Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE: FLO) today reported financial results for the company’s 12-week second quarter ended July 18, 2026.
Second Quarter Summary:
Compared to the prior year second quarter where applicable
- Net sales(1) decreased 4.0% to $1.193 billion as favorable price/mix was more than offset by lower volume.
- Net income decreased 30.3% to $40.7 million, representing 3.4% of sales, a 130-basis point decrease, primarily due to a challenging consumer environment, increased marketing expense, and increases in labor and freight costs, partly offset by lower interest expense and moderating ingredient costs. Adjusted net income(2) decreased 30.5% to $44.1 million.
- Adjusted EBITDA(2) decreased 19.2% to $111.3 million, representing 9.3% of net sales, a 180-basis point decrease.
- Diluted EPS decreased $0.09 to $0.19. Adjusted diluted EPS(2) decreased $0.09 to $0.21.
Chairman and CEO Remarks:
“Our second quarter results reflect the continued challenges across the fresh packaged bread category, where macroeconomic pressures, evolving consumer purchasing behavior, and sustained competitive activity created a more difficult operating environment than we anticipated,” said Ryals McMullian, chairman and CEO of Flowers Foods. “While these headwinds weighed on our performance, they also reinforced the actions we are taking to strengthen our competitiveness and improve execution.
“Against this backdrop, we are accelerating initiatives already underway to improve our performance and better align our resources with the opportunities that we believe will create the greatest long-term value. That includes sharpening our value proposition, improving in-store execution, accelerating innovation, winning new business opportunities, and continuing to invest behind our leading brands.
“The relaunch of Nature’s Own is an important example of that strategy in action. Early feedback from customers and distribution partners has been excellent, particularly around the brand’s simpler ingredients, stronger better-for-you positioning, and Non-GMO Project Verified offering at national scale. While this initiative remains in its early stages and has not yet meaningfully contributed to results, positive customer feedback and the brand’s growing presence in the better-for-you segment reinforce our confidence in Nature’s Own’s ability to extend its category leadership over time.
“In addition, consistent with the findings in our comprehensive review, we are taking select actions to further realign our organization and improve our cost structure. These actions are intended to simplify our operations, improve execution, and better position the company to respond to evolving consumer needs.
“Given our first-half performance and the current category environment, we are updating our full-year outlook to reflect a more cautious view for the balance of 2026. While near-term conditions remain challenging, we are confident that the actions underway will strengthen our top-line trajectory and better position our portfolio to meet evolving consumer demand.”
About Flowers Foods
Headquartered in Thomasville, Ga., Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE: FLO) is one of the largest producers of packaged bakery foods in the United States with 2025 net sales of $5.3 billion. Flowers operates bakeries across the country that produce a wide range of bakery products. Among the company’s top brands are Nature’s Own, Dave’s Killer Bread, Canyon Bakehouse, Simple Mills, Wonder, and Tastykake. Learn more at www.flowersfoods.com.
Investor Contact: Tim Perrott, InvestorRelations@flocorp.com
Media Contact: https://flowersfoods.com/contact/