Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.01 EPS

Posted by Brian Himes on May 23rd, 2026

Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO – Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01, FiscalAI reports. Flowers Foods had a return on equity of 15.75% and a net margin of 1.38%.The company had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.35 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Flowers Foods updated its FY 2026 guidance to 0.800-0.900 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Flowers Foods’ conference call:

Flowers Foods said first-quarter execution and cost discipline helped deliver bottom-line results ahead of market expectations, even though comparable sales fell 1.2% on softer trends.
Traditional loaf volumes remained pressured by heavy promotions, consumer trade-down, and macro weakness, with management saying the category is still soft and near-term top-line trends remain cautious.
The company highlighted strong momentum in better-for-you and snacking brands, including Nature’s Own Keto, Dave’s Killer Bread, Canyon Bakehouse, and especially Simple Mills, which posted 9% retail sales growth and is expected to accelerate through 2026.
Management emphasized the Nature’s Own relaunch with fewer, simpler ingredients and a major marketing push, calling it a key step in strengthening the brand’s position in the better-for-you segment.
Flowers cut its annual dividend to $0.50 per share to reduce leverage and interest expense, and it ended the quarter at 3.2x net leverage, though management expects the move to improve financial flexibility and fund growth investments.

Flowers Foods Trading Up 13.7%

Shares of Flowers Foods stock opened at $7.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.75. Flowers Foods has a 52 week low of $6.80 and a 52 week high of $17.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $8.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a PE ratio of 22.76 and a beta of 0.46.

Flowers Foods Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be paid a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. Flowers Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 247.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Flowers Foods news, CEO Ryals Mcmullian sold 209,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.03, for a total value of $1,678,270.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 813,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,531,441.40. This trade represents a 20.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 7.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Flowers Foods

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Flowers Foods in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $399,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Flowers Foods by 48.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,333,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,032,000 after acquiring an additional 1,732,003 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Flowers Foods by 1,905.6% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 297,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,233,000 after acquiring an additional 282,309 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in Flowers Foods by 76.8% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 102,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,113,000 after acquiring an additional 44,447 shares during the period. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC grew its stake in Flowers Foods by 73.7% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 24,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 10,313 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.45% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $7.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Stephens lowered their target price on Flowers Foods from $11.00 to $8.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Flowers Foods from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their target price on Flowers Foods from $10.00 to $8.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Flowers Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $9.60.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Flowers Foods

Key Flowers Foods News

Here are the key news stories impacting Flowers Foods this week:

Positive Sentiment: Flowers Foods beat Q1 earnings estimates, reporting $0.29 per share versus $0.28 expected, and revenue grew 1.1% year over year. The earnings beat helped offset concerns about slower volume trends. Article Title
Positive Sentiment: Management is emphasizing debt reduction and cost control, with leverage targeted below 3x by fiscal 2027. Investors appear encouraged that freeing up cash could support future buybacks or a re-rating of the stock. Article Title
Neutral Sentiment: The company also launched a refreshed Nature’s Own brand and a “simpler recipe” marketing push, which could help demand over time but is not yet a near-term financial catalyst. Article Title
Negative Sentiment: Q1 profit declined from a year ago and the company cut its dividend by 50%, signaling pressure from higher costs and a shift to preserve cash for balance-sheet repair. Article Title
Negative Sentiment: Revenue came in slightly below estimates and volumes were soft, suggesting that pricing and acquisition-related growth are only partially offsetting weakness in the core bread business. Article Title

Flowers Foods Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Flowers Foods, Inc is one of the largest producers of packaged bakery foods in the United States, offering a variety of fresh bread, buns, rolls, snack cakes and tortillas. Headquartered in Thomasville, Georgia, the company operates an extensive network of bakeries and distribution centers that serve retail grocery chains, convenience stores, mass merchandisers and foodservice customers nationwide. Flowers Foods markets its products under well-known brands such as Nature’s Own, Wonder, Dave’s Killer Bread, Mrs.