皮爾格林派德 (PPC) 2026 年第三季法說會：熟食業務成長之際 EBITDA 下滑

重點總覽

• Pilgrim’s Pride 公布 2026 年第三季淨營收為 46.5 億美元，上年同期為 47.6 億美元。調整後 EBITDA 自 6.331 億美元降至 3.163 億美元，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率則自 13.3% 下滑至 6.8%。
• 美國地區調整後 EBITDA 從 4.791 億美元降至 1.852 億美元。大宗雞肉價格走低及穀物成本上升，抵銷了屠宰出肉率與活體養殖績效改善帶來的好處。
• 預製食品仍為關鍵成長領域。美國銷量年增逾 15%，獲利能力近乎翻倍，品牌零售銷量則成長逾 20%。
• 歐洲地區產生之調整後 EBITDA 為 1.02 億美元，低於上年同期的 1.104 億美元。禽肉與餐點表現良好，但豬肉利潤率、生產成本及較疲軟的餐飲業人流仍使其承壓。
• 受惠於銷量增加，墨西哥地區營收成長 13%，但調整後 EBITDA 從 4,370 萬美元下滑至 2,910 萬美元。生鮮品牌零售銷量成長逾 40%。
• 管理層預計 2026 全年資本支出約為 8.75 億美元，有效稅率接近 26%，淨利息費用約為 1.3 億美元（不含年初至今因提前清償債務所產生的損失）。

核心財務數據

Pilgrim’s Pride 在本季結束時擁有超過 21 億美元的現金及可用信用額度。淨負債低於 25 億美元，槓桿率為過去 12 個月調整後 EBITDA 的 1.76 倍，低於管理層預設的 2 至 3 倍目標區間。

業務與營運表現

美國

美國地區營收年減 5.5%，主因是大宗雞肉價格走低，以及將更多自產雞肉撥配至預製食品部門。工廠出肉率、活體養殖營運及產品組合的改善僅能部分抵銷這些壓力。

預製食品銷量成長逾 15%，獲利能力較 2025 年第三季近乎翻倍。品牌零售銷量成長逾 20%，旗下品牌 Just BARE 在冷凍熟食類別中的零售銷售額市占率提升超過 300 個基點。品牌餐飲服務銷售額成長逾 12%。

喬治亞州埃利傑（Ellijay）廠房擴建於本季完成，以支援高價值去骨小雞肉的生產。喬治亞州沃克郡（Walker County）預製食品廠的建設進度符合預期。

管理層引用美國農業部（USDA）數據指出，美國即烹雞肉產量年增 2.2%，而冷凍庫總庫存下降 5%。零售雞肉銷量成長 1.4%，熟食雞肉銷量成長 1.6%，餐飲服務雞肉銷量成長 0.8%。

歐洲

穩定的禽肉需求以及餐點銷售額與銷量雙位數成長支撐了歐洲業務。Fridge Raiders 及 Rollover 的銷量亦有所增加。

這些增長被香腸業務表現較軟、英國進口低價豬肉增加、與中東衝突相關的生產成本上升以及餐飲業人流減少部分抵銷。在滿足交易完成條件的前提下，Pilgrim’s Pride 預計對 Walkers Deli & Sausage 的收購將於 2027 年初完成。

墨西哥

受惠於銷量成長足以彌補市場價格下跌，墨西哥地區營收年增 13%。生鮮品牌零售銷量成長逾 40%，Just BARE 銷量更實現翻倍以上成長。

供需基本面在本季後半段（特別是 9 月）有所改善。然而，由於家禽養殖條件改善導致供應增加、活體市場承壓以及競爭性蛋白質產品廣泛供應，獲利能力仍低於上年同期。

管理層財測指引

• 管理層預計全年有效稅率約為 26%。
• 全年淨利息費用預計約為 1.3 億美元，不含年初至今因提前清償債務所產生的 1,630 萬美元損失。
• 全年資本支出總額預計約為 8.75 億美元。
• 沃克郡預製食品廠預計將於 2027 年下半年初投產營運。
• 管理層引用美國農業部的預測指出，2027 年美國雞肉產量成長將放緩至 1.2%，整體淨肉類供應量將增加 0.6%。

風險與關注焦點

• 本季美國雞肉供應成長速度快於需求，對大宗價格及生鮮業務獲利能力造成壓力。
• 穀物成本對美國利潤率構成壓力。管理層表示，黃豆粉價格對美國出口（特別是對中國出口）、全球市場份額及南美洲氣候仍相當敏感。
• 歐洲利潤率面臨生產成本上升、進口豬肉競爭及餐飲業人流疲軟的考驗。
• 墨西哥繼續面臨低價蛋白質產品的競爭，以及涉及巴西進口家禽貿易中斷的不確定性。
• 中東地區局勢動盪增加了物流複雜性與成本，但管理層表示透過替代港口和複合運輸路線的貿易仍在持續。

完整法說會逐字稿

完整財報電話會議逐字稿

管理層陳述

Operator

Good morning, and welcome to the Third Quarter of 2026 Pilgrim's Pride Earnings Conference Call and webcast. [Operator Instructions] 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 Form 8-Ks and are available online at sec.gov.

Fabio Sandri, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Matt 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 date 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 have been provided in yesterday's press release, our Form 10-K 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 2026, we 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 two consecutive years of near records and impacts of 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 live production and yield efficiencies improved compared to 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 continually improved growing conditions, supply and demand fundamentals in the live commodity market improved, enhancing margins compared to 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 egg sets 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 breast 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, the 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 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 foodservice, 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 cutup portion volumes also rose compared to last year. Appetizers, including popcorn chicken and links, 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 foodservice, 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 three 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 remains volatile, trade to Gulf Coast 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 supportive 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 soy, new futures temporarily rallied late in the quarter, given strong U.S. exports and interruptions in crush operations from delay in soybean harvest. USDA currently expect record yields in the 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 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 U.K., 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 2027.

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 enhanced mix given our recent Russellville conversion. When combined, these efforts partially compensated for the declines in commodity cutout values and planned downtime for the investment in Ellijay. Case-Ready 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 given continued support in the boneless category among key customers QSR. In big bird, we continue to enhance our mix through increased supply of higher attribute portioning offerings to prepared foods from our recent plant upgrades, 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 the U.S.

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 category as retail dollar share grew by over 300 basis points compared to the same period last year.

In Pilgrim's, we continue to drive innovation and bring excitement through new product developments and collaboration with industry leaders. To that end, Pilgrim's recently launched its Flaming Hot Chicken offering in 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 2027.

In Europe, our portfolio continued to address affordability concerns of inflationary weary consumers. Poultry resonated among the value conscious, making it the fastest-growing category throughout retail. Moving forward, additional growth opportunity exists 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 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 Walkers Deli & Sausage and currently anticipate completion of the transaction in early 2027. 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, we experienced increasing strength during the quarter, especially in September. In the live commodity market, good growing conditions continue with improved livability 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 through increased distribution and investments in sales execution.

Just BARE brand led all brands as volume more than doubled. In Prepared Foods, overall growth during the quarter was somewhat limited by continued availability of multiple proteins at historically low prices. QSR traffic also fell as consumers increased move to food at home. Nonetheless, volumes of Pilgrim's and Alamesa 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 large trade from U.S. While full resolution of this matter remain uncertain, early performance of exports from 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 Peninsula region also continues to be on track.

Earlier this week, we published our 2025 sustainability report, which highlights our progress on the environmental, social and governance matter most critical to our business. Throughout the past year, we continue 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 220 team members or their dependents have enrolled in tuition-free higher education programs in 2025 alone. Since inception in 2021, over 2,485 have applied to this program.

With that, I'd like to ask our CFO, Matt Galvanoni, to discuss our financial results.

Matthew Galvanoni

Thank you, Fabio. Good morning, everyone. For the third quarter of 2026, 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. For 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 2025. In Europe, adjusted EBITDA in Q3 was $102 million versus $110.4 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 U.K., increased costs driven by the Middle East conflict and decreases in foodservice 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' comparable year-over-year results for the quarter were 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 and 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 pretax earnings, we now expect our full year rate to approximate 26%. Following the completion of our EUR 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 a strong balance sheet, 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 1.76x our last 12 months adjusted EBITDA, below our target of 2 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 the 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 throughout operational excellence. We continue to make progress in our investments to foster a more resilient portfolio as we completed the transition of at Ellijay and the construction of Walker County remains on schedule.

Moving forward, we'll maintain our focus on having the best team with 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.

Operator

As the company will not be taking questions today, the conference has now concluded. We thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect your lines.