the Third Quarter of 26 Pilgrim's Pride earnings conference call and webcast. All participants will be in listen-only mode. Should you need assistance, please signal a conference specialist by pressing the star key followed by 1. At the company's request, this call is being recorded. Please note that the slides referenced during today's call are available for download from the Investors section of the company's website at www.pilgrims.com. I would now like to turn the conference over to Andrew Rojeski, Head of Strategy, Investor Relations and Sustainability for Pilgrim's Pride.
Andrew Rojeski: Good morning and thank you for joining us today as we review our operating and financial results for the third quarter ended on September 27, 2026. Yesterday afternoon, we issued a press release providing an overview of our financial performance for the quarter, including a reconciliation of any non GAAP measures we may discuss. A copy of the release is available on our website at ir.pilgrims.com, along with slides for reference. These items have also been filed as Forms 8-Ks and are available online at sec.gov. Fabio Sandri, President and Chief Executive Officer and Matthew R. Galvanoni, Chief Financial Officer will present on today's call.
Before we begin our prepared remarks, I would like to remind everyone of our safe harbor disclaimer. Today's call may contain certain forward looking statements that represent our outlook and current expectations. As of the day of the release. Other additional factors not anticipated by management may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements. Further information concerning these factors has been provided in yesterday's press release our Form 10 ks and our regular filings with the SEC. I would now like to turn the call over to Fabio Sandri.
Fabio Sandri: Thank you, Andy. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. For the third quarter of 26, reported net revenues of $4.7 billion with adjusted EBITDA of $316 million Our adjusted EBITDA margin was 6.8%. Throughout the quarter, volume remained steady compared to last year as the affordability of chicken continued to resonate among consumers throughout all regions. In the U.S., volume was consistent with last year, even after 2 consecutive years of near records. and impacts from our plant mix and efficiency investments. Our diversified portfolio mitigated the impact of uneven market fundamentals. As supply rose faster than demand across retail and foodservice.
We continue to drive investments to foster a more resilient business and align with market needs. To that end, we completed our expansion at our plant in Ellijay, Georgia, further supporting key customer growth in the higher value fastest growing small boneless chicken category. Operational excellence also strengthened as both life production and yield efficiencies improved compared to the previous quarter. Diversification efforts through prepared foods continued its momentum, as volumes rose double digits. And the construction of our new plant continued to progress as planned. In Europe, volume remained stable as consumers sought value. Benefiting the chicken and meals offerings within our diversified portfolio.
Our innovation efforts are becoming increasingly recognized through additional distribution among leading retailers and supplier awards. Operational excellence initiatives continue to exceed targets. Mexico sales rose given continued momentum on fresh branded offerings within retail. Despite continued improved growing conditions, supply and demand fundamentals in the live commodity market improved. Enhancing margins compared to the previous quarter. Expansion projects to grow and diversify our portfolio also continued to progress as planned. Turning to supply in the U.S., the USDA reported ready to cook production rose 2.2% compared to the same period last year, Production peaked with a 4.7% growth in July, and subsequently reduced its pace throughout the quarter.
The increase was primarily driven by higher exits as hatchability, livability and weights were at the same levels similar to last year. The market continues to absorb additional supply. As total freezer inventories fell 5% compared to last year. Boneless breasts fell nearly 8%. Availability of beef rose during the quarter, whereas pork continued to be relatively stable. When combined with chicken and turkey production, overall protein availability increased by 1.5% compared to Q3 of last year. The USDA anticipates chicken production to increase 3.3% for the full year versus 2025. As for other proteins, beef is expected to decline by 0.3% while pork is estimated to rise by 0.1%.
Taken together, USDA forecasts that overall net meat availability is expected to grow by 1.8% in 2026 versus last year. For 2027,, USDA anticipates chicken growth to decelerate as production is projected to increase only 1.2% for the year. Beef availability is expected to decline more than 1%, while pork is projected to increase 0.8%. As a result, the USDA estimates growth of net meat availability of only 0.6% for 2027. As for demand within the U.S., chicken continued to grow across retail and food service, even with near record volumes over the past few years. Within retail, the meat and deli departments continue to be the most resilient as volumes rose compared to last year.
Whereas the total edibles fell. Chicken retail volumes, including fresh and frozen, grew by 1.4%, from last year. While the overall fresh category at retail grew only 0.2%, boneless breast grew more than 2% year over year, and boneless dark meat grew by close to 10%. Compensating lower volumes of bone in products. As retailers passed through lower wholesale pricing of chicken, and started increasing promotions, overall sales dollars fell. In deli, demand continues to be strong across ready to eat chicken offerings as all major formats grew. Increasing volumes 1.6% year over year. Rotisserie logs and cut up portion volumes also rose compared to last year. Appetizers, including popcorn, chicken and wings, led all categories in growth.
Frozen prepared chicken also grew consistently with the overall category, as volumes rose 1.4% compared to last year. As convenient meal options continue to resonate among consumers. In food service, chicken volumes increased 0.8% despite mixed industry traffic trends. Higher income consumers supported restaurant spending. Whereas low income consumers became increasingly focused on value amid ongoing budget pressures. Given this environment, chicken growth was concentrated in QSRs and convenience channels, including C stores where a combination of affordability and expensive prepared food offerings drove traffic and demand. We anticipate promotional activity for bone in products. Especially wings, to reinvigorate sales volumes. In exports, global demand for chicken remains strong, resulting in 3 consecutive months of year over year growth.
Equally important, our volumes growth outpaced the channel from our increased presence in several key markets. While The Middle East remained volatile, trade to Gulf cost countries continues to flow through alternative ocean ports along with more complex intermodal routes. Trade within this region in recent months has surpassed pre conflict levels and now only marginally lower year over year. In Asia, recent meetings between government officials from the U.S. and China continue to progress. As China has released more states from its avian influenza ban, unlocking further growth opportunities for U. S. Raw frozen chicken. Versus last year. Industry inventories remain relatively lower compared to historical levels. Supporting further growth and supported values.
Turning to feed inputs, significant volatility occurred throughout the quarter. In corn, futures initially moved higher in the quarter, given concerns regarding U. S. Corn yields, continued disruptions in grain shipments from the Black Sea and a potential return by China to the global market. However, futures retreated from mid September highs as previous year ending stocks were higher than anticipated crop yields exceeded prior estimates and exports lagged earlier expectations. The USDA's most recent corn forecast indicate comfortable inventory levels. As the stock to use ratio is estimated at 11.3% for the upcoming crop year. Limiting upside risk in the near term. In soil, near future temporarily rallied late in the quarter. Given strong U. S.
Exports and interruptions in crush operations from delay in soybean harvest. The USDA currently expects record deals in U. S. To offset record crush demand and improve export shipments, leaving stocks unchanged compared to prior year. Moving forward, soybean meal pricing will be sensitive to the size and pace of U.S. export sales, especially to China. In addition, the ability of The U. S. To secure a large share of the global soybean meal export market and weather in South America will also play a significant role. In wheat, the market is managing the balance between record highs of initial stocks against export challenges from the Black Sea.
To date, better than expected crops in Canada, Australia and Argentina, along with improved local production in major wheat importing countries, have mitigated supply chain disruptions. In The UK, the wheat crop finished at a lower than expected level. And yet, it is still virtually flat compared to last year. Planting has already begun, for next season's wheat crop under generally favorable conditions. Improving prospects for the harvest in the summer of 27. In The U. S, fresh business volumes remained steady compared to previous quarter from increased distribution and key customer promotional support. We made progress in operational efficiencies from recent plant upgrades, improving live operations and enhancing mix given our recent Russellville conversion.
When combined, these efforts partially compensated for the declines in commodity cutout values, and planned downtime for the investments in Ellijay. CaseReady maintained a solid presence in value conscious environments throughout retail. To that end, we work closely with our key customers to drive promotional activity, and unlock additional value for consumers. As a result, we reinvigorated growth throughout the quarter and enhanced momentum in October. We also secured incremental distribution further strengthening our sales pipeline for the remainder of the year. Small bird demand continued firm with continued support in the boneless category among key customer QSRs.
In Big Bird, we continue to enhance our mix through increased supply of higher attribute portioning offerings to prepared foods, from our recent plant upgrade. Further reducing our reliance on external supplier and unlocking additional margin for our business. We also increased the deboning of dark meat, supporting this growing market in New York. In prepared foods, growth continues to accelerate, as volume rose over 15% compared to last year. Our retail branded offerings led growth throughout the portfolio as volumes increased by over 20%. Just BARE continues to outpace all other brands in the frozen fully-cooked category, as retail dollars share grew by over 300 basis points compared to the same period last year.
In deli, continue to drive innovation. And bring excitement through new project development and collaboration with industry leaders. To that end, Pilgrim's recently launched its Flaming Hot Chicken offering at select locations throughout retail and food service. To date, marketplace acceptance has been remarkably strong across consumers, and customers alike. As a result, we secured incremental commitments across all channels, to drive additional growth for the remainder of the year and beyond. Our foodservice business has achieved similar success. As sales outpaced the overall channel. The branded portfolio drove most of the growth as sales increased by over 12% compared to prior year. Moving forward, we will continue to expand our presence through innovation, key customer partnerships and promotional activity.
Construction of our new facility in Walker County, Georgia continues to progress as planned with commissioning expected early in the second half of 27. In Europe, our portfolio continued to address affordability concerns of inflation-weary consumers. Poultry resonated among the value conscious making it the fastest growing category throughout retail. Moving forward, additional growth opportunities exist given our leading market position, attractive category dynamics, and marketplace momentum. Based on the existing regulatory environment and our current supply chain capabilities, investments in additional broiler farms will be needed. Within meals, our lineup exceeded category average, as sales and volume both grew double digits. Through targeted promotions, investments, with key customers.
In our branded portfolio, volumes of Fridge Raiders and Rollover continue to grow. Additional growth opportunities exist for each throughout the remainder of the year, from recently launched innovation and increased distribution. Within sausage, intense promotional activity of premium private label offerings emerged given depressed raw material prices from imported meat. As a result, growth of our Richmond brand was challenged during the quarter. Nonetheless, we will continue to reinvigorate our offerings through continued investment in innovation, quality and brand building, as we expand to different eating occasions. Foodservice continued to encounter tepid demand as visits declined across all major QSRs.
To alleviate this challenge, we will continue to collaborate with leading providers to develop new offerings for value conscious consumers. Sustained escalation of production costs, along with continued competition from imported pork, impacted margins compared to last quarter. Moving forward, continued reduction of the herd in the U.K. should alleviate some of these pressures. In addition, pricing arrangements in selected aspects of our portfolio should partially mitigate the impact of rising costs. We are excited for the acquisition of Walker's Deli and Sausage. And currently anticipate completion of the transaction in early 27. Once completed, we can further integrate our value chain of high welfare pork into the premium sausage segment. Strengthening our retail presence and further diversifying our portfolio.
Turning to Mexico. From a slow start, experienced increasing strength during the quarter. Especially in September. In the live commodity market good growing conditions continue. With improved liveability and enhanced feed performance. But supply adjusted, given extended challenges in producer economics especially for small players. In fresh, our retail branded offerings led growth across the portfolio. As volumes rose over 40% compared to last year to increase distribution and investments in sales execution. Just BARE brand led all brands as volume more than double. In prepared foods, overall growth during the quarter was somewhat limited by continued availability of multiple proteins at historically low prices. Traffic also fell as consumers increasingly moved to food at home.
Nonetheless, volumes of Pilgrim's and Delisia brands, both double digits compared to last year. Moving forward, disruptions from imported meat from Brazil given concern about poultry health, may reduce overall meat availability or result in larger trade from U. S. While full resolution of this matter remain uncertain, early performance of exports from the U.S. in October has been promising. We continue our investments to drive sales growth, enhance margin and reduce volatility throughout our portfolio. To that end, we continue to invest in automation projects and growth of our prepared foods. Our ramp up of previously announced investments in the South and Yucatan Peninsula region also continues to be on track.
Earlier this week, we published our 2025 sustainability report. Which highlights our progress on environmental, social and governance matters most critical to our business. Throughout the past year, we continued to drive sustainability throughout all aspects of our strategy, and business. Reinforcing our stewardship on the environment and natural resources, Creating a better future for our team members and the communities we serve. We have lowered our Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse emissions intensity at our facilities by over 20% since 2019. We also improved our global safety index by over 60% compared to last year and provided over 5 million hours of training in 2025. Enhancing team member well-being.
We continue to invest in team member development, To that end, we continue to drive efforts to create the largest free college tuition program in rural America, through our Better Futures program. Remarkable enthusiasm continues as 22 team members or their dependents have enrolled in tuition free higher education programs in 2025 alone. Since inception in 2021, over 485 have applied to this program. With that, I would like to ask our CFO, Matthew R. Galvanoni, to discuss our financial results.
Matthew R. Galvanoni: Thank you, Fabio. Good morning, everyone. For the third quarter of 26, net revenues were $4.65 billion versus $4.76 billion a year ago. With adjusted EBITDA of $316.3 million and a margin of 6.8%. Compared to $633.1 million and a 13.3% margin in Q3 last year. Relative to net revenues, we experienced a year-over-year decline of 5.5% in the U.S. in the quarter driven by lower year over year commodity market pricing and the impacts of further supporting our U. S. Prepared Foods business. With more internal raw material chicken supply, following the investments we completed in the first half of this year. Mexico's revenues were up 13% year over year due to an increase in sales volume.
Partially offset by decreases in market pricing. In Europe, year over year net revenues declined by 1%. Adjusted EBITDA margins in Q3 were 6.9% in The U. S. Compared to 16.9% a year ago. Our European business adjusted EBITDA margins came in at 7.4% for Q3 compared to 7.9% last year. In Mexico, adjusted EBITDA margins in Q3 were 4.9% versus 8.2% a year ago. Moving to The U. S. Our adjusted EBITDA for Q3 came in at $185.2 million compared to $479.1 million a year ago. In our fresh business improved yields and live operations performance could only partially offset year over year declines in U. S. Commodity chicken market pricing and higher grain costs.
Prepared Foods continued its momentum with year over year sales volume growth over 15%. And nearly doubling its profitability from Q3 of 2025. In Europe, adjusted EBITDA in Q3 was $102 million versus $104 million last year. The segment benefited from strength in poultry business and in our meals offerings during the quarter. These improvements helped compensate for pressured pork margins due to higher European imports in The UK. Increased costs driven by the Middle East conflict and decreases in food service traffic. Mexico generated $29.1 million in adjusted EBITDA in Q3 compared to $43.7 million last year.
As Fabio mentioned earlier, we saw improvements in the Mexico supply demand fundamentals in the second half of the third quarter However, the business's comparable year over year results were quarter was impacted by bird growing conditions increasing supply in the live markets and widely available competing proteins. Relative to our SG&A costs, we incurred lower year over year legal settlement related incentive compensation costs partially offset by higher external legal defense expenses. Our effective tax rate for the quarter was 27.4%, with our year to date rate at 26.4%. Based on the geographical mix of our pre tax earnings, we now expect our full year rate to approximate 26%.
Following the completion of our €500 million bond offering in September, we had over $2.1 billion in total cash and available credit at the end of the quarter. We have no short term immediate cash requirements with our bonds maturing between 2031 and 2034 and our U. S. Credit facility not expiring until 2028. Our liquidity position provides us flexibility during times of volatility in The U. S. Commodity markets and allows us to pursue our growth strategy. Including organic growth to meet our customers' needs. We have strong balance and we continue to emphasize cash flows from operating activities management of working capital and disciplined investment in high return projects.
Even with challenging market conditions, our net debt totaled less than 2.5 billion with a leverage ratio of 1.76 times our last 12 months adjusted EBITDA. Below our target of 2x to 3x. Net interest expense for the quarter totaled $30.2 million which includes a $1.2 million gain on the early extinguishment of debt. When excluding the year to date $16.3 million loss, on early extinguishment of debt, we anticipate our full year net interest expense to be approximately $130 million. We spent $217 million in CapEx this quarter, an increase of $35 million over the third quarter of 2025.
The CapEx spending this quarter included progress on our new prepared foods plant in Walker County, Georgia, and the investment in Ellijay Georgia to enhance our mix in support of key customers in the foodservice space. We estimate our full year CapEx spend to approximate $875 million These and other growth projects align to our overall strategies of portfolio diversification, focus on key customers, operational excellence and our commitment to team member health and safety. I will now turn the call back over to Fabio for closing remarks.
Fabio Sandri: Thank you, everyone, for attending today's call. Throughout the quarter, the affordability of chicken continued to resonate among value conscious consumers across all regions. Given this environment, we continue to work closely with key customers to cultivate demand through promotional support, invest in consumer led innovation, and improve production efficiency. through operational excellence. We continue to make progress in our investments to foster a more resilient portfolio. As we completed the transition at Ellijay, the construction of Walker County remains on schedule. Moving forward, we will maintain a focus on having the best team and an unwavering commitment to quality, service and sustainability.
Based on these efforts, we can further nurture our legacy and achieve our vision to be the best and most respected company in our industry, creating the opportunity of a better future for our team members. Thank you.
Operator: As the company will not be taking questions today, the conference is now concluded. We thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect your lines.
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