By Connor Hart

General Mills logged lower profit and sales in its fiscal third quarter but said it is nearing an inflection point, thanks to the work the company has done to improve volumes and gain market share.

The maker of Cheerios cereal and Pillsbury dough on Wednesday posted a profit of $303.1 million, or 56 cents a share, for its quarter ended Feb. 22. That is down from a profit of $625.6 million, or $1.12 a share, in last year's comparable period.

Stripping out one-time items, earnings were 64 cents a share. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected adjusted earnings of 73 cents a share.

Net sales fell 8.4% to $4.44 billion, but came in just ahead of the $4.41 billion that Wall Street had modeled. On an organic basis, sales were down 3%.

Chief Executive Jeff Harmening said the year is playing out as expected, with investments, divestitures and unfavorable timing comparisons driving declines across General Mills' profit and sales, even as the company improved volumes and gained market share.

"As we move to the fourth quarter, we expect to deliver a step up in organic sales trends and return to earnings growth," he added, citing continued market share momentum, as well as more favorable timing comparisons and an additional week in the fiscal year.

General Mills backed its outlook for the year. Organic net sales are expected to be down 1.5% to 2%, and adjusted per-share earnings are projected to decline 16% to 20% in constant currency.

The company lowered its fiscal-year outlook last month, stating at the time that weak consumer sentiment, heightened uncertainty and significant volatility were weighing on growth and affecting purchase patterns.

Looking further ahead to fiscal 2027, Harmening said General Mills' price investment work will be behind it, contributing to the company's confidence in its ability to improve organic sales results.

Write to Connor Hart at connor.hart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 18, 2026 07:24 ET (11:24 GMT)

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