What Does JM Smucker Offer That Hormel Foods Does Not?
Investors buy Hormel Foods (HRL) and JM Smucker (SJM) for the same basic reasons: reliable grocery brands and quarterly dividends. Hormel sells SPAM, Planters, and Jennie-O turkey, while Smucker sells coffee and Uncrustables. Yet the market has shown a clear favorite recently. Over the past twelve months, Smucker stock returned 15.0%, while Hormel stock lost 14.8%. Is that preference backed by how the two businesses are actually doing?
Smucker Turned More Confident In August, Hormel More Cautious
The direction of the latest forecasts suggests that it is. When Smucker reported earnings on August 26, 2026, it raised three of its main forecasts without lowering any. Those upgrades covered its targets for fiscal 2027, its current fiscal year, for net sales, adjusted earnings per share, and free cash flow. Hormel released its own figures a day later, and it lowered three and raised one.
Smucker’s more confident outlook included updates on its brands. Management now expects high single-digit growth in fiscal 2027 for Uncrustables, an improvement from its previous mid-single-digit outlook. Yet the first-quarter earnings also included a tariff refund worth $0.84 a share, and a refund provides no insight into how the brands are actually selling. Furthermore, even after raising its targets, Smucker still expects its net sales to fall 1% to 2% in fiscal 2027.
At Hormel, the focus was on weaker sales. The company lowered its forecast for organic sales growth in its current fiscal year, 2026, to 1.5% at the midpoint, down from 2.5%. During its August 27 call, management noted that the consumer environment is not improving, citing weak sales volumes across some retail brands.
Smucker Earns A Wider Operating Margin But Owes More
Smucker retains significantly more of each sales dollar before interest and tax. Over the past twelve months, Smucker recorded an operating margin of 19.7%, compared with 6.6% for Hormel. Hormel’s margin could stay thin, as Hormel management expects cost pressure to continue in logistics, grain, and beef.
The tradeoff is that Smucker carries a heavier debt load. Smucker’s debt equals about 55% of its market value, roughly double the 27% level at Hormel. The company is actively working that debt down, however. Management noted that its leverage ratio reached 3 times in the first quarter, tracking a little ahead of expectations, and Smucker is only now beginning to consider share buybacks.
Hormel benefits from the financial flexibility of its lighter debt. The company has paid a dividend for 392 quarters in a row. And on September 30, 2026, Hormel announced an agreement to buy Brakebush Brothers, a chicken company, for a sum equal to about 10% of Hormel’s own market value.
Hormel Has The Lower Trailing Multiple, Smucker Has Grown Faster
Investors pay a lower multiple of reported profits for Hormel stock. Hormel trades at 31.2 times its earnings over the past twelve months, compared with a multiple of 55.6 times for Smucker. That comparison uses reported earnings, which one-time charges have depressed at both companies; on analysts’ forward estimates, Smucker is the cheaper of the two at about 11 times against about 13 times for Hormel.
Smucker, meanwhile, holds the advantage in sales growth. Smucker’s revenue rose 5.1% over the past twelve months, while Hormel’s rose 0.7%. That trend extends over a longer timeline. Over three years, Smucker’s revenue grew 2.7% a year on average, while Hormel’s slipped 0.1% a year.
That wide operating margin at Smucker does not reach the bottom line, however. After accounting for interest, tax, and other expenses, Smucker’s net margin was 2.5%, while Hormel’s was 2.8%.
Do These Measures Favor Smucker Or Hormel?
These metrics paint a split picture. Operational momentum favors Smucker, while leverage favors Hormel, and valuation depends on which earnings you use. Smucker leads on sales growth so far, on operating margin and on the direction of its forecasts. Hormel offers a lower multiple of reported earnings, carries less debt, and maintains a slight edge in net margin.
Ultimately, Smucker appeals to investors prioritizing the faster sales growth so far, while Hormel attracts those who put low debt and a lower trailing multiple first. Yet the growth advantage for Smucker remains the most open to change. The company already expects its net sales to fall 1% to 2% in fiscal 2027. If Smucker posts a decline of that size while Hormel manages to grow its sales, that growth lead will have disappeared.
How To Act On HRL?
Now you know HRL better. And that’s our purpose: to make you informed before you invest your money. However, making a bet on a single stock carries its own risks.
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