Beef, Pork Down but Chicken Up for Tyson

Nov. 14, 2022

Earnings fall 29% on drop in sales for beef and pork.

Tyson Foods reported a drop in earnings in its fiscal fourth quarter, weighed down by poor results in the beef and pork segments.

Sales for the quarter were up 7.2%, to $13.74 billion, but adjusted operating income was down 29%, to $823 million. Sales were down in both beef and pork, leading to a drop in adjusted income for beef of 66%, to $391 million, and a loss of $50 million in pork. Tyson attributed the problems in beef to “reduced demand for premium cuts of beef.” The pork situation was blamed on factors including increases in hog costs and a drop in export demand.

Chicken was a major bright spot for Tyson, after a disappointing performance last year. Sales rose 19%, to $4.62 billion, and adjusted operating income stood at $337 million, after a $113 million loss last year.

“We delivered record sales and earnings for the full year, which was supported by our diverse portfolio and continued strength in consumer demand for protein,” CEO Donnie King said in a statement.

About the Author

Pan Demetrakakes | Senior Editor

Pan has written about the food and beverage industry for more than 25 years. His areas of coverage have included formulations, processing, packaging, marketing and retailing. Pan worked for Food Processing Magazine for six years in the 1990s, where he was operations editor (his current role), touring dozens of food plants of every description. He has also worked for Packaging and Food & Beverage Packaging magazines, the latter as chief editor, during which he won three ASBPE awards. He is a graduate of Stanford University with a BA in communications.