Campbell Soup surges as earnings signal hope for comeback

Campbell Soup Co. posted fourth-quarter profit that beat estimates, sending its shares surging amid signs that chief executive Mark Clouse is making progress on a turnaround at the food giant.

Excluding some items, profit for continuing operations and Campbell International amounted to 50 cents a share. That sent shares up as much as 8.5% on Friday.

Key insights:

Soup sales in the United States were up in the most recent quarter, as the company tries to breathe life into a business hampered by changing consumer tastes.

Campbell got a boost from its snack operation. Clouse, who took over in January, is working to integrate Snyder’s-Lance, the snack giant that makes Cape Cod and Kettle potato chips. That company was acquired by his predecessor for $4.9 billion in 2018, adding to a snack portfolio at Campbell’s that includes the Pepperidge Farm brand.

Campbell has overhauled its operations under Clouse, shedding the Australian maker of Tim Tam cookies and other international operations for $2.5 billion. The sale, coming after it also unloaded its fresh juice business, marked the completion of a transformation plan announced last year amid a sales slump and pressure from activist investor Dan Loeb.

Campbell was up 6.1% to $45.97 as of 10:01 a.m. in New York, the biggest move among companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index, and closed at $45, up 3.8 percent. The stock had gained 31% this year through Thursday’s close.

The maker of canned soup, cookies, and V8 juice posted revenue of $1.78 billion in the period, falling short of forecasts. Five analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $2 billion.

For the year, the company reported profit of $211 million, or 70 cents per share. Revenue was reported as $8.11 billion. Campbell expects full-year earnings in the range of $2.50 to $2.55 per share.