Tyson Foods, Inc. (TSN), headquartered in Springdale, Arkansas, is a global leader in protein production. The company produces raw meat products, including fresh beef, pork and chicken, as well as prepared foods such as nuggets, wings, sausages and ready-to-eat meals, for consumers around the world.
Through vertical integration, it manages the entire supply chain, from agriculture and livestock to processing and distribution, ensuring efficiency, quality control and reliable delivery to global markets. The company has a market capitalization of $20.49 billion.
Tyson Foods will soon report its first-quarter results for fiscal 2026 (quarter ending December 2025). Ahead of the results, Wall Street analysts expect the company to post a profit of $0.98 per diluted share in the first quarter, down 14% year over year (YOY). However, the company has a strong track record of earnings surprises, beating estimates in all four trailing quarters.
Analysts expect the company’s results to decline in the current fiscal year. For full fiscal 2026, Wall Street analysts expect TSN’s diluted EPS to fall 6.3% year-over-year to $3.86, followed by a 20.2% year-over-year improvement to $4.64 in the next fiscal year.
Weakness in the beef segment has led Tyson Foods shares to underperform the broader market over the past year. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has fallen marginally, while over the past six months it has risen a modest 1%. On the other hand, the broader S&P 500 index ($SPX) rose 16.9% and 10.1% over the same periods, respectively.
In contrast, the State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector ETF SPDR (XLP) has declined marginally over the past 52 weeks and 5.5% over the past six months. Therefore, TSN has outperformed its sector in these periods.
Tyson Foods is scaling back its business and announcing it will close its beef plant in Lexington, Nebraska. The company stated that the plant closure is an effort to “right-size” its beef business, as this segment experiences low livestock production.
In its fourth-quarter report for fiscal 2025 (quarter ended Sept. 27), Tyson reported 2.2% year-over-year growth in sales to $13.86 billion, with the beef segment also reporting sales growth. However, with a 2% year-over-year decline in domestic beef production expected in fiscal 2026, the company expects an adjusted operating loss in the range of $600 million to $400 million from this segment in the current fiscal year.