Kraft Heinz shares in the red as 2025 profit forecast falls short

Investing.com -- Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) shares declined more than 3% in Wednesday's premarket trade after the food company's 2025 guidance fell short of market expectations.

For the fourth quarter of 2024, Kraft Heinz reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.84, exceeding the consensus projection of $0.78. Revenue for the quarter totaled $6.58 billion, slightly below the estimated $6.69 billion.

Organic revenue declined by 3.1% year-over-year.

"Although 2024 was a challenging year with our top line results coming in below our expectations, we remained disciplined in protecting profitability while driving industry-leading margins, generating strong cash flow, and returning $2.7 billion in capital to stockholders,” said Kraft Heinz CEO Carlos Abrams-Rivera.

“As we enter 2025, our focus remains on executing with excellence against our strategic pillars, where we know we have the right to win."

For 2025, Kraft Heinz expects full-year EPS between $2.63 and $2.74, notably below the consensus forecast of $3.04.

The company anticipates sequential improvement in organic net sales throughout each quarter, with a flat to slightly positive price contribution for the year.

Kraft Heinz also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, or $1.60 annualized, payable on March 28, 2025, to shareholders of record as of March 7, 2025, with an ex-dividend date of March 6, 2025.