Risk Factors Dashboard
Once a year, publicly traded companies issue a comprehensive report of their business, called a 10-K. A component mandated in the 10-K is the ‘Risk Factors’ section, where companies disclose any major potential risks that they may face. This dashboard highlights all major changes and additions in new 10K reports, allowing investors to quickly identify new potential risks and opportunities.
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Our business is subject to various risks and uncertainties. Any of the risks and uncertainties described below could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations and should be considered in evaluating us. Although the risks are organized by headings and each risk is described separately, many of the risks are interrelated. While we believe we have identified and discussed below the key risk factors affecting our business, there may be additional risks and uncertainties that are not presently known or that are not currently believed to be significant that may adversely affect our business, performance, or financial condition in the future.
Market Risks
Deterioration in general economic conditions, an economic recession or periods of slow growth, periods of inflation or increasing interest rates, or economic uncertainty may affect consumers resulting in reductions in consumer spending and have in the past harmed and could continue to harm our business and results of operations.
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Our business and results of operations have in the past been and may continue to be adversely affected by changes in national or global stability and economic conditions, including periods of inflation and rising interest rates; decreased energy and fuel availability coupled with increased oil, energy and fuel costs (including fuel surcharges); reduced consumer confidence and declining consumer spending rates; actual or threatened hostilities or war and/or other geopolitical conflicts; declining benefits or changing eligibility requirements under government food assistance programs for consumers; changing international trade, immigration, and tax policies; recessions and periods of slow growth, decreased availability of capital, volatility in financial markets; rising or sustained high unemployment; supply chain challenges; labor shortages; the effects of governmental initiatives to manage economic conditions; and the negative impacts caused by pandemics, epidemics, and disease, in humans, plants, and animals.
These economic factors could continue to impact our business and operations in a variety of ways, including as follows:
| ● | consumers seeking to reduce their spending on food by shifting purchases to more generic, lower-priced, or other value offerings, or foregoing certain purchases altogether during economic downturns, which could result in a reduction in sales of higher margin products, or a shift in our product mix to lower margin offerings adversely affecting the results of our operations; |
| ● | volatility in commodity and other input costs could substantially impact our result of operations; |
| ● | rising interest rates may adversely impact our results of operations; |
| ● | decreased demand in the restaurant business, particularly casual and fine dining, may adversely affect our Foodservice operations; |
| ● | volatility in the equity markets or interest rates could substantially impact our pension costs and required pension contributions; and |
| ● | it may become more costly or difficult to obtain debt or equity financing to fund operations or investment opportunities, or to refinance our debt in the future, in each case on terms and within a time period acceptable to us. |
Rapid changes in trade policies, including rapidly imposed and threatened tariffs by the U.S. and reciprocal tariffs from U.S. trading partners, continue to create uncertainty and could negatively impact our business and the business of our key business partners.
Rapidly imposed and threatened tariffs by the U.S. and reciprocal tariffs from U.S. trading partners create uncertainty, and increased tariffs result in increased costs for us and for our suppliers, contract manufacturers, farmers, customers, and consumers. We have seen tariff impacts on the costs of our ingredients, packaging (including tinplate steel used for our canned packaging), and other commodities used in making our products. We continue to closely monitor the changing tariff landscape and the impact it has on our business. We cannot guarantee that our strategies to mitigate resulting cost increases, and other input cost increases, including working to increase productivity, cut other costs, and increase pricing on our products, will be fully successful, if at all, sufficient or sustainable.
Inflation, increased interest rates, and other economic conditions including potential recession and credit market disruptions, could negatively impact our business. Inflation, increased interest rates, and other economic conditions including potential recession and credit market disruptions, could negatively impact our business.
Customer and consumer demand for our products may be impacted by heightened inflation, increased or fluctuating tariffs, increased interest rates and other weak economic conditions including recessionary conditions and credit market disruptions and volatility. Customer and consumer demand for our products may be impacted by heightened inflation, increased or fluctuating tariffs, increased interest rates and other weak economic conditions including recessionary conditions and credit market disruptions and volatility. Continued weak economic conditions may adversely impact consumers, causing a decrease in demand for our products from our customers. Additionally, these economic conditions may adversely impact some of our customers, distributors, suppliers, contract manufacturers, and other vendors who are highly leveraged, increasing the risk of uncollectible accounts or trade receivables, extended payment terms, and bankruptcy. Additionally, these economic conditions may adversely impact some of our customers, suppliers and other vendors who are highly leveraged increasing the risk of uncollectible accounts or trade receivables, extended payment terms, and bankruptcy. We have experienced and may continue to experience negative impacts to our business ranging from an inability to collect accounts receivable to supply chain disruptions caused by failures of our counterparties to continue as a going concern due to financial and liquidity issues.
Our business, financial condition, and results of operations have in the past been and could continue to be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by geopolitical conflicts. Our business, financial condition, and results of operations have in the past been and could continue to be adversely affected by disruptions in the global economy caused by geopolitical conflicts.
Our business, financial condition and results of operations have been impacted in the past and may be impacted in the future by disruptions in the global economy. Our business, financial condition and results of operations have been impacted in the past and may be impacted in the future by disruptions in the global economy. The global economy has been negatively impacted by geopolitical conflicts, and related supply disruptions, fuel cost increases, export controls and economic sanctions, including the recent military conflicts in the Middle East,
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continuing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and geopolitical tensions elsewhere including between China and Taiwan. Although we have no direct operations in Iran or elsewhere in the Middle East, Russia, Ukraine, China, or Taiwan, we have experienced, or may experience, shortages in materials from these regions, increased tariffs, sanctions or restrictions relating to these regions, and resulting increased costs or volatility relating to transportation, energy, fuel, and raw materials as a result of impacts from conflicts in these regions, and reduced consumer confidence and consumption due in part to the negative impact of these conflicts and tensions on the global economy. Although we have no direct operations in Russia, Ukraine, the Middle East, China, or Taiwan, we have experienced, or may experience, shortages in materials from these regions, increased tariffs, sanctions or restrictions relating to these regions, and resulting increased costs or volatility relating to transportation, energy, and raw materials as a result of impacts from conflicts in these regions, and reduced consumer confidence and consumption due in part to the negative impact of these conflicts and tensions on the global economy. Further escalations of geopolitical tensions related to military conflicts, including increased or fluctuating trade barriers or restrictions on global trade, could also result in cyberattacks, supply or distribution disruptions, lower consumer demand, and changes to foreign exchange rates and financial markets, any of which may adversely affect our business and supply chain. In addition, the effects of the ongoing conflicts could heighten many of our known risks described in this Item 1A, Risk Factors.
Commodity Risks
We are subject to increases in the price of raw materials, labor, manufacturing, distribution, and other inputs necessary for the production and distribution of our products, and we may not be able to fully offset this input cost inflation on a timely basis or at all.
Many of the components of our cost of goods sold are subject to price increases that are attributable to factors beyond our control, including global economic conditions, trade barriers or restrictions, supply chain disruptions, changes in crop size, product scarcity, demand dynamics, currency rates, water supply, weather conditions, import and export requirements, and other factors. The cost of oil, energy, fuel, raw materials, labor, manufacturing, packaging materials, transportation and logistics, and other inputs related to the production and distribution of our products have increased and may continue to increase unexpectedly. The cost of raw materials, labor, manufacturing, energy, fuel, packaging materials, transportation and logistics, and other inputs related to the production and distribution of our products have increased and may continue to increase unexpectedly.
In recent years, input costs have increased materially and at a rapid rate. We anticipate continued elevated levels of input cost inflation in fiscal 2027, and we could experience higher than expected input cost inflation in specific commodities or across multiple commodities.
The Company uses a variety of strategies to seek to offset this input cost inflation such as increasing productivity, cutting costs, increasing pricing, and engaging in commodity hedging. However, we may not be able to generate sufficient productivity improvements or cost reductions, or effectively hedge for such inflation. However, we may not be able to generate sufficient productivity improvements or cost reductions, timely make offsetting price increases, sustain our price increases, or effectively hedge for such inflation. Commodity price volatility may result in unfavorable commodity positions, the costs of which we may not be able to fully offset on acceptable timelines or at all.
Furthermore, our efforts to offset these increasing costs through offsetting price increases and making changes to package sizes may not be timely, sufficient, or sustainable. Such efforts may be rejected by our customers or consumers, and may result in lower sales volumes. To the extent we are unable to offset present and future input cost increases including over sustained periods of elevated input cost inflation, our operating results could be materially and adversely affected.
Increases in commodity costs have in the past and may continue to have a negative impact on profits. Increases in commodity costs have in the past and may continue to have a negative impact on profits.
We use many different commodities such as wheat, corn, oats, various vegetables, vegetable oils, beef, pork, poultry, dairy products, steel, aluminum, and energy. Commodities are subject to price volatility caused by global economic conditions, trade barriers or restrictions on global trade, supply chain disruptions, commodity market fluctuations, supply and demand, currency fluctuations, external conditions such as weather, and changes in governmental agricultural and energy policies and regulations. In addition, recent world events and changes in domestic and global trade policy have increased the risks posed by international trade disputes, tariffs, and sanctions. We procure a wide spectrum of commodities globally and in the past have faced increased prices for commodities sourced from nations that have been impacted by trade disputes, tariffs, or sanctions. Commodity price increases have resulted and may in the future result in increases in raw material, packaging, and energy costs and operating costs. We have experience in hedging against commodity price increases; however, these practices and experience reduce, but do not eliminate, the risk of negative profit impacts from commodity price increases. We do not fully hedge against changes in commodity prices, and the risk management procedures that we use may not always work as we intend.
To mitigate commodity cost increases, we have implemented various strategies that include entering into contracted pricing with certain vendors, procuring commodities in periods of favorable market conditions, or entering into various derivative instruments. These actions may in part mitigate these increased costs, but even by increasing our product prices or implementing cost savings efforts, we may not be able to fully offset these increased costs. Additionally, increased prices may not be sustainable over time and may result in reduced sales volume, which can negatively impact our margins, and profitability.
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Volatility in the market value of derivatives we use to manage exposures to fluctuations in commodity prices will cause volatility in our gross margins and net earnings.
We utilize derivatives to manage price risk for some of our principal ingredients and energy costs, including grains (wheat and corn), vegetable oils, pork, dairy products, and energy. Changes in the values of these derivatives are generally recorded in earnings currently, resulting in volatility in both gross margin and net earnings. These gains and losses are reported in cost of goods sold in our Consolidated Statements of Earnings within general corporate expenses and are reclassified to segment operating results in the period in which the underlying item being economically hedged is recognized in cost of goods sold. We may experience volatile earnings as a result of these accounting treatments.
Operating Risks
Supply chain disruptions have in the past and could continue to negatively impact our profitability.
In recent years, our industry has been impacted by supply chain disruptions, transportation issues, labor challenges, and continued changes in global economic conditions, which have impacted and are continuing to impact our operations and profitability. Continued inflation, rising interest rates, decreased availability of capital, volatility in financial markets, declining consumer spending rates, recessions, decreased energy availability, and increased energy costs (including fuel surcharges) have in the past caused and are continuing to cause challenges for us, our suppliers, vendors, customers, and consumers of our products and may negatively impact our profitability. Continued inflation, rising interest rates, decreased availability of capital, volatility in financial markets, declining consumer spending rates, recessions, decreased energy availability and increased energy costs (including fuel surcharges) have in the past caused and could continue to cause challenges for us, our suppliers, vendors, customers and consumers of our products and may negatively impact our profitability. These supply chain disruptions have impacted our ability to source ingredients and manufacture and distribute our products, and may make it difficult for our customers to accurately forecast and plan for their purchases of our products to optimize restocking, all of which could negatively impact our business and profitability.
Investments in our facilities and operations, including investments in new facilities, equipment, technologies and digital transformation, may result in periods of decreased production or increased costs and such investments may not achieve the intended financial benefits.
We continue to incur significant costs to upgrade, maintain, and expand production at various facilities, equipment, or technologies. We have committed to investing in automation, connected data, improved equipment, and artificial intelligence to upgrade our operations and increase productivity. Additionally, we have in the past, and may in the future, incur increased costs or periods of decreased production relating to upgrading facilities, equipment and technologies, transferring production among our facilities, utilizing third-party contract manufacturers, closing existing facilities, expanding existing facilities, and opening new facilities.
If the cost of our investments is higher than anticipated, the investments are not sufficient to meet our business needs, we are unable to fully utilize new, upgraded, or expanded facilities, or we are unable to complete our improvement and expansion projects in a timely manner or in accordance with our specifications, we may be delayed in realizing the intended benefits or our financial performance could be negatively affected.
We have in the past been and may in the future be subject to product recalls, product liability and labeling claims, and changing legal or regulatory requirements, any of which could negatively impact our profitability.
We sell food products for human consumption, which creates a risk of legal claims for personal injury resulting from the consumption of our products. We may be subject to liability resulting from claims (and have been or could be subject to lawsuits) alleging that the use or consumption of any of our products causes injury (including pending litigation alleging that certain of our products should be considered “ultra-processed” and consumption of such “ultra-processed” products allegedly causes negative health impacts), illness, or death. Such claims may also allege product contamination or spoilage, product tampering, other adulteration of food products such as foreign material, mislabeling, and misbranding.
In addition, we may take marketplace action such as a voluntary product recall in the event of contamination or quality issues. In addition, we may take marketplace action such as a voluntary product recall in the event of contamination or damage. We have issued recalls and have from time to time been and currently are involved in lawsuits relating to our food products. A significant product liability judgment or a widespread product recall may negatively impact our sales and profitability for a period of time depending on the costs of the recall, the destruction of product inventory, product availability, competitive reaction, customer reaction, and consumer attitudes.
In addition, we could be the target of claims of false or deceptive advertising under U.S. federal and state laws as well as foreign laws, including consumer protection statutes of some states. The marketing of food products has come under increased regulatory scrutiny in recent years, and the food industry has been subject to an increasing number of proceedings, investigations, and claims
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relating to alleged false or deceptive labeling and marketing under federal, state and foreign laws or regulations. Changes in legal or regulatory requirements (such as new food safety requirements, new food labeling requirements for allergens, ingredients, and nutrition information, updated requirements for the use of “healthy” in connection with our food products, and bans on certain food ingredients or packaging materials), evolving interpretations of existing legal or regulatory requirements, or changes in enforcement priorities may result in increased compliance costs, capital expenditures, higher production costs, and other financial obligations that could adversely affect our business or financial results. If we are found to be out of compliance with applicable laws and regulations in these areas, we could be subject to civil remedies, including fines, injunctions, termination of necessary licenses or permits, or recalls, as well as potential criminal sanctions, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Even if a product liability or labeling claim is unsuccessful or is not fully pursued, we may incur significant costs defending against such claims and the negative publicity surrounding any assertion that our products caused illness or injury could adversely affect our reputation with existing and potential customers and our corporate and brand image.
Additionally, as a manufacturer and marketer of food products, we are subject to extensive regulation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and other federal, state, and local government agencies. The Federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act (including as amended by the Food Safety Modernization Act), the Federal Meat, Poultry Products, and Egg Products Inspection Acts, and their respective regulations govern aspects of our operations, including the manufacturing, composition and ingredients, packaging, labeling, and safety of food products. Some aspects of these laws use a strict liability standard for imposing sanctions on corporate behavior; meaning that no intent is required to be established. If we fail to comply with applicable laws and regulations, we may be subject to civil remedies, including fines, injunctions, recalls, or seizures, as well as criminal sanctions, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or results of operations.
Any damage to our reputation could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Maintaining a good reputation is critical to selling our products. Product contamination or tampering, the failure to maintain high standards for product quality, safety, and integrity, including with respect to raw materials and ingredients obtained from suppliers, claims relating to health and wellness or allegations of product quality issues, mislabeling, or contamination, even if untrue, may reduce demand for our products or cause production and delivery disruptions. Product contamination or tampering, the failure to maintain high standards for product quality, safety, and integrity, including with respect to raw materials and ingredients obtained from suppliers, or allegations of product quality issues, mislabeling, or contamination, even if untrue, may reduce demand for our products or cause production and delivery disruptions. Our reputation could also be adversely impacted by any of the following, or by adverse publicity (whether or not valid) relating thereto: product recalls; claims asserted regarding the health implications of certain food products, specific ingredients, food packaging, or food production methods, including claims regarding “ultra-processed” products; the failure to maintain high ethical, social, and environmental standards or achieve stated goals for our operations and activities, including our expectations for our supply chain regarding ethical sourcing; the failure to achieve any stated goals with respect to the nutritional profile of our products; our research and development efforts; or our environmental impact, including use of agricultural materials, packaging, energy use, and waste management. Our reputation could also be adversely impacted by any of the following, or by adverse publicity (whether or not valid) relating thereto: product recalls; claims asserted regarding the health implications of certain food products, specific ingredients, food packaging, or food production methods; the failure to maintain high ethical, social, and environmental standards or achieve stated goals for our operations and activities, including our expectations for our supply chain regarding ethical sourcing; the failure to achieve any stated goals with respect to the nutritional profile of our products; our research and development efforts; or our environmental impact, including use of agricultural materials, packaging, energy use, and waste management.
Moreover, the growing use of social and digital media and shopping, health or product evaluation applications by consumers has greatly increased the speed and extent that information or misinformation and opinions can be shared. Negative or inaccurate posts or comments about us, our brands, or our products on social or digital media or inaccurate information contained in shopping, health or product evaluation applications which may use outputs derived from artificial intelligence applications could seriously damage our brands and reputation. Additionally, negative reaction to our marketing and advertising, including our social media content, could result in damage to our brands and reputation.
Failure to comply with local laws and regulations, to maintain an effective system of internal controls or to provide accurate and timely financial information could also hurt our reputation. Damage to our reputation or loss of consumer confidence in our products for any of these or other reasons could result in decreased demand for our products and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations, as well as require additional resources to rebuild our reputation.
Due to the seasonality of the business, our revenue and operating results may vary from quarter to quarter.
Our sales and cash flows are affected by seasonal cyclicality. For example, sales of frozen foods, including frozen vegetables and frozen complete bagged meals, tend to be marginally higher during the winter months and pie sales peak during the months of November and December due to holidays. Since many of the raw materials we process are agricultural crops, production of these products is predominantly seasonal, occurring during and immediately following the purchase of such crops. For these reasons, sequential quarterly comparisons are not a good indication of our performance or how we may perform in the future. If we are unable to obtain access to working capital when needed or if seasonal fluctuations are greater than anticipated, there could be a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows. If we are unable to obtain access to working capital or if seasonal fluctuations are greater than anticipated, there could be a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows.
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Credit Risks
Our existing and future debt may limit cash flow available to invest in the ongoing needs of our business and could prevent us from fulfilling our debt obligations, financing at attractive borrowing costs, or returning cash to stockholders.
As of May 31, 2026, we had total debt of approximately $7.27 billion, including approximately $7.02 billion aggregate principal amount of outstanding senior unsecured notes, of which $762.5 million aggregate principal amount is maturing in October 2026. Our ability to make payments on our debt, fund our other liquidity needs, make planned capital expenditures, and return cash to stockholders will depend on our ability to generate cash in the future. Our historical financial results have been, and we anticipate that our future financial results will be, subject to fluctuations. Our ability to generate cash, to a certain extent, is subject to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory, and other factors that are beyond our control. We cannot guarantee that our business will generate sufficient cash flow from our operations or that future borrowings will be available to us in an amount sufficient to enable us to make payments of our debt, fund other liquidity needs, make planned capital expenditures, or return cash to stockholders.
Our level of debt could have important consequences. For example, it could:
| ● | make it more difficult for us to satisfy our debt service obligations; |
| ● | require us to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to the payment of debt service, reducing the availability of our cash flow to fund working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, favorable business opportunities, and other general corporate purposes; |
| ● | restrict us from repurchasing shares of our common stock; |
| ● | negatively impact our ability to pay a cash dividend at an attractive level; |
| ● | limit flexibility to plan for, or react to, changes in the businesses and industries in which we operate, which may adversely affect our operating results and ability to meet our debt service obligations; |
| ● | limit our ability to refinance our indebtedness or increase the cost of such indebtedness; |
| ● | increase our vulnerability to adverse economic or industry conditions, including changes in interest rates; |
| ● | limit our ability to obtain additional financing in the future to fund our working capital requirements, capital expenditures, acquisitions, investment, debt service obligations, and other general operating requirements or to enable us to react to changes in our business; or |
| ● | place us at a competitive disadvantage compared to businesses in our industry that have less debt. |
Additionally, any failure to meet required payments on our debt, or failure to comply with any covenants in the instruments governing our debt, could result in an event of default under the terms of those instruments and a downgrade to our credit ratings. In the event of a default, the holders of our debt could elect to declare all the amounts outstanding under such instruments to be due and payable. Any default under the agreements governing our debt and the remedies sought by the holders of such debt could render us unable to pay principal and interest on our debt.
A downgrade to our credit ratings would increase our borrowing costs and could affect our ability to issue debt and access the commercial paper markets, which we actively utilized in fiscal 2026 for our ongoing funding requirements. Additionally, disruptions in the commercial paper market or other effects of volatile economic conditions on the credit markets could also reduce the amount of commercial paper that we could issue and raise our borrowing costs.
We rely on cash from our subsidiaries to meet our cash flow needs and service our debt.
A significant portion of our operations are conducted through our subsidiaries. As a result, our ability to generate sufficient cash flow for our needs is dependent to some extent on the earnings of our subsidiaries and the payment of those earnings to us in the form of dividends, loans, or advances and through repayment of loans or advances from us. Our subsidiaries are separate and distinct legal entities. Our subsidiaries have no obligation to pay any amounts due on our debt to provide us with funds to meet our cash flow
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needs, whether in the form of dividends, distributions, loans, or other payments. In addition, any payment of dividends, loans, or advances by our subsidiaries could be subject to statutory or contractual restrictions. Payments to us by our subsidiaries will also be contingent upon our subsidiaries’ earnings and business considerations. Our right to receive any assets of any of our subsidiaries upon their liquidation or reorganization will be effectively subordinated to the claims of that subsidiary’s creditors, including trade creditors. In addition, even if we are a creditor of any of our subsidiaries, our rights as a creditor would be subordinate to any security interest in the assets of our subsidiaries and any indebtedness of our subsidiaries senior to that held by us. Finally, changes in the laws of foreign jurisdictions in which we operate may adversely affect the ability of some of our foreign subsidiaries to repatriate funds to us.
Competition Risks
Increased competition may result in reduced sales or profits.
The food industry is highly competitive. Retail customer consolidation, proliferation of new, competitive products, consumer behavior shifts including retail channel preferences, and consumer price sensitivity continue to contribute to increased competition. Our principal competitors have substantial financial, marketing, and other resources. Increased competition can reduce our sales due to loss of market share or the need to reduce prices to respond to competitive and customer pressures. Competitive pressures also may restrict our ability to increase prices and maintain those price increases, including price increases made in response to commodity and other cost increases. In addition, we may experience delays between the time that we take inflation-related pricing actions and the time that we realize the impact of those actions on our margins and results of operations. Furthermore, pricing actions in response to increased costs of goods sold may negatively impact demand for our products, our market share, and our sales volumes.
We sell branded, private brand, and customized food products, as well as commercially branded foods. Our branded products have an advantage over private brand products primarily due to advertising and name recognition, although private brand products typically sell at a discount to those of branded competitors. In addition, when branded competitors focus on price and promotion, the environment for private brand producers becomes more challenging because the price difference between private brand products and branded products may become less significant.
In most product categories, we compete not only with other widely advertised branded products, but also with other private label and store brand products that are generally sold at lower prices. A strong competitive response from one or more of our competitors to our marketplace efforts, or a consumer shift towards more generic, lower-priced, or other value offerings, could result in us reducing pricing, increasing marketing or other expenditures, or losing market share. Our margins and profits could decrease if a reduction in prices or increased costs are not counterbalanced with increased sales volume.
In fiscal 2026, we continued to make targeted investments in advertising and promotions in response to market conditions. There is no guarantee that our advertising and promotional activities will be successful or that our competitors will not engage in more aggressive advertising and promotion activities which could negatively impact our sales volumes.
In addition, substantial growth in e-commerce has encouraged the entry of new competitors and business models, intensifying competition by simplifying distribution and lowering barriers to entry. The expanding presence of e-commerce retailers has impacted, and may continue to impact, consumer preferences and market dynamics, which in turn may negatively affect our sales or profits.
If we do not achieve the appropriate cost structure in the highly competitive food industry, our profitability could decrease.
Our future success and earnings growth depend in part on our ability to achieve the appropriate cost structure and operate efficiently in the highly competitive food industry, particularly in an environment of volatile input costs. We continue to implement profit-enhancing initiatives that impact our supply chain and general and administrative functions. These initiatives are focused on cost-saving opportunities in procurement, manufacturing, logistics, and customer service, as well as general and administrative overhead levels. Gaining additional efficiencies may become more difficult over time. Our failure to reduce costs through productivity gains or by eliminating redundant costs resulting from acquisitions could adversely affect our profitability and weaken our competitive position. If we do not continue to effectively manage costs and achieve additional efficiencies, our competitiveness and our profitability could decrease. Additionally, our profitability and ability to achieve the appropriate cost structure depends on our ability to fully utilize our manufacturing capacity. If we do not maximize our manufacturing capacity, our profitability could be negatively impacted.
Failure to modernize and adopt new technologies, including artificial intelligence technology and solutions, could disadvantage us competitively.
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Our success may increasingly depend on driving increased productivity and efficiency by effectively leveraging new technologies, including artificial intelligence technology and solutions (AI). Our competitors may adopt new technologies, modernize their operations, and incorporate AI into their businesses analysis and processes more quickly than we do, driving increased productivity and efficiencies, speeding innovation, and allowing for faster responses to consumer trends, which could have an adverse effect on our competitive position. In addition, if we transition functions to one or more new, or among existing, external service providers, we may experience challenges such as delays, errors, additional costs, service interruptions, and disruptions to our operations that could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition. Additionally, any failure to use new technologies, including AI, in an effective and ethical manner, or failure to adequately protect confidential information or address inaccuracies in AI-generated outputs, may impact our reputation and ability to compete.
Consumer and Customer Risks
We must identify changing consumer preferences and develop and offer food products and packaging to meet their preferences.
Consumer preferences evolve over time and the success of our food products depends on our ability to identify the priorities, tastes and dietary habits of consumers and to offer products that appeal to these preferences. Consumer response to our products may be influenced by a growing number and complexity of factors (as well as media, social media, and regulatory activity impacting such factors), including taste, nutrition, pack and portion sizes, and concerns of consumers regarding broader health and wellness perceptions, obesity, product attributes, ingredients, food production methods, sourcing of packaging materials, use of organic or natural ingredients, human rights impacts, environmental impacts, recyclability of packaging and local sourcing of ingredients. Continued focus on wellness and growing use of weight loss medication has caused, and may continue to cause, shifts in consumer preferences and, if we fail to anticipate and appropriately respond to customer preferences, may impact our product sales, financial condition, and operating results.
Introduction of new products and product extensions including variations of pack and portion sizes requires significant development and marketing investment. If our products fail to meet changing consumer preferences or habits or are not perceived by consumers as delivering value, or if we fail to introduce new and improved products or fail to offer alternative pack and portion size offerings on a timely basis, then the return on that investment will be less than anticipated and our strategy to grow sales and profits with investments in acquisitions, marketing, and innovation will be less successful. If our products fail to meet changing consumer preferences or habits or are not perceived by consumers as delivering value, or if we fail to introduce new and improved products on a timely basis, then the return on that investment will be less than anticipated and our strategy to grow sales and profits with investments in acquisitions, marketing, and innovation will be less successful. Similarly, demand for our products could be affected by consumer concerns or perceptions regarding the health effects of, and changes in regulatory restrictions on, certain packaging materials (such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances commonly referred to as PFAS), food production methods, ingredients such as colors or preservatives, sodium, trans fats, sugar, genetically modified ingredients, or other product attributes. Similarly, demand for our 13 Table of Contentsproducts could be affected by consumer concerns or perceptions regarding the health effects of, and changes in regulatory restrictions on, certain packaging materials (such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances commonly referred to as PFAS), food production methods, ingredients such as colors or preservatives, sodium, trans fats, sugar, genetically modified ingredients, or other product attributes. New or changing limitations on inclusion of our products under government food assistance programs for consumers may also negatively impact demand for our products.
Changes in our relationships with significant customers, including our largest customer, could adversely affect us. Changes in our relationships with significant customers, including our largest customer, could adversely affect us.
During fiscal 2026, our 10 largest customers accounted for approximately 60% of our consolidated net sales, with our largest customer, Walmart, Inc. and its affiliates, accounting for approximately 29% of our consolidated net sales. There can be no assurance that Walmart, Inc. and other significant customers will continue to purchase our products in the same quantities or on the same terms as in the past, particularly as increasingly powerful retailers continue to demand lower pricing. The loss of a significant customer or a material reduction in sales to a significant customer could materially and adversely affect our product sales, financial condition, and results of operations.
Our customers are generally not contractually obligated to purchase from us and their decision to purchase from us is driven by multiple factors, including consumer preferences and demand, price, product quality, customer service performance, availability, and other factors. Strategic and financial goals of our customers can impact their purchasing decisions, including store space allocation among product categories and shelf placement of our products.
The sophistication and buying power of our customers could have a negative impact on profits.
Our customers, such as supermarkets, warehouse clubs, and food distributors, have continued to consolidate, resulting in fewer customers on which we can rely for business. These consolidations, the growth of supercenters, and the growth of e-commerce customers have produced large, sophisticated customers with increased buying power and negotiating strength who are more capable of resisting price increases and who can demand lower pricing, increased promotional programs, or specialty tailored products. In addition, larger retailers have the scale to develop supply chains that permit them to operate with reduced inventories or to develop and market their own retailer brands. These customers may also in the future use more of their shelf space, currently used for our products, for their store brand products. We continue to implement initiatives to counteract these pressures. However, if the larger size of these customers results in additional negotiating strength and/or increased private label or store brand competition, our profitability could decline.
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Consolidation also increases the risk that adverse changes in our customers’ business operations or financial performance will have a corresponding material adverse effect on us. For example, if our customers cannot access sufficient funds or financing, then they may delay, decrease, or cancel purchases of our products, or delay or fail to pay us for previous purchases.
Third-Party Partner Risks
Disruptions to our supply chain have had and could continue to have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Our ability to make, move, and sell our products is critical to our success. Disruptions to our supply chain, including disruptions to our third-party manufacturing or transportation and distribution capabilities, due to labor shortages, increased labor costs, weather, including any potential effects of climate change, natural disaster, fire or explosion, terrorism, strikes, government action, geopolitical turmoil, pandemics, or other reasons beyond our control or the control of our suppliers and business partners, could impair our ability to manufacture or sell our products. Failure to take adequate steps to mitigate the likelihood or potential impact of such events, or to effectively manage such events if they occur, particularly when a product is sourced from a single supplier or location, could adversely affect our business or financial results. In addition, disputes with significant suppliers, including disputes regarding pricing or performance, could adversely affect our ability to supply products to our customers and could materially and adversely affect our product sales, financial condition, and results of operations.
Although most of our products are manufactured in North America and we source the significant majority of our ingredients and raw materials from North America, global supply has at times been and may continue to be constrained, which has caused and may continue to cause the price of certain ingredients and raw materials used in our products to increase and/or we may experience disruptions to our operations. Additionally, although we have no direct operations in Iran or elsewhere in the Middle East, Russia, Ukraine, China, or Taiwan, we have experienced, and may again experience, shortages in materials from these regions, increased tariffs, sanctions or restrictions relating to these areas, and increased costs or volatility relating to transportation, energy, and raw materials impacted by these regions, and reduced consumer confidence and consumption in these regions due in part to the negative impact of military conflicts and rising tensions in these areas on the global economy. Additionally, although we have no direct operations in Russia, Ukraine, the Middle East, China, or Taiwan, we have experienced, or may experience, shortages in materials from these regions, increased tariffs, sanctions or restrictions relating to these areas, and increased costs or volatility relating to transportation, energy, and raw materials impacted by these regions, and reduced consumer confidence and consumption in these regions due in part to the negative impact of military conflicts and rising tensions in these areas on the global economy. To date, these conflicts have not had a material impact on our business, financial condition, or results of operations, but continued geopolitical turmoil may negatively impact our supply chain and our ability to manufacture or sell our products. To date, these conflicts have not had a material impact on our business, financial condition, or results 14 Table of Contentsof operations, but continued geopolitical turmoil may negatively impact our supply chain and our ability to manufacture or sell our products.
Dependency on contract manufacturing arrangements could impact our sales volume and adversely affect our results of operations.
Our businesses periodically enter into contract manufacturing arrangements with third-party manufacturers of products. The terms of these agreements vary. Although many agreements are for a relatively short period of time, some of our contract manufacturing agreements are for extended periods. Volumes produced under each of these agreements can fluctuate significantly based upon the product’s life cycle, product promotions, alternative production capacity, and other factors, none of which are under our direct control. Our future ability to enter into, maintain or expand these contract manufacturing arrangements is not guaranteed, and an inability for the Company to obtain favorable contract manufacturing pricing or sufficient contract manufacturing availability or production capacity could have a significant negative impact on sales volume. Our future ability to enter into or maintain contract manufacturing arrangements is not guaranteed, and an inability for the Company to obtain favorable contract manufacturing pricing or sufficient contract manufacturing availability or production capacity could have a significant negative impact on sales volume.
As we outsource certain functions, we become more dependent on the third parties performing those functions. As we outsource certain functions, we become more dependent on the third parties performing those functions.
As part of a concerted effort to achieve cost savings and efficiencies, we have entered into agreements with third-party service providers under which we have outsourced certain information systems, sales, finance, accounting, and other functions, and we may enter into managed services agreements with respect to other functions in the future. If any of these third-party service providers do not perform according to the terms of the agreements, or if we fail to adequately monitor their performance, including their use of new AI technologies, we may not be able to achieve the expected cost savings or we may have to incur additional costs to correct errors made by such service providers, and our reputation could be harmed. If any of these third-party service providers do not perform according to the terms of the agreements, or if we fail to adequately monitor their performance, including their use of new artificial intelligence technologies, we may not be able to achieve the expected cost savings or we may have to incur additional costs to correct errors made by such service providers, and our reputation could be harmed. Depending on the function involved, such errors may also lead to business interruption, damage or disruption of information technology systems, processing inefficiencies, the loss of or damage to intellectual property or non-public company sensitive information, effects on financial reporting, litigation or remediation costs, or damage to our reputation, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business.
In addition, if we transition functions to one or more new, or among existing, external service providers, we may experience challenges such as delays, errors, additional costs, service interruptions, and disruptions to our operations that could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition.
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Our operations are dependent on a wide array of third parties.
The success of our end-to-end supply chain relies on the continued performance of a wide array of third parties. Suppliers, contract manufacturers, third-party outsourcers, warehousing partners, and transportation providers are among our critical partners. Although we take steps to qualify and audit third parties with whom we do business, we cannot guarantee that all third parties will perform dependably or at all. It is possible that events beyond our control, such as operational failures, financial failure, labor issues, cybersecurity events, pandemics, epidemics, and disease, in humans and animals, or other issues could impact our unaffiliated third parties. If our third parties fail to deliver on their commitments, introduce unplanned risk to our operations, or are unable to fulfill their obligations, we could experience manufacturing challenges, shipment delays, increased costs, or lost revenue.
We may be negatively impacted by cybersecurity incidents involving third parties in our supply chain.
In the past, we have been impacted by cyber breaches experienced by third parties in our supply chain. If any of our third-party service providers or any other third parties in our supply chain experience a cyber breach or system failure, their businesses may be negatively impacted, which can disrupt our end-to-end supply chain or affect our ability to fulfill customer orders, both of which could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Legal, Regulatory, and Environmental Risks
If we fail to comply with the many laws applicable to our business, we may face lawsuits or incur significant fines and penalties. In addition, changes in such laws may lead to increased costs.
Our business is subject to a variety of governmental laws, regulations and executive orders, including food and drug laws, environmental laws, laws related to advertising and marketing practices, accounting standards, taxation requirements, competition laws, labor and employment laws, data privacy laws, human rights laws, and anti-corruption laws in and outside of the United States. Our operations are subject to various laws and regulations administered by federal, state, local and foreign government agencies, including the United States Department of Agriculture, the Federal Food and Drug Administration, the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Labor. Our 15 Table of Contentsoperations are subject to various laws and regulations administered by federal, state, local and foreign government agencies, including the United States Department of Agriculture, the Federal Food and Drug Administration, the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Labor. In particular, the processing, packaging, transportation, storage, distribution, advertising, labeling, quality, and safety of food products, the health and safety of our employees, and the protection of the environment are each subject to governmental regulation. Additionally, we are subject to data privacy and security regulations, tax and securities regulations, accounting and reporting standards, and other financial laws and regulations. Our failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations could subject us to investigations, enforcement actions, lawsuits, administrative penalties, and civil remedies, including fines, injunctions, and recalls of our products.
New and changing extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws and regulations that recently have been, and are being, implemented in the United States and Canada may increase our costs or require us to contribute funding to support recycling and waste processing infrastructure by making manufacturers, like Conagra, responsible for the cost of disposal of food packaging after consumer use. These EPR laws and regulations also may require us to use more post-consumer recycled material in our packaging or switch to other types of packaging to meet future recyclability requirements, which may further increase our costs. Additionally, we may suffer losses if changes to regulations require us to change the ingredients we use or how we process, package, transport, store, distribute, advertise, or label our products or include changes that increase our risk of liability for deceptive advertising. We may suffer losses if changes to regulations require us to change the ingredients we use or how we process, package, transport, store, distribute, advertise, or label our products or include changes that increase our risk of liability for deceptive advertising. Moreover, depending on the implementation of such regulatory changes, we could have increased risk for a product recall or have existing inventory become unsellable, which could materially and adversely impact our product sales, financial condition and operating results.
Changes to U.S. health policies can result in increasing scrutiny on the food industry and changes to consumer preferences. In 2025, the Food and Drug Administration called on the food industry to phase out the approved use of petroleum-based synthetic dyes in food products, and the Make America Healthy Again Commission, led by the U.S. Health and Human Services and established by an Executive Order in 2025, published assessment and strategy reports discussing factors allegedly contributing to chronic disease, including diet. Additionally, some states have proposed initiatives or adopted laws and regulations that ban or impose unique labeling requirements or restrictions for certain food ingredients and food products including packaging. While the full impact of these state and federal level activities on our products and business remains uncertain, inconsistent laws and changes to laws and regulations regarding food ingredients, production methods, labeling, packaging, or nutritional requirements could or will require reformulation of certain products, which in turn could impact demand for our products or increase our compliance costs, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Changes in applicable laws or regulations or evolving interpretations thereof, including increased government regulations to limit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions as a result of concern over climate change, may result in increased compliance costs, capital expenditures, and other financial obligations for us, which could affect our profitability or impede the production or distribution of our products, and affect our net operating revenues.
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In addition, changes in other laws and regulations, including changes in taxation requirements and new or increased tariffs on products imported from certain countries, may lead to increased costs and could negatively affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Our operations are also subject to extensive and increasingly stringent regulations administered by the Environmental Protection Agency and similar state, local, and foreign government agencies, which pertain to the discharge of materials into the environment and the handling and disposition of waste. Failure to comply with these regulations can have serious consequences, including civil and administrative penalties and negative publicity. Changes in applicable laws or regulations or evolving interpretations thereof, including increased government regulations to limit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions as a result of concern over climate change, may result in increased compliance costs, capital expenditures, and other financial obligations for us, which could affect our profitability or impede the production or distribution of our products, and affect our net operating revenues.
Climate change, or legal, regulatory, or market measures to address climate change, may negatively affect our business and operations.
Climate change related adverse weather conditions, water shortages, and natural disasters may reduce agricultural productivity leading to decreased availability or less favorable pricing for commodities necessary for our products, including wheat, tomatoes, and various vegetables. Climate change related reduced availability or increased cost of water may also affect our manufacturing and distribution operations, or disrupt the productivity of our facilities and supply chain.
Continued concern over climate change may result in additional regional, federal, and/or global legal and regulatory requirements including changes to energy policies, increased mandatory disclosure obligations, and carbon pricing regulations or taxes. The increasing concern over climate change also may result in more regional, federal, and/or global legal and regulatory requirements including changes to energy policies, increased mandatory disclosure, carbon pricing regulations or carbon taxes. If such regulations are more aggressive than our climate risk mitigation measures, we may experience significant increases in our costs of operation and delivery, including, increasing regulation of fuel emissions.
We may incur increased costs if such regulatory actions result in sustained elevated compliance costs. Collecting, measuring and analyzing information relating to such matters can be costly, time-consuming, dependent on third-party cooperation and unreliable. Furthermore, methodologies for measuring, tracking and reporting on such matters continue to change over time, which requires our processes and controls for such data to evolve as well. Furthermore, methodologies for measuring, tracking and reporting on such matters continue to change over time, which requires our processes and controls for such data to evolve as well.
Additionally, we may face increased pressure from customers, consumers, investors, activists and other stakeholders to modify our products or operations away from ingredients or activities that are considered to have a higher impact on climate change.
From time to time, we establish strategies and expectations related to climate change and other environmental matters. Our ability to achieve any such strategies or expectations is subject to numerous factors and conditions outside of our control, including evolving regulatory standards, the pace of scientific and technological developments, increased costs, availability of financing, market trends, conduct of third-party manufacturers and suppliers, supply chain constraint or disruptions, and changes in carbon markets or carbon taxes. Examples of such factors include evolving regulatory and other standards, processes, and assumptions, the pace of scientific and technological developments, increased costs and the availability of requisite financing, market trends that may alter business opportunities, the conduct of third-party manufacturers and suppliers, constraint or disruptions to our supply chain, and changes in carbon markets or carbon taxes. We may be required to expend significant resources to achieve these strategies and expectations. There can be no assurance of the extent to which any of our strategies or expectations will be achieved, or that any future investments we make will meet stakeholder expectations. Failures or delays (whether actual or perceived) in achieving our strategies or expectations related to climate change and other environmental matters could adversely affect our business, operations, and reputation, and increase risk of litigation. Failures or delays (whether actual or perceived) in achieving our strategies or expectations related to climate change and other environmental matters could adversely affect our business, operations, and reputation, and increase risk of litigation.
Cybersecurity, Information Technology Risks, and AI-Related Risks
Our business operations could be disrupted if our information technology systems fail to perform adequately.
We rely on information technology networks and systems, including the Internet, to process, transmit, and store information, to manage and support a variety of business processes and activities, and to comply with regulatory, legal, and tax requirements. Our information technology systems, some of which are dependent on services provided by third parties, may be vulnerable to damage, interruption, or shutdown due to any number of causes outside of our control such as catastrophic events, natural disasters, fires, power outages, systems failures, telecommunications failures, employee error or malfeasance, security breaches, computer viruses or other malicious codes, ransomware, unauthorized access attempts, denial of service attacks, phishing, social engineering, hacking, and other cyberattacks. Additionally, the increased regularity of employees, including third-party employees, accessing technology infrastructure remotely may create additional information technology and data security risks. Additionally, the increase in hybrid working where employees, including third-party employees, access technology infrastructure remotely may create additional information technology and data security risks.
If we do not allocate and effectively manage the resources necessary to build and sustain the proper technology infrastructure and associated automated and manual control processes, including related to new AI technologies, we could be subject to billing,
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payment, and collection errors, business disruptions, or damage resulting from security breaches. Failure to implement new technologies could result in lower productivity and higher costs. If any of our significant information technology systems suffer severe damage, disruption, or shutdown, and our business continuity plans do not effectively resolve the issues in a timely manner, our product sales, financial condition, and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected, and we could experience delays in reporting our financial results. In addition, there is a risk of business interruption, violation of data privacy laws and regulations, litigation, and reputational damage from leakage of confidential information. Any interruption of our information technology systems could have operational, reputational, legal, and financial impacts that may have a material adverse effect on our business.
We are exposed to cybersecurity risk through our information systems and our use of third-party information systems.
While we have experienced threats to our data and systems, to date, we are not aware that we have experienced a breach that had a material impact on our operations or business. Cyberattacks are occurring more frequently, are constantly evolving in nature and are becoming more sophisticated. Additionally, continued geopolitical turmoil and military conflicts have heightened the risk of cyberattacks. While we attempt to continuously monitor and mitigate against cyber risks, including through leveraging multi-sourced threat intelligence, investing in new technologies, and developing third-party cybersecurity risk management capability in support of strategic suppliers, we may incur significant costs in protecting against or remediating cyberattacks or other cyber incidents.
Sophisticated cybersecurity threats pose a potential risk to the security and viability of our information technology systems, as well as the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the data stored on those systems, including cloud-based platforms. Our initiatives to continue to modernize our operations, adopt new technology to increase efficiency, and increase data digitalization and improve connectively of our production facilities may increase our potential exposure to cybersecurity risks and add additional complexity to our cybersecurity program. Our initiatives to continue to modernize our operations, increase data digitalization and improve connectively of our production facilities may increase our potential exposure to cybersecurity risks and add additional complexity to our cybersecurity program.
Similarly, rapid development and increased adoption of AI technology in our operations may create the need for rapid modifications to our cybersecurity program and increase our cybersecurity risks. Furthermore, the technology and techniques used in cyberattacks are also rapidly evolving. Threat actors are increasingly leveraging AI and machine learning techniques, such as generative AI-enabled phishing, deepfake impersonations, automated vulnerability discovery, adaptive malware, and large-scale credential-stuffing campaigns, to execute more sophisticated cyberattacks that may be more difficult to detect and defend against. We can provide no assurance that our cybersecurity program will be able to evolve at a pace sufficient to address all of these threats or that our defenses will remain effective against attacks utilizing these advanced capabilities.
While we maintain a cyber insurance policy that provides coverage for security incidents, we cannot be certain that our coverage will be adequate for liabilities actually incurred, that insurance will continue to be available to us on financially reasonable terms, or at all, or that any insurer will not deny coverage as to any future claim. While we maintain a cyber insurance policy that provides coverage for security incidents, we cannot be certain that our coverage will be adequate for liabilities actually incurred, that insurance will continue to be available to us on financially reasonable terms, or at 17 Table of Contentsall, or that any insurer will not deny coverage as to any future claim. Increased cyber incidents, both in terms of frequency and scale, may impact the availability and cost of cyber insurance globally which may negatively impact our ability to maintain sufficient coverage. There is no assurance that the measures we have taken to protect our information technology systems will prevent or limit the impact of a future cyber incident.
We are subject to a variety of privacy and data protection laws and regulations.
Additionally, we regularly move data across national borders to conduct our operations and, consequently, are subject to a variety of laws and regulations in the United States and other jurisdictions regarding privacy, data protection, and data security, including those related to the collection, storage, handling, use, disclosure, transfer, and security of personal data, including the European Union General Data Protection Regulation, the California Privacy Rights Act, and similar laws in other countries, states and jurisdictions.
Our efforts to comply with privacy and data protection laws may impose significant costs and challenges that are likely to increase over time.
We are exposed to risk based on our increasing adoption and use of AI in a rapidly-evolving regulatory landscape.
As we increase the use of AI in our business to support operational efficiencies, supply chain management, product development, marketing capabilities, human capital management, and administrative support, the challenges associated with properly managing such use increase, as does the risk to us of reputational harm, competitive harm, and legal liability that could adversely affect our business. The use of AI exposes us to potential information deficiencies, inaccuracies or misleading output, data privacy breaches, inadequate protection of confidential information and intellectual property rights, infringement on third parties’ intellectual property rights, flawed decision-making, and increased costs that may have a negative impact on our business.
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Further, the global legal, regulatory, and ethical landscape surrounding AI is rapidly evolving and remains uncertain. Compliance with new and evolving laws, regulations, or industry standards relating to AI may require significant investment and resources, may limit our ability to use AI, and could result in reputational harm, legal liability, or other adverse effects on our operations and overall business. The rapidly evolving and expanding use of AI, along with the introduction of increasingly disparate requirements across the various U.S. jurisdictions in which we operate, as well as evolving international privacy and cybersecurity regimes, complicates our compliance obligations and may require adaptation of our technologies, practices, and operations, which could increase our costs.
Employee Risks
We rely on our management team and other key personnel.
We depend on the skills, working relationships, and continued services of key personnel, including our experienced management team. In addition, our ability to achieve our operating goals depends on our ability to identify, attract, hire, train, retain, and develop qualified individuals in the locations we need. If key employees terminate their employment, our business activities may be adversely affected by shortages of personnel with the skills, knowledge and talent that we need to effectively run and grow our business. Our business activities may also be adversely affected if we are unable to locate suitable replacements for any key employees who leave or to offer employment to potential replacements on reasonable terms.
We offer robust training and development programs to help our employees develop the skills they need. Increased employee turnover results in significant time and expense relating to identifying, recruiting, hiring, relocating and integrating qualified individuals. High employee turnover of key personnel may deplete our institutional knowledge base and erode our competitiveness.
We compete with other companies both within and outside of our industry for talented personnel. We continue to experience increased competition for talent and at times, in recent years, have experienced periods of increased employee turnover. We could experience shortages of employees with specialized skills, such as skills in emerging technologies including AI and data analytics, especially emerging technology enabling us to formulate our business strategies based on consumer insights. We could experience shortages of employees with specialized skills, such as skills in emerging technologies including artificial intelligence and data analytics, especially emerging technology enabling us to formulate our business strategies based on consumer insights. If we do not successfully compete for the best talent, our business activities may be adversely affected.
A number of factors may adversely affect the labor force available to us at our multiple locations or increase labor costs, including high employment levels, population migration, unemployment programs and subsidies, immigration laws, and other government regulations and volatility in general macroeconomic factors impacting the labor market. Although we have not experienced any material labor shortage to date, over the past few years, we have experienced a tighter and increasingly competitive labor market. A sustained labor shortage or increased turnover rates within our employee base (or within the employee base of key suppliers or third-party manufacturers), could negatively affect our supply chain or our ability to efficiently operate our manufacturing and distribution facilities and overall business.
Our results could be adversely impacted as a result of increased pension, labor, and people-related expenses.
Our labor costs include wages and the cost of providing employee benefits including pension, health and welfare, and severance benefits. The annual cost of providing these benefits varies as a result of factors such as the availability of skilled labor, the costs of health care, and the outcome of collectively bargained wage and benefit agreements. In addition, changes in interest rates, mortality rates, health care costs, early retirement rates, investment returns, and the market value of plan assets can affect the funded status of our defined benefit plans and cause volatility in the future funding requirements of the plans. A significant increase in our wage and benefit costs, pension obligations, or future funding requirements could have a negative impact on our results of operations and cash flows from operations.
Goodwill or Other Intangible Assets Risks
Impairment in the carrying value of goodwill or other intangibles could result in the incurrence of impairment charges and negatively impact our net worth.
As of May 31, 2026, we had goodwill of $8.12 billion and other intangibles of $1.83 billion. The net carrying value of goodwill represents the fair value of acquired businesses in excess of identifiable assets and liabilities as of the acquisition date (or subsequent impairment date, if applicable). The net carrying value of other intangibles represents the fair value of trademarks, customer relationships, and other acquired intangibles as of the acquisition date (or subsequent impairment date, if applicable), net of accumulated amortization. Goodwill and other acquired intangibles expected to contribute indefinitely to our cash flows are not amortized, but must
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be evaluated by management at least annually for impairment. Amortized intangible assets are evaluated for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstance indicate that the carrying amounts of these assets may not be recoverable. Impairments to goodwill and other intangible assets may be caused by multiple factors including increasing competitive pressures, reduced demand for our products, sustained stock price decline, disruption in our operations as a result of internal and external events including disruptions involving contract manufacturing arrangements, declining consumer sentiment, macroeconomic uncertainties, lower than expected revenue and profit growth rates, changes in industry earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization multiples, changes in discount rates based on changes in cost of capital (interest rates, etc. Impairments to goodwill and other intangible assets may be caused by multiple factors including increasing competitive pressures, reduced demand for our products, disruption in our operations as a result of internal and external events including disruptions involving contract manufacturing arrangements, lower than expected revenue and profit growth rates, changes in industry earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization multiples, changes in discount rates based on changes in cost of capital (interest rates, etc. ), or the bankruptcy of a significant customer. Any impairment to goodwill or other intangible assets could negatively impact our net worth and results of operations. Any impairment to goodwill or other intangible assets could negatively impact our net worth.
Securities Risks
We may not repurchase the full share repurchase value currently authorized.
The Company’s total remaining share repurchase authorization as of May 31, 2026 was $837.6 million of our outstanding common stock. This authorization does not obligate us to repurchase any shares at any time. The amount and timing of any stock repurchases will be determined based on multiple factors including stock price, liquidity, economic and market conditions. We cannot guarantee that we will continue share repurchases up to the authorized amount, and furthermore, if we do repurchase any of our stock, such action may not result in increased value for our stockholders.
Strategic Transactions Risks
If we are unable to successfully identify, complete or realize the benefits from strategic acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures or investments, our financial results could be materially and adversely affected.
From time to time, we evaluate acquisition candidates that may strategically fit our business objectives. If we are unable to complete acquisitions or successfully integrate and develop acquired businesses, our financial results could be materially and adversely affected.
Similarly, we may consider divesting businesses that do not meet our strategic objectives or do not meet our growth or profitability targets. We may not be able to complete desired divestitures on terms favorable to us. If we do complete such desired divestitures, gains or losses on the sales of, or lost operating income from, those businesses may affect our profitability and margins.
Moreover, in connection with contemplated or completed acquisitions or divestitures, we may incur related asset impairment charges that reduce our profitability.
Our acquisition, divestiture, joint venture and investment activities may present financial, managerial, and operational risks.
Our acquisition, divestiture, joint venture and investment activities may present certain risks, including diversion of management attention from existing businesses, difficulties integrating personnel and financial and other systems, effective and immediate implementation of control environment processes across our employee population, adverse effects on existing business relationships with suppliers and customers, inaccurate estimates of fair value made in the accounting for acquisitions and amortization of acquired intangible assets which would reduce future reported earnings, potential loss of customers or key employees, and indemnities and potential disputes with sellers, joint venture partners and investment targets. Any of these factors could affect our sales, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Similarly, our divestiture activities may present financial, managerial, and operational risks such as diversion of management attention from existing businesses. Our divestiture activity may result in impairment charges and gains or losses on such sales, or lost operating income from such divested businesses, may impact our profitability. Our divestiture activity may result in impairment charges and gains or losses on such sales, or lost 19 Table of Contentsoperating income from such divested businesses, may impact our profitability. Additionally, divestitures may present difficulties separating personnel and financial and other systems, possible need for providing transition services to buyers, adverse effects on existing business relationships with suppliers and customers and indemnities and potential disputes with the buyers and others. We may not be able to complete, on terms favorable to us or at all, desired divestitures of businesses that do not meet our strategic objectives. Any of these factors could adversely affect our product sales, financial condition, and results of operations.
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Intellectual Property Risks
Our intellectual property rights are valuable, and any inability to protect them could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Our intellectual property rights, including our trademarks, licensing agreements, trade secrets, patents, and copyrights, are a significant and valuable aspect of our business. We attempt to protect our intellectual property rights by pursuing remedies available to us under trademark, copyright, trade secret, and patent laws, as well as entering into licensing, third-party nondisclosure and assignment agreements and policing of third-party misuses of our intellectual property. If we fail to adequately protect the intellectual property rights we have now or may acquire in the future, or if there occurs any change in law or otherwise that serves to reduce or remove the current legal protections of our intellectual property, then our financial results could be materially and adversely affected.
Certain of our products are sold under licensing arrangement with others, including our licensing arrangement with Dolly Parton, and our licenses of the P.F. Chang’s®, Bertolli®, Wendy’s®, and Libby’s® trademarks. Additionally, we have licensed certain of our intellectual property rights to third parties, such as Alexia® and Marie Callender’s®. While many of these licensing arrangements are perpetual in nature, others must be periodically renegotiated or renewed pursuant to their terms. If in the future we are unable to renew such a licensing arrangement pursuant to its terms and conditions, or if we fail to renegotiate such a licensing arrangement, then our financial results could be materially and adversely affected.
There is also a risk that other parties may have intellectual property rights covering some of our brands, products, or technology. If any third parties bring a claim of intellectual property infringement against us, we may be subject to costly and time-consuming litigation, diverting the attention of management and our employees. If we are unsuccessful in defending against such claims, we may be subject to significant damages, injunctions against development and sale of certain products, or we may be required to enter into costly licensing agreements, any of which could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
None.
ITEM 1C. CYBERSECURITY
Risk Management and Strategy
Assessing, Identifying and Managing Material Risks
Our cybersecurity program is focused on assessing, identifying, and managing risks arising out of our use of information technology including the risk of cybersecurity incidents and threats. Our program is informed by recognized frameworks (such as the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework) and leverages external and internal expertise, as appropriate. Our program is integrated into our operations and is widely communicated to employees through annual employee and contractor cybersecurity awareness training, regular awareness exercises, and employee outreach activities including cybersecurity tech talks, on-site digital signage, intranet resources, CEO cybersecurity champion recognition at quarterly town hall meetings, and other targeted communications. These awareness measures are coupled with ongoing implementation of technology aimed at reducing vulnerabilities (including external testing and validation) and to monitor and assess threats. These awareness measures are coupled with ongoing implementation of technology aimed to reduce vulnerabilities (including external testing and validation) and to monitor and assess threats. Our program includes monitoring on an ongoing basis by automated tools that detect threats and trigger alerts for assessment, investigation, and remediation by our internal cybersecurity team.
Integration with Enterprise Risk Management
The cybersecurity program is an important part of the Company’s enterprise risk management (ERM), with our Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer serving on our ERM Committee and our Vice President of ERM serving as the strategic crisis management coordinator under our cybersecurity incident response plan. We have developed processes for managing cybersecurity incidents including clear allocation of responsibilities and defined incident classifications, escalation requirements based on materiality, and prioritization parameters. We have developed processes for managing cybersecurity 20 Table of Contentsincidents including clear allocation of responsibilities and defined incident classifications, escalation requirements based on materiality, and prioritization parameters.
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Cybersecurity Program Components
Our cybersecurity program structure consists of our cybersecurity operations center; identity and access management; governance, risk, and compliance; architecture; and operational technology. Aspects of our program include:
| ● | Activities to assess vulnerabilities including penetration testing, red teaming, tabletop exercises, and phishing and social engineering drills |
| ● | Engagement with law enforcement and U.S. government agencies, directly and through memberships in various cybersecurity intelligence and risk sharing organizations to help us stay informed about evolving threats |
| ● |
| ● | Technology team collaboration sessions to share information across different teams, geographic areas, and areas of responsibilities |
| ● |
Learnings from these activities are used to inform our training, guide our incident response preparedness and enhance our plans and processes. To further inform our cybersecurity program, we also participate in discussions with third-party service providers who have experienced cybersecurity incidents.
Investment in Cybersecurity Program
The cybersecurity threat landscape is dynamic and volatile, and requires significant investment on the part of the Company in several key areas including investing in our employees through talent recruitment, retention, training and development, investing in external resources including procuring and deploying the correct tools to monitor, evaluate, and address threats, investing employee resources to maintain effective processes, and investing in strategic relationships to monitor evolving risks including third-party service provider vulnerabilities. While our third-party service providers have experienced cybersecurity incidents and we have experienced threats to our data and systems, to date,
Governance
General
| ● | Facilitating risk conversations with cross-functional leaders and teams |
| ● | Partnering with risk owners to develop risk management action plans focused on mitigating the drivers of the enterprise risks |
| ● | Identifying key metrics to objectively assess the risk to the Company applying both a short-term and long-term perspective |
| ● | Informing our strategic planning based on risks assessments after consideration of action plans and residual risk |
| ● | Developing a risk-aware culture throughout the organization |
Our Board of Directors and its Audit / Finance Committee play an active part in overseeing cybersecurity risks relevant to the Company. The Board and its Audit / Finance Committee routinely receive reports from our management and external advisors on critical risk areas.
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Management
The Company maintains a dedicated internal cybersecurity team that is supported by internal and external software, third-party experts, and threat intelligence resources. Members of our cybersecurity team provide cybersecurity reports to our Board, senior leadership team (SLT), and cross-functional leaders and teams. Members of our cybersecurity team provide cybersecurity reports to our Board, SLT, and cross-functional leaders and teams. The internal cybersecurity team is responsible for implementing our cybersecurity strategy including policies, standards, architecture, and processes including our processes for identifying cybersecurity risks and threats and recommending mitigating actions to strengthen cybersecurity resilience. In addition, our internal cybersecurity team is responsible for managing detection, mitigation, and remediation of all cybersecurity incidents.
Throughout fiscal 2026, Conagra’s Cybersecurity Team was led by our
Additionally, members of our internal cybersecurity team have experience in cybersecurity risk management, threat monitoring, threat emulation, penetration testing, cyber incident response management, and data protection. Team members have both individual responsibilities and a team focus, and manage both internal and third-party cybersecurity risk mitigation, covering areas such as network, endpoint device, and e-mail security as well as operations and threat management, monitoring, and response. Our CISO, CIO and CFO are responsible for determining that the Company has appropriate people, process and technology capabilities to identify, mitigate and report on cybersecurity risks to the SLT and Board of Directors.
Our cybersecurity incident response plan provides that our ERM, strategic crises management coordinator is informed about significant cybersecurity incidents for escalation to our internal Incident Disclosure Committee, SLT, and Board, as appropriate in accordance with our strategic crisis management action plan. Our cybersecurity incident response team is responsible for maintaining our cybersecurity incident response plan, which is periodically tested through our tabletop exercises. We have involved outside experts, our strategic crises management coordinator, members of our SLT, and members of our Incident Disclosure Committee in our tabletop exercises and preparedness drills to strengthen these response plans.
Additionally, our Corporate Cybersecurity Steering Committee, chaired by the CISO and whose members include our Senior Vice President, Corporate Controller (our principal accounting officer), as well as other members of the information technology, finance, supply chain, security and facilities, research and development, product, human resources, and legal teams, meets regularly to provide a forum for senior leaders and key stakeholders to strengthen their understanding and strategize on managing cybersecurity challenges at the Company.
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