Conagra Brands, Inc. (CAG) is about to face investors this Friday morning, and Wall Street's sharpest forecasters have been busy recalibrating their expectations downward. The picture isn't pretty for the packaged foods company.
The Chicago-based company will release its second quarter earnings results before the opening bell on December 19. Analysts are projecting earnings of 44 cents per share, a significant drop from the 70 cents per share Conagra posted in the same quarter last year. That's a 37% decline, if you're keeping score at home.
Revenue expectations tell a similar story. The consensus estimate sits at $2.98 billion for the quarter, down from $3.2 billion a year ago. This continues the pattern established when Conagra Brands reported its first-quarter fiscal 2026 results on October 1. Those numbers beat Wall Street expectations, which sounds good until you notice they still showed year-over-year declines.
Shares closed at $17.80 on Thursday, down 0.7% for the day, hovering near levels that have several analysts concerned.
What the Top Analysts Are Saying
The recent wave of analyst updates shows a clear trend: caution. Here's how the most accurate forecasters have positioned themselves heading into earnings:
Wells Fargo's Chris Carey, who maintains a 60% accuracy rate, kept his Equal-Weight rating but trimmed his price target from $20 to $19 on December 12. Not a dramatic cut, but directionally telling.
Stifel's Matthew Smith made a similar move on December 11, holding his Hold rating while reducing his target from $21 to $19. His accuracy rate stands at 53%.
Goldman Sachs analyst Leah Jordan takes the most bearish stance, maintaining a Sell rating and slashing her price target from $18 to $16 on November 25. Her accuracy rate is 51%.
Evercore ISI Group's David Palmer, with a 53% accuracy rate, maintained an In-Line rating but cut his target from $24 to $23 back on September 24, 2024.
The lone bright spot comes from Morgan Stanley's Megan Alexander, who boasts the highest accuracy rate of the group at 68%. She maintained an Equal-Weight rating but actually raised her price target from $20 to $21 on September 24, 2025. When the analyst with the best track record goes against the grain, that's worth noting.
The consensus from this group suggests Conagra faces meaningful headwinds, with price targets now clustering in a relatively tight range despite different rating methodologies. Whether Friday's report can shift that sentiment remains to be seen.
