Cal-Maine Q4 revenue drops nearly 50% as egg prices hit historic lows
The company expects market conditions to improve as supply and demand rebalance in the coming months
USA – US egg producer Cal-Maine Foods reported a nearly 50% year-on-year decline in fourth-quarter revenue after an oversupply of eggs drove wholesale shell egg prices to historically low levels, causing the company to miss analysts’ revenue expectations.
The company recorded negative adjusted earnings per share and a net loss during the quarter as lower selling prices outweighed gains in sales volumes.
Cal-Maine said the average selling price for conventional shell eggs declined 70.9% compared with the same quarter last year, while the number of dozens sold increased 3.1%, indicating that weaker prices, rather than reduced consumer demand, were the main factor behind the decline in financial performance.
According to the company, the industry-wide oversupply pushed inflation-adjusted egg prices to their lowest levels in recent history, placing significant pressure on earnings.
Despite the weaker performance in shell eggs, Cal-Maine reported stronger operating results in its prepared foods business, supported by improved utilisation of production facilities, network optimisation and better absorption of fixed operating costs.
The company expects the balance between egg supply and demand to improve over the coming months, creating conditions for stronger pricing across the shell egg market.
Cal-Maine also said the expansion of its Eggland’s Best franchise territory is expected to increase speciality shell egg volumes by around 5% each year, while prepared foods production capacity is projected to grow by more than 60% between the end of fiscal 2026 and the first half of fiscal 2028.
Company continues shift towards higher value products
The latest results follow weaker financial performance reported earlier in the fiscal year, when Cal-Maine announced a 53% decline in net income for the quarter ended 29 November 2025.
During that period, net income fell to US$103 million, or US$2.14 per share, compared with US$219 million, or US$4.49 per share, a year earlier, while revenue declined 24% to US$770 million.
Total shell egg sales dropped 28%, reflecting a 27% fall in average selling prices and a 2% reduction in sales volume, while conventional egg sales declined 41% because prices fell 39% and volumes decreased 4%.
Speciality egg sales remained relatively stable, declining 0.4%, while prepared foods revenue increased to US$72 million from US$10 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
Chief Executive Officer Sherman Miller previously said the company continues to focus on expanding its prepared foods and speciality egg businesses as part of a broader strategy to reduce reliance on commodity egg markets and build a portfolio centred on higher-value products and convenient protein offerings.
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