Tyson Foods, Inc. (TSN)

Tyson Foods, the Arkansas company behind Tyson chicken, Jimmy Dean sausage and Hillshire Farm meats, is changing chief executives 7. Jeff Schomburger, a former Procter & Gamble sales chief and a Tyson director since 2016, was named to take the job from 4 October 2026 7.

He takes over a split business 4. On 3 September the company lowered its outlook for fiscal 2026, its year that ended in early October, to adjusted operating income of $1.85 billion to $2.05 billion 42. In August it had expected $2.1 billion to $2.3 billion 2.

Adjusted operating income is operating profit before items the company treats as one-off, such as legal accruals and plant closures 4. The cut came from beef, where the company now expects a loss of $625 million to $775 million on that measure 4. It blamed volatile cattle prices and "one of the most severe cattle shortages in U.S. history" 4.

Chicken carries the company, with an expected $1.85 billion to $1.95 billion 4. The full-year results are due on 16 November 2026, the first under Schomburger 12. The open questions are how deep the beef loss ran in the final quarter and what the new chief executive plans for fiscal 2027 124.

John W. Tyson founded the company in 1935, and it has grown under four generations of family leadership 1. Its chicken business is fully integrated: it breeds the birds, mills the feed and pays contract farmers to raise them 1.

The turn toward branded food came on 28 August 2014, when Tyson bought The Hillshire Brands Company, maker of Jimmy Dean, Ball Park and Hillshire Farm 17. That year revenue rose 9 percent to a record $37.6 billion 17.

More purchases followed 1819. On 7 June 2017 Tyson bought AdvancePierre, a maker of ready-to-eat sandwiches, and in August 2018 it agreed to buy Keystone Foods, a supplier to restaurant chains, for $2.16 billion in cash 1819. Operating income reached a record $2,931 million in fiscal 2017, led by beef and pork 18.

Tyson described Keystone as a major supplier to the growing global foodservice industry, meaning restaurants and canteens 19. In fiscal 2018 it also sold non-protein businesses to focus on meat 19.

The pandemic years raised costs first and prices after 2021. In fiscal 2020 the company spent about $540 million on direct costs of COVID-19, such as protective equipment, testing, plant downtime and bonuses for frontline workers 20.

Sales grew 9 percent to $47.0 billion in fiscal 2021, mainly on higher average prices, and the sale of the pet treats business brought a $784 million gain 20.

In fiscal 2022 sales grew 13 percent to $53.3 billion, as prices followed rapidly rising costs for labor, freight, livestock and feed 21. Operating income was $4,410 million, the peak of the stretch 21.

Then the cycle turned 22. Chicken faced higher feed costs and too much supply, while beef faced fewer cattle at higher prices 22. In fiscal 2023 sales slipped to $52.9 billion and the company posted an operating loss of $395 million 22.

It wrote down $781 million of goodwill, the premium once paid for acquired businesses, and took $322 million of plant closure charges 22.

Fiscal 2024 brought operating income back to $1,409 million, higher in every segment except beef 23. In fiscal 2025 sales grew 2.1 percent to $54.4 billion, but operating income fell to $1,098 million 1.

The reason was beef: cattle costs rose by about $1,840 million as the national herd stayed small 1. Chicken went the other way, helped by about $340 million of cheaper feed 1.

The company answered with a network optimization plan in fiscal 2025, closing plants and selling storage buildings it then leased back 1. The storage sales brought in $252 million 1.

Price-fixing lawsuits are a recurring cost 1. Fiscal 2025 carried $738 million of legal contingency accruals, money set aside for expected settlements and judgments 1.

Beef

Beef buys fed cattle on the open market and cuts the carcasses into boxed beef and case-ready meat for grocers, restaurants and export 1. It does not raise its own cattle 1.

It is the largest segment by sales, $21.6 billion in fiscal 2025, yet it lost $1,135 million that year 1. Its 11 plants could handle 155,000 head of cattle a week 1.

In the quarter to 27 June 2026 beef sales were $5,391 million, with volume down 15.9 percent, and the segment lost $142 million 2.

The company is shrinking its beef network around three plants in Dakota City, Nebraska, Holcomb, Kansas and Amarillo, Texas 5. It closed Lexington, Nebraska, announced in November 2025, and in August 2026 it ended Joslin, Illinois and the Eagle Mountain, Utah case-ready plant 105.

Lexington had about 3,200 workers, and the Eagle Mountain plant, built with a $300 million investment announced in 2019, was designed for 800 to 1,200 workers 15.

Texas officials named JBS, Tyson Fresh Meats, Cargill and National Beef as the four packers that together hold more than 85 percent of U.S. beef processing 16.

Chicken

Chicken is the steady earner: breaded strips, nuggets, patties and fresh and frozen chicken, plus the breeding stock of its Cobb-Vantress subsidiary 1. Corn, soybean meal and other feed made up roughly 53 percent of the cost of growing a chicken in fiscal 2025 1.

Chicken sales were $16.8 billion in fiscal 2025 and operating income $1,427 million 1. Its 167 facilities could process 42 million birds a week 1.

In the June quarter chicken earned $389 million on sales of $4,255 million, after a $98 million legal accrual 2. Donnie King called it "seven consecutive quarters of growth in Chicken" 2.

The main rival is Pilgrim's Pride, 82.28 percent owned by JBS, with net sales of $18.5 billion in 2025 26. Pilgrim's names Tyson Foods and Hormel Foods as its peer group 26.

Pork

Pork buys hogs mostly from independent farmers and cuts them for grocers, restaurants and export 1. It lost $199 million on sales of $5.8 billion in fiscal 2025, at 6 plants able to handle 451,000 head a week 1.

It earned $60 million in the June quarter, but in September the company said more hogs had pushed down pork prices faster than its livestock costs fell 24.

Prepared Foods and the brands

Prepared Foods makes Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage, Hillshire Farm lunchmeat, Ball Park hot dogs, Wright bacon, State Fair corn dogs and Aidells sausage 1. It earned $898 million on sales of $9.9 billion in fiscal 2025, after $41 million of costs from a product recall 1.

Its margin, profit per dollar of sales, was 12.2 percent in the June quarter, the highest of the five segments 2.

International

International runs chicken operations in Thailand and China, further processing in Malaysia and a business in Saudi Arabia 1. It became a reportable segment of its own in fiscal 2026 29. It sold $601 million in the June quarter 2.

Customers, plants and people

Walmart bought about 18.7 percent of everything Tyson sold in fiscal 2025 1. The company sold in about 140 countries and regions, though exports are less than 10 percent of the business 1.

It employed about 133,000 people, 116,000 of them in the United States, and about 31,000 U.S. workers were covered by union contracts 1.

Wes Morris, a former head of poultry, became chief operating officer on 15 June 2026, replacing Devin Cole 8. Curt Calaway is the finance chief 4. Donnie King, chief executive until October, is expected to stay on the board 6.

Current problems

Antitrust suits over beef, pork and chicken prices remain open 3. On 27 June 2026 the company held $215 million against the beef claims, and it is answering civil investigative demands from the Justice Department about its beef business 3.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton opened his own beef antitrust review in May 2026 16. The Joslin closure came without warning: workers were told on 13 August that their jobs were ending, with pay through 12 October 145.

Illinois officials said about 2,500 union workers lost their jobs 14. A court in Oklahoma imposed a civil penalty of about $0.2 million in December 2025 over poultry litter in the Illinois River watershed 3.

The umbrella, in words

The brands are Tyson, Jimmy Dean, Hillshire Farm, Ball Park, Wright, State Fair, Aidells and ibp 1. The subsidiaries exhibit lists, among others, Tyson Fresh Meats, Tyson Chicken, Tyson Prepared Foods, The Hillshire Brands Company, Cobb-Vantress, Keystone Foods and AdvancePierre Foods 24.

Tyson New Ventures invests in young food technology companies 1. Tyson owns minority stakes in chicken businesses in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, and joint ventures in Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and China 1. It bought Williams Sausage Company for $220 million in fiscal 2023 1.

The Tyson family controls the company 1. Tyson Limited Partnership owns 99.987 percent of the Class B shares, which carry 10 votes each against one for Class A 1.

With the family's Class A shares, that gave them about 71.94 percent of the votes in September 2025 and 71.90 percent in December 125. Chairman John H. Tyson controls 44.445 percent of the partnership's general partner interests 1.

At the 2026 annual meeting, shareholders turned down a proposal to disclose voting results by share class 28.

Tyson reports its fiscal 2026 fourth quarter and full year on 16 November 2026, with a call at 9:00 Eastern Time 12. Its September outlook set revenue growth at 1.5 to 2.0 percent 4.

That outlook kept Prepared Foods at $1.3 billion to $1.35 billion and International at $150 million to $200 million 42. Pork was cut to $200 million to $250 million 4.

In August the company expected capital spending of $0.7 billion to $0.9 billion and free cash flow of $1.3 billion to $1.7 billion for the year 2. It said liquidity, $4.0 billion on 27 June, would stay above its $1.0 billion minimum 2.

In beef, the company is pursuing the sale of its Pasco, Washington plant and plans to restart a second shift at Amarillo as cattle become available 5. King said the actions were expected to begin reducing cost pressures as fiscal 2027 began 4.

The company said in its annual report that it expects network optimization costs over several years, with more charges as further actions are approved 1. About 47 percent of its unionized U.S. workers were at sites negotiating or due to renew contracts in fiscal 2026 1.

Stephens analysts estimated the annual savings from the August closures at $100 million to $150 million, as Talk Business & Politics reported 13.

On the debt side, Tyson sold $500 million of notes due 2031 and $500 million due 2037 in August, and said it intended to use the money to buy back nearer notes 11.

Schomburger said he aims to strengthen the brands with better products and to pursue "AI acceleration" 7. John H. Tyson signed a new employment agreement running to 30 September 2029, with a one-time cash award of $40 million 9.

Past

Tyson Foods' revenue grew from $37 billion in fiscal 2016 to $54 billion in fiscal 2025, up 4.4% a year, rising in 8 of 9 years with the deepest fall of 1% from fiscal 2022 to fiscal 2023; net income was positive in 9 of 10 of those years. Over the three fiscal years to 2025-09-27, the diluted share count shrank about 0.6% a year, and dividends and buybacks returned about 32% of operating cash flow over that span. Earnings per share on a diluted basis moved from $8.04 in fiscal 2018 to $1.33 in fiscal 2025, dropping sharply after a loss of $1.87 per share in fiscal 2023. The company's filings since 2017 show no warning events: no bankruptcy or receivership notice, no debt default notice, no exchange listing notice, no restatement warning, no auditor change, no material cyber incident and no late-report notice. 12

Present

In its latest annual figures on file, for the fiscal year ended 2025-09-27, Tyson Foods reported revenue of $54 billion and a profit of $474 million. In fiscal 2025, the company earned about 3 cents of profit for every dollar of shareholders' money; its products earned about 10 cents per dollar of everything the company owns; it owed about 50 cents per dollar of assets; and its share count grew 0.3% over the year. The company's revenue of $54 billion in fiscal 2025 ranks in the top 12% by size among 42 graded names in its industry family; its net margin of 0.9% ranks in the bottom 30%; its revenue growth of 0.7% a year over the last three filed years ranks in the bottom 37%. The chief executive on the record is King, Donnie (President & CEO), filing under that title since 2021-06-03, 5.4 years; the 22 officers and directors filing in the last fifteen months have been on the record a median of 6.3 years; 13 officer or director changes were reported on Form 8-K since 2023-10-21. 31

Future

The annual report (Form 10-K) for the fiscal year ending 2026-10-03 is due by 2026-12-02. The quarterly report (Form 10-Q) for the quarter ending 2027-01-31 is due by 2027-03-12. The company's cash of $1.2 billion against debt of $7.9 billion leaves a net cash position of -18.3% of assets, in the bottom 37% of its family; cash from operations less capital spending is 2.2% of revenue in the bottom 37%; its gross margin of 6.5% ranks in the bottom 11%; research spending of 0.2% of revenue ranks in the bottom 21%. Revenue grew 0.7% a year over the last three filed years against 4.4% over all ten, slowing; the newest year grew 2.1%; research spending grew 5.3% a year; capital spending fell 19.7% a year. 41

How the company operates

Tyson Foods is a product business in Poultry Slaughtering and Processing. 3

New moves

On 2026-08-24, the company filed a Form 8-K reporting a major agreement signed (item 1.01) and new debt or an obligation taken on (item 2.03). On 2026-09-03, the company filed a Form 8-K with a disclosure to investors under Regulation FD (item 7.01). A story published 2026-09-28 reported the White House's and China's tariff lists valued on 2024 trade, with no implementation date set; the company is adjacent to the event as a food processor affected by tariff policy. 45