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Mccormick & Company Inc. (MKC)
NYSE:MKC

McCormick & Company (MKC) AI Stock Analysis

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MKC

McCormick & Company

(NYSE:MKC)

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Neutral 64 (OpenAI - 5.2)
Rating:64Neutral
Price Target:
$52.00
▲(2.95% Upside)
Action:ReiteratedDate:04/04/26
The score is driven primarily by solid operating fundamentals but tempered by earnings-quality and cash-conversion concerns. Technicals are a major near-term headwind with a pronounced downtrend, while the low P/E and strong dividend yield provide meaningful support. The latest earnings call adds upside via quantified synergy and margin-expansion targets, balanced by elevated leverage and integration execution risk.
Positive Factors
Pro forma scale & cost synergies
The announced Unilever Foods combination creates scale that management expects to convert into roughly $600M run‑rate cost savings over three years (≈2/3 by end of year two). Durable procurement, manufacturing and SG&A efficiencies support sustainable margin expansion and reinvestment capacity.
Negative Factors
Elevated near-term leverage
The transaction is expected to leave pro forma net leverage around 4x at close, forcing a multi-year de‑leveraging plan to reach ~3x. Elevated leverage narrows financial flexibility, increases refinancing risk and constrains discretionary investments until substantial cash generation or asset sales reduce debt.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Pro forma scale & cost synergies
The announced Unilever Foods combination creates scale that management expects to convert into roughly $600M run‑rate cost savings over three years (≈2/3 by end of year two). Durable procurement, manufacturing and SG&A efficiencies support sustainable margin expansion and reinvestment capacity.
Read all positive factors

McCormick & Company (MKC) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)

McCormick & Company Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description
McCormick & Company, Incorporated manufactures, markets, and distributes spices, seasoning mixes, condiments, and other flavorful products to the food industry. It operates in two segments, Consumer and Flavor Solutions. The Consumer segment offer...
How the Company Makes Money
McCormick makes money primarily by selling flavor products through two main revenue streams. (1) Consumer segment: The company sells branded spices, herbs, seasonings, recipe mixes, and condiments to retailers (e.g., grocery, mass merchandise, clu...

McCormick & Company Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Any
Any
Net Sales by Geography
Net Sales by Geography
Reveals revenue distribution across various regions, indicating where the company is thriving and where it might face challenges or opportunities due to regional market dynamics.
Chart InsightsMcCormick's Americas and EMEA regions are showing steady sales growth, with EMEA benefiting from strong performance in core categories like spices and seasonings. However, APAC's sales are volatile, reflecting challenges in China's food service sector. The earnings call highlights consistent volume-led growth and strategic investments in innovation, yet rising commodity costs and tariffs are pressuring margins. Despite these headwinds, McCormick remains committed to leveraging productivity savings and targeted pricing strategies to sustain growth, aiming for a 1% to 3% net sales increase in 2025.
Data provided by:The Fly

McCormick & Company Earnings Call Summary

Earnings Call Date:Mar 31, 2026
(Q1-2026)
|
% Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Jun 25, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call presents a largely positive strategic and financial case for the McCormick–Unilever Foods combination: clear scale benefits, quantified cost synergies ($600M), reinvestment plans ($100M), a pro forma $20B revenue base and margin expansion targets (21% baseline to ~23%–25% by year 3). Management emphasized detailed integration planning and brand/innovation advantages across channels and geographies. Key risks include integration complexity at an unprecedented scale for McCormick, near‑term elevated leverage (~4x at close), regulatory/separation timing and the absence of a specific EPS accretion figure today. Overall, the positive strategic rationale, quantified synergies and growth targets outweigh the highlighted risks.
Positive Updates
Strategic combination creates a global flavor leader
McCormick announced a planned combination with Unilever Foods to create a scaled, flavor-focused company combining iconic global and regional brands (McCormick, Knorr, Hellmann's, French's, Frank's RedHot, Cholula, MAI) and complementary capabilities across consumer and food‑service channels.
Negative Updates
Integration complexity and execution risk
Deal is materially larger than McCormick's prior acquisitions; management acknowledged regulatory filings, the need for Unilever to separate its Foods business and a multi‑year integration execution (planning >1 year pre-close) — creating elevated integration and execution risk given scale.
Read all updates
Q1-2026 Updates
Negative
Strategic combination creates a global flavor leader
McCormick announced a planned combination with Unilever Foods to create a scaled, flavor-focused company combining iconic global and regional brands (McCormick, Knorr, Hellmann's, French's, Frank's RedHot, Cholula, MAI) and complementary capabilities across consumer and food‑service channels.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Management gave detailed deal and financial guidance: the Reverse Morris Trust will leave pro forma ownership at ~65% Unilever / ~35% McCormick with $15.7 billion cash to Unilever, implying an EV of ~ $44.8B for Unilever Foods and ~ $21B for McCormick (≈13.8x CY‑2025 EBITDA on a 1‑month VWAP); pro forma 2025 net sales are ~$20B with pro forma operating margin ~21% (Food Service pro forma sales ~ $6B). They expect to reinvest roughly $100M of incremental synergies into brands, realize ~$600M of annual run‑rate cost synergies (≈8% of McCormick’s 2025 pro‑forma sales, ~2/3 captured by end of year 2 and fully by year 3), target sustainable organic sales growth of 3%–5% and operating margins of ~23%–25% by year 3, see the transaction as accretive to sales growth, adjusted operating margin and adjusted EPS in the first full year, expect net leverage ≤4x at close and reduction to ~3x within two years, and plan to maintain a dividend policy consistent with the historical ~60% payout.

McCormick & Company Financial Statement Overview

Summary
Steady top-line growth (~3.9% TTM) and strong underlying operating profitability (gross margin ~37.9%, EBIT margin ~12.3%) support a solid base. However, TTM net margin (~23.1%) appears unusually elevated versus prior periods and operating cash flow conversion is weak (OCF to net income ~0.26), raising earnings-quality and cash-conversion concerns despite improved leverage (D/E ~0.70).
Income Statement
76
Positive
Balance Sheet
72
Positive
Cash Flow
58
Neutral
BreakdownTTMNov 2025Nov 2024Nov 2023Nov 2022Nov 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue7.11B6.84B6.72B6.66B6.35B6.32B
Gross Profit2.70B2.59B2.59B2.50B2.27B2.49B
EBITDA1.25B1.34B1.32B1.21B1.16B1.22B
Net Income1.64B789.40M788.50M680.60M682.00M755.30M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets16.35B13.20B13.07B12.86B13.12B12.91B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments177.70M95.90M186.10M166.60M334.00M351.70M
Total Debt4.91B4.00B4.51B4.59B5.33B5.39B
Total Liabilities8.79B7.43B7.75B7.78B8.43B8.48B
Stockholders Equity6.98B5.74B5.29B5.06B4.68B4.41B
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow851.00M740.40M647.00M973.40M389.50M550.30M
Operating Cash Flow897.60M962.20M921.90M1.24B651.50M828.30M
Investing Cash Flow-980.50M-255.20M-269.00M-260.50M-146.40M-908.60M
Financing Cash Flow96.00M-840.90M-583.10M-1.18B-487.20M22.00M

McCormick & Company Technical Analysis

Technical Analysis Sentiment
Negative
Last Price50.51
Price Trends
50DMA
61.59
Negative
100DMA
63.89
Negative
200DMA
66.08
Negative
Market Momentum
MACD
-3.55
Negative
RSI
32.96
Neutral
STOCH
50.03
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For MKC, the sentiment is Negative. The current price of 50.51 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 53.46, below the 50-day MA of 61.59, and below the 200-day MA of 66.08, indicating a bearish trend. The MACD of -3.55 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 32.96 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 50.03 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Negative sentiment for MKC.

McCormick & Company Risk Analysis

McCormick & Company disclosed 33 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. McCormick & Company reported the most risks in the "Finance & Corporate" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks

McCormick & Company Peers Comparison

Overall Rating
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (62)
Financial Indicators
Name
Overall Rating
Market Cap
P/E Ratio
ROE
Dividend Yield
Revenue Growth
EPS Growth
68
Neutral
$11.91B18.816.13%4.82%1.55%-40.81%
64
Neutral
$13.58B4.7027.31%2.61%1.64%-1.83%
62
Neutral
$20.33B14.63-3.31%3.23%1.93%-12.26%
61
Neutral
$10.04B-21.55%4.45%-0.66%-326.55%
60
Neutral
$19.53B20.2623.70%5.19%-5.65%0.41%
54
Neutral
$6.17B14.1413.98%5.64%2.71%4.90%
54
Neutral
$7.45B11.30-0.51%7.87%-5.82%-119.70%
* Consumer Defensive Sector Average
Performance Comparison
Ticker
Company Name
Price
Change
% Change
MKC
McCormick & Company
50.51
-23.89
-32.11%
CPB
Campbell Soup
20.69
-15.44
-42.73%
CAG
Conagra Brands
15.58
-8.31
-34.79%
GIS
General Mills
36.60
-18.69
-33.81%
HRL
Hormel Foods
21.64
-6.78
-23.87%
SJM
JM Smucker
93.79
-16.83
-15.21%

McCormick & Company Corporate Events

Executive/Board ChangesShareholder Meetings
McCormick Shareholders Back Board, Auditor and Executive Pay
Positive
Apr 3, 2026
On April 1, 2026, McCormick Company held its Annual Meeting of Stockholders, during which shareholders elected eleven directors to the board to serve until the next annual meeting or until their successors are duly elected and qualified. Stockhol...
Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board ChangesM&A TransactionsPrivate Placements and Financing
McCormick to Acquire Unilever Foods in Major Deal
Positive
Apr 1, 2026
On March 31, 2026, McCormick Company signed a series of definitive agreements with Unilever to acquire Unilever’s foods business via a complex Reverse Morris Trust structure. Unilever will first separate its foods arm into SpinCo, transfer ...
Private Placements and FinancingRegulatory Filings and Compliance
McCormick Updates Investor Services Plan for Stock Offering
Positive
Mar 26, 2026
McCormick Company, Incorporated has filed a legal opinion and consent from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP concerning the validity of its common stock and non-voting common stock shares to be offered under its amended Investor Services ...
Business Operations and StrategyPrivate Placements and Financing
McCormick & Company Issues New Senior Notes for Refinancing
Neutral
Feb 5, 2026
On February 3, 2026, McCormick Company entered into an underwriting agreement with a syndicate of banks led by BofA Securities, Truist Securities and Wells Fargo Securities for a $500 million offering of 4.150% senior unsecured notes due February...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.

Disclaimer

This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.Date of analysis: Apr 04, 2026