General Mills (NYSE:GIS) executives told investors on the company’s fiscal second-quarter 2026 earnings call that the business is showing improving top-line momentum, particularly in North America Retail, while management continues to lean on its “Remarkability Framework,” Holistic Margin Management (HMM), and transformation initiatives. Chairman and CEO Jeff Harmening said the company’s priorities for the year—driving organic sales growth while continuing margin and transformation progress—are “reflected in our Q2 results,” adding that the company is “executing well” against them.
North America Retail: volume improving, with some timing noise
In North America Retail, management emphasized progress on volume and share, which it has tied to pricing changes and broader marketing and innovation improvements. Harmening said the company has improved volumes through its Remarkability Framework, including “strategic-based price adjustments on base pricing and to get under price cliffs.” He said more than 90% of pricing actions discussed over the past year have “worked as well or better than what we had thought,” noting that price mix in North America Retail is down “maybe about 3%” so far this year after prior-year increases tied to inflation.
When asked about competition and whether peers’ price reductions could pressure the environment, Harmening said General Mills has not seen an increase in discounting versus a year ago “broadly speaking” across categories. He also said the company is not attempting to match private-label price levels, but rather to manage price cliffs and narrow gaps to competitors.
Remarkability: pricing, innovation, and marketing
Management repeatedly framed pricing moves as one element of a broader mix. Harmening said innovation is expected to be up about 25% this year, with a “good lineup in the second half,” and that media return on investment has improved. McNabb added that in addition to the price investments, the company is seeing stronger performance from advertising content, improved ROI, and “strong events planned to get good in-store and online support.”
McNabb said the company’s plan is to win in the back half by emphasizing more than price alone, while also noting that two-thirds of the portfolio was slated to receive price investments, completed by the end of Q2. Harmening listed refrigerated dough, fruit snacks, salty snacks, and soup among categories where price investments were made, and also mentioned snack bars, where pounds are down due to a competitor’s distribution comparison but elasticities are “at or ahead of model.”
Management singled out Totino’s Hot Snacks as an area still in progress, citing a price-pack architecture conversion from bag to box that has made the data “not clean” and the performance harder to diagnose. McNabb said the company is promoting “10 rolls for $1” and has launched an “Ultimate Pizza” line at an “affordable price point,” but said she would need “a few more weeks” for a clearer read on how the price investment is working.
Pet: core momentum and early progress on Love Made Fresh
In North America Pet, Harmening said the company is working to improve the core business while integrating Love Made Fresh. He highlighted share gains for Life Protection Formula, mid-single-digit growth in the cat business, and improved pound share in treats, while noting “more work to do” on Wilderness. McNabb later said Wilderness performance in Q2 was similar to Q1 and “down,” which she said the company does not find “acceptable.” She said the team is working on a new positioning, with “protein-first new products,” new comparative advertising, and improved in-store execution planned for the second half.
On Love Made Fresh, Harmening said the launch is off to a strong start, citing distribution progress toward a target of about 5,000 coolers by year-end. He said the business was in 4,658 coolers as of the prior day and should reach 5,000 by the end of January. He also said Love Made Fresh reached about 5% market share in the earliest “first wave” customers and has earned 4.8 out of five-star ratings, emphasizing the importance of maintaining inventory to support trial. The company plans to add customers and distribution in the third quarter and introduce a stand-up resealable pouch format.
Asked whether Love Made Fresh is benefiting the base pet business, Harmening said it is “still a little bit early” to know, describing the launch as roughly eight weeks in and advertising about five weeks in. He attributed core improvements more to go-to-market sharpening on Life Protection Formula, strong advertising, continued growth in Tiki Cat (acquired nine months ago), and additional marketing support for Tastefuls.
Consumers, promotions, and category trends
Harmening said the company continues to see consumer weakness among households making under $100,000, while higher-income consumers are faring better. He said eating at home remains elevated at about 86% of eating occasions, with about 14% away from home, a mix he said has been steady for a couple of quarters. On promotions, Harmening said General Mills has not necessarily displayed more, but that consumers are buying more when there is a discount. McNabb described the promotional environment as “quite rational,” with frequency and depth similar to last quarter and last year, though she said activity rose somewhat in November and attributed that largely to manufacturers reacting to SNAP changes.
On category performance, management said General Mills categories were flat in fiscal 2025, down about 1% in Q1, and improved to down about 0.5% in Q2. McNabb said cereal remains a lagging category, with cereal pounds down about 3% versus a typical historical decline of 1% to 2%, driven by consumers shifting to “more high-protein alternatives.” She highlighted Cheerios Protein, which she said already has a 0.9 share and is on track to reach $100 million by fiscal year-end. McNabb also said Cheerios grew dollars and pounds in Q2 “for the first time in three years.” She added that the granola segment is growing double digits and that the company plans to launch 10 new granola SKUs in January.
In pet, McNabb said the overall category was up about 1% in Q2, while pounds were down modestly, consistent with Q1 and fiscal 2025. She said cat feeding is growing fastest and treats have returned to growth, while dog feeding continues to lag in both pounds and dollars. She attributed that to a shift to unmeasured channels (about 50 basis points), a shift toward smaller dogs that consume fewer pounds, and consumer pullback in discretionary segments such as wet dog food. She also said the channel shift is “definitely e-commerce.”
Margins, inflation, tariffs, and second-half phasing
CFO Kofi Bruce said the company expects certain favorable factors in Q2 to reverse in Q3, including North America supply chain favorability driven by inventory absorption, stronger international performance that included timing-related benefits, and about a half-point of North America Retail shipment timing. Bruce also discussed back-half profit phasing, noting the company had always expected Q3 to be down due to the “overhang” from a divestiture, the level of investment behind the Remarkability Framework (including value investments in North America Retail), and trade expense timing that is a drag in the first three quarters. He said Q4 should benefit from about $100 million of favorable trade expense timing and a tailwind from the 53rd week, which he said together amount to about 30% profit growth in Q4.
On costs, Bruce reiterated that the company’s guidance had assumed base inflation around 3% plus an additional 1 to 2 points of tariff headwind, and said the company remains “comfortable” with that view. He said tariff impacts were minimal in Q1, stepped up in Q2, and are expected to step up again in the second half. Harmening added that the company’s commodity coverage—typically six to nine months on major inputs—means recent wheat price moves are more likely to impact fiscal 2027 than fiscal 2026.
Bruce said the company kept its full-year guidance unchanged with “effectively half of the year to go,” citing volatility in the operating environment, including tariffs, shutdowns, SNAP benefit changes, and consumer sentiment. He said the cost of volume and the pace of volume recovery are key variables determining where the company lands within its guidance range.
Looking ahead, Harmening said the company expects top-line improvement in the second half and profit growth in the fourth quarter, supported by trade timing and the 53rd week. He declined to get specific on fiscal 2027 expectations, but said the company aims to “continue to build on momentum” and pointed to an upcoming CAGNY conference as a venue for deeper discussion about the road ahead.
About General Mills (NYSE:GIS)
General Mills, Inc (NYSE: GIS) is a multinational consumer foods company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of branded food products. Its product categories include ready-to-eat and hot cereals, baking mixes and ingredients, snacks and bars, refrigerated and frozen doughs, yogurt and other dairy products, and a variety of shelf-stable meals and meal components. The company’s portfolio features widely recognized consumer brands across grocery store, mass channel and foodservice outlets.
Founded in the early 20th century and incorporated under its current name in 1928, General Mills has grown through both internal brand development and strategic expansion to become a global food company.
