The Campbell's Company (CPB) Business Profile

What it does

The Campbell’s Company makes and markets branded food and beverages, including soups, sauces, crackers, cookies, chips and juices. Its products reach consumers through grocery stores, mass merchandisers, club stores, e-commerce and other outlets. It also sells products to foodservice customers.

Campbell’s organizes its business into two segments. Meals & Beverages includes Campbell’s soups, Swanson broth and stocks, Prego and Rao’s pasta sauces, SpaghettiOs pasta and V8 beverages. It also includes some snacking products sold through foodservice and in Canada, as well as retail snacking and meals and beverages in Latin America.

Snacks includes Goldfish crackers, Pepperidge Farm cookies and bakery products, Snyder’s of Hanover pretzels, Lance sandwich crackers, Cape Cod and Kettle Brand potato chips, and other products sold at retail in the U.S. Beginning in fiscal 2027, the Pepperidge Farm frozen business is managed under Meals & Beverages.

The company was founded in 1869 and is headquartered in Camden, New Jersey. Mick J. Beekhuizen is president and chief executive officer. Campbell’s had approximately 13,500 full-time and part-time employees on August 2, 2026.

Soup demand is seasonal, with sales volume usually highest in fall and winter. Demand for its other products is generally distributed more evenly throughout the year.

How it makes money

Campbell’s earns revenue by selling food and beverages to retailers, foodservice operators and other customers that resell or serve them to consumers. Sales depend on the volume and mix of products it sells, the prices it realizes and promotional activity. Consumers buy many of these products repeatedly, although soup purchases tend to be concentrated in colder months.

Fiscal 2026 net sales were $9.744 billion.

Meals & Beverages generated $5.9 billion in fiscal 2026 revenue, or 60.8% of the total. It sells soups, broths, sauces, pasta, frozen meals and beverages, alongside selected snacks. Snacks generated $3.8 billion, or 39.2%, from retail products in the U.S. The segment distinction is not simply meals versus every snack: some snacks are included in Meals & Beverages because of where and how they are sold.

Net sales decreased 5% in fiscal 2026, primarily because of unfavorable volume and product mix, the effect of an extra week in fiscal 2025 and divestitures. Higher realized prices partly offset those effects. Gross profit as a percentage of sales fell to 28.1% in fiscal 2026 from 30.4% a year earlier, primarily because of cost inflation, other supply-chain costs and tariffs, partly offset by productivity improvements.

Campbell’s has taken pricing actions across both meals and snacks. It expects price realization to begin improving in the second quarter of fiscal 2027, after first-quarter pricing investments in meals innovation and holiday promotions. The company also pays slotting fees to place some new products with retailers.

Customers and how it sells

Campbell’s sells through retail food chains, mass discounters, mass merchandisers, club stores, convenience stores, dollar stores and e-commerce, as well as commercial and non-commercial establishments. Its products are generally resold to consumers through those outlets. Sales and merchandising are handled by its own sales force and, in some markets, third-party brokers and distribution partners.

The Snacks segment uses a direct-store-delivery model with independent contractor distributors. Those distributors help get products into stores and onto shelves. Campbell’s is also working to align demand and manufacturing and improve product availability in stores.

The five largest customers accounted for 48.0% of consolidated net sales in fiscal 2026. Walmart Inc. and its affiliates represented 22.0%; both reporting segments sold to them. No other customer accounted for 10% or more of consolidated net sales.

Meals & Beverages sells in retail and foodservice in the U.S. and Canada and includes retail businesses in Latin America. Snacks consists of products sold at retail in the U.S. Campbell’s expects consumers to continue using non-traditional grocery channels, including club stores, instant delivery and e-commerce. Retailers also seek supplier-funded promotions and other favorable terms.

Suppliers and costs

Campbell’s buys ingredients and packaging from various suppliers, substantially all located in North America. It also buys finished products from domestic and international suppliers. La Regina produces all of Campbell’s Rao’s tomato-based pasta sauces; Campbell’s acquired a 49% interest in La Regina in May 2026.

Costs include ingredients, packaging, energy, logistics, finished products and labor. Some ingredients of suitable quality are available in sufficient quantities only during certain seasons, so Campbell’s commits to purchase them during those seasons. It uses purchase orders, short- and long-term contracts, inventory management, alternative sourcing and commodity risk-management tools to reduce some price volatility.

Campbell’s experienced commodity and supply-chain cost volatility in fiscal 2026 and expects input-cost inflation and volatility to persist in fiscal 2027. It plans to address some of the pressure through savings, productivity, supplier collaboration and pricing actions. The company has recently closed two chip plants and is pursuing procurement savings and further supply-chain network optimization.

Capital expenditures were $361 million in fiscal 2026. Campbell’s expects to spend approximately $300 million on capital projects in fiscal 2027, including infrastructure and network optimization.

Competitive position

Campbell’s competes across all its food and beverage categories with other branded manufacturers and producers of private-label products. Private-label products are generally priced below branded products. Competitors sell through traditional retailers and e-commerce and seek both consumer spending and retailer merchandising support. No competing company is named in the supplied business descriptions.

The company identifies brand recognition, taste, nutritional value, price, promotion, innovation, shelf space and customer service as principal areas of competition. Retailers continue to promote their own private-label brands, particularly on price, and use their purchasing power to seek supplier-funded promotions and other favorable terms.

Campbell’s considers its trademarks materially important and says its principal brands are protected by trademark law in the major markets where they are used. Our reading: the brand portfolio provides a meaningful competitive asset, but lower-priced private labels and pressure for shelf space limit its pricing protection. Campbell’s does not consider any segment dependent on a single patent or group of related patents.

The Snacks segment uses independent distributors for direct-store delivery. Our reading: that distribution model can support shelf availability, but it also depends on execution by distributors and does not eliminate competition for space and promotions. Campbell’s is working to improve that execution and has said its snacks consumption trends are below the level it wants.

Growth opportunities

Campbell’s strategy focuses on U.S. everyday cooking and snacking. It plans to use consumer insights, food and packaging innovation, improved product availability and revenue-growth management to support its brands. It also intends to invest in commercial capabilities and digital tools while pursuing cost savings across the business.

In Snacks, Campbell’s is focusing on core consumers, brand support and getting products onto store shelves. Its plans include support for Goldfish and Pepperidge Farm and new products such as Goldfish Gluten Free. The company has also introduced Milano White Chocolate. Campbell’s says improving the competitive position of its chips business will take more time.

For fiscal 2027, Campbell’s expects Snacks sales to be weakest in the first quarter and to improve modestly through the year, helped by innovation, brand support and execution. It does not anticipate positive snacks consumption during the year, although it expects continued modest progress.

The company has a $500 million cost-savings program beginning in fiscal year 27. It includes $150 million of savings carried over from an earlier program and $350 million of incremental savings identified under the program. Planned actions include procurement savings, headcount reductions and supply-chain network optimization. Campbell’s expects some savings to build during the year and be weighted toward the second half.

Structural risks

• Consumer demand and competition: Economic uncertainty or inflation may lead consumers to purchase private-label or other lower-priced products. Competition in every product category may result in lower sales and margins.
• Input and supply-chain costs: Commodity prices and other costs could remain elevated because of geopolitical conflicts, shortages or disruptions. Tariffs and retaliatory measures remain uncertain and could affect sourcing and costs.
• Third-party and distribution disruptions: Campbell’s relies on suppliers, contract manufacturers, logistics providers and independent distributors. A failure to meet obligations or a disruption to their operations could affect its ability to obtain materials or distribute products.
• Retailer practices: Changes in retailer, distributor or carrier inventory, fulfillment or shipping practices could affect demand for or availability of Campbell’s products. Retailers also seek supplier-funded promotions and favorable terms.
• Debt and intangible assets: Campbell’s had approximately $7.137 billion of indebtedness as of August 2, 2026. That debt can restrict business opportunities and financial flexibility; impairment of goodwill or other indefinite-lived intangible assets could adversely affect financial results and net worth.
• Regulation: New rules or policy developments concerning food ingredients, labeling and packaging could increase compliance costs or affect demand. Proposals related to ultra-processed foods could lead to labeling requirements, marketing restrictions or reformulation mandates.

Bottom line

Our reading

Our reading: Campbell’s is a branded food business built around repeat consumer purchases, with a broad portfolio and established distribution but substantial exposure to retailer bargaining power and lower-priced alternatives. Its near-term challenge is to improve snacks execution while managing inflation and financing a cost-savings program; lower sales, margin pressure and debt make the outcome of those efforts consequential.