Highlights

  • Fiscal first quarter net sales fell 41.5% to $539.6 million, and the company reported a net loss of $58.6 million.
  • Average conventional shell egg prices per dozen fell 59.3%, and specialty prices fell 10.7%, from the prior-year quarter.
  • No dividend applies to the quarter under the variable policy, with $94.5 million of cumulative losses to be offset first.
  • The company bought the Eggland's Best Northeast territory for $25 million and signed a new $250 million credit facility.

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) shares were trading near their 52-week low at USD 60.39 on October 21, 2026, down 2.15%. The egg producer acquired Van's Foods assets in May and the Eggland's Best Northeast franchise territory in July, entered a new revolving credit agreement on August 31, and reported a fiscal first quarter 2027 net loss on September 30.

Based in Ridgeland, Mississippi, Cal-Maine Foods is a Delaware corporation that describes itself as the largest egg company in the United States. It sells conventional and specialty shell eggs, including cage-free, organic and free-range, along with egg products and prepared foods under brands such as Eggland's Best, Land O'Lakes and Farmhouse Eggs. It reports three segments: Conventional Shell Eggs, Specialty Shell Eggs and Prepared Foods. Its fiscal year ends on the Saturday closest to May 31, and the first quarter ended August 29, 2026.

Lower Egg Prices Lead to a Quarterly Loss

Net sales for the 13 weeks ended August 29, 2026 were $539.6 million, against $922.6 million a year earlier. Gross profit was $403 thousand, compared with $311.3 million, and the operating loss was $82.2 million, compared with operating income of $249.2 million. Net loss attributable to the company was $58.6 million, or $1.26 per basic share, versus net income of $199.3 million, or $4.12 per diluted share.

The company attributed the decline mainly to lower conventional shell egg prices as the national layer flock expanded after earlier avian influenza outbreaks. In Conventional Shell Eggs, net sales fell 59.5% to $201.7 million and the segment posted a loss of $71.0 million, versus income of $168.2 million.

Specialty Shell Eggs net sales declined 14.0% to $236.9 million, as prices fell and dozens sold dropped 3.8%. Cost per dozen rose 11.3% on higher feed and production costs, and segment income was $14.9 million versus $64.2 million. Prepared Foods sales were $63.0 million, or 11.7% of the total, down 13.0% because pounds sold fell 19.3% while capacity expansion projects temporarily reduced production. Segment income was $7.8 million versus $13.2 million.

Cash, Dividends, Buybacks and Acquisitions

Operating activities used $101.4 million of cash, compared with $278.6 million provided a year earlier, which the company linked to lower cash collections at lower egg prices. At quarter end it held $113.5 million of cash and equivalents and $654.1 million of available-for-sale investment securities. Working capital was $1.3 billion.

Under its variable dividend policy, no dividend was declared for the quarter, and none follows a later profitable quarter until the company is profitable on a cumulative basis since the last dividend. Cumulative losses to be offset stood at $94.5 million. The company repurchased 66,601 shares in the quarter, leaving $315.7 million under its $500 million program, plus a further $14.9 million through September 24, 2026.

Acquisitions included the Eggland's Best Northeast franchise territory for $25 million, Van's Foods assets for about $24.8 million, and the shell egg, egg products and prepared foods assets of Creighton Brothers for about $129.3 million in March. On August 31, 2026, it replaced its credit facility with a five-year, $250 million senior unsecured revolver maturing August 31, 2031, with no borrowings outstanding at September 30.

Industry Backdrop and Outlook

The filing notes that first and fourth fiscal quarters are seasonally weaker, and the company posted a net loss in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026 and the first quarter of fiscal 2027. It cited U.S. Department of Agriculture data showing 318.7 million layer hens at September 1, 2026, above the five-year average of 312.1 million, and 19.2 million layers depopulated in 2026 through September 28, compared with 45.2 million in 2025.

The company gives no numerical guidance. It said capacity expansion projects should continue through mid to late fiscal 2027, and that cash, investments, operating cash flow and its credit facility should meet needs for at least the next twelve months.