General Mills Misses Estimates (GIS)

Minneapolis, Minnesota-based General Mills, Inc.

announced on Thursday morning that it missed consensus Wall Street estimates. General Mills, Inc reported that its 2nd quarter net earnings rose 8.6% to $613.9 million, or 92 cents per share, up from $565.5 million, or 83 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding special items, the company's earnings came in at 76 cents per share. General Mills, Inc. (

) reported revenue of $4.07 billion, up 0.8% from $4.03 billion a year earlier. According to a survey of analysts by Thomson Reuters, the average Wall Street estimate called for earnings of 78 cents per share, on revenue of $4.11 billion. Chairman and chief executive officer Ken Powell said, “We expected the first half of this fiscal year to be particularly challenging, and it was. We were lapping very strong growth by our company in the same period a year ago, including 16 percent segment operating profit growth and a 22 percent increase in our adjusted diluted earnings per share. In addition, the operating environment in the first half of 2011 included high levels of price promotion by food manufacturers and retailers. So we were pleased to see all three of our operating segments post net sales and volume increases through the first half." The company forecast full-year earnings of $2.46 to $2.48 per share. General Mills, Inc closed the previous trading day at $36.38 per share. Analysts covering the company's stock give it a consensus price target of $40.38 per share. Read more