By Connor Hart

Cal-Maine Foods is scheduled to report fiscal third-quarter earnings before the market opens Wednesday. Here is what you need to know:

NET INCOME: The egg producer is projected to post a profit of $50.4 million, or 70 cents a share, down from $508.5 million, or $10.38 a share, a year earlier, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

SALES: The Ridgeland, Miss., company is expected to record sales of $642.5 million, down from $1.42 billion the year prior.

Shares of Cal-Maine were recently changing hands at $78.58, having slipped 2.4% over the past three months.

WHAT TO WATCH

--Cal-Maine is betting in part on specialty eggs to fuel growth. Specialty eggs, which include cage-free, organic and other premium varieties, sell for higher prices and yield better margins. Sales of specialty eggs accounted for 44% of total egg sales in the company's last quarter, up from 32% a year earlier and helping to soften the blow of falling commodity egg prices. Investors will be looking at sales of specialty eggs.

--Cal-Maine is also leaning on prepared foods to drive growth, spending $15 million to expand scrambled-egg production and consolidate it all under one roof, and another $15 million to build out a high-speed pancake line. The company has warned that these expansion projects will temper volumes and increase costs in the near term, but it expects the impact to be outweighed by long-term benefits. Investors will be looking for updates regarding Cal-Maine's prepared-foods strategy.

--Cal-Maine is still recovering from avian-flu outbreaks that wiped out millions of its hens. While the company noted last quarter that egg supplies are improving, investors will be eager for commentary about the company's breeder flocks, chick hatches and number of layer hens.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 31, 2026 14:05 ET (18:05 GMT)

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