McCormick Q3 Adjusted EPS $0.86 Beats on Pricing; Net Sales Up 17% to $2.02B; Shares Erase Premarket Gains

McCormick & Company (MKC) reported third-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $0.86, up from $0.85 a year earlier, as price increases drove organic sales growth. Net sales rose 17% to $2.02 billion, topping analysts' $1.98 billion forecast, Bloomberg said. Organic sales grew 2% as a 2.2% pricing gain more than offset a 0.3% decline in volume and product mix. Gross margin expanded 190 basis points to 39.3%, aided by the McCormick de Mexico acquisition and cost savings, partly offset by higher commodity and freight costs. Reported EPS fell to $0.36 from $0.84 on $141.5 million in special charges, including integration costs and a Malaysia pepper project impairment. Consumer segment net sales rose 25% to $1.215 billion; flavor solutions rose 8% to $809 million. CFO Marcos Gabriel guided full-year cost inflation to 6%-7%, up from mid-single digits. Full-year guidance was unchanged: net sales growth of 13%-17% and adjusted EPS of $3.05-$3.13. The Unilever foods tie-up remains on track for a mid-2027 close. Shares gave up premarket gains to finish roughly flat.