stockrowWhat it does
The J. M. Smucker Company is a branded food, beverage and pet-products manufacturer and marketer. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Orrville, it sells principally in North America, with most sales in the United States. Mark Smucker is Chief Executive Officer, President and Chair of the Board.
Its products cover everyday grocery, frozen and snack occasions: coffee; frozen handheld sandwiches; peanut butter and fruit spreads; sweet baked goods; dog snacks; cat food; toppings and syrups; portion-control products; and baking mixes and ingredients. Its principal brands include Folgers, Dunkin’, Café Bustelo, Uncrustables, Jif, Smucker’s, Hostess, Milk-Bone and Meow Mix.
The company serves consumers through retailers, and also supplies foodservice distributors and operators. Retail products reach food retailers, club stores, discount and dollar stores, online retailers, pet specialty stores, drug stores, military commissaries, mass merchandisers and distributors. Its Away From Home business sells to settings including restaurants, healthcare operators, educational institutions, offices, lodging and gaming establishments, and convenience stores.
The company operates five reportable segments: U.S. Retail Coffee; U.S. Retail Frozen Handheld and Spreads; U.S. Retail Pet Foods; Sweet Baked Snacks; and Away From Home. Sweet Baked Snacks includes Hostess products across domestic and foreign channels, while Away From Home excludes Sweet Baked Snacks products.
How it makes money
The company earns revenue by selling branded packaged products through retail and foodservice channels. Its U.S. Retail Coffee segment primarily sells Folgers, Dunkin’ and Café Bustelo coffee. U.S. Retail Frozen Handheld and Spreads includes Uncrustables, Jif and Smucker’s products; U.S. Retail Pet Foods includes Meow Mix, Milk-Bone, Pup-Peroni and Canine Carry Outs. Sweet Baked Snacks primarily consists of Hostess products, and Away From Home sells the portfolio other than Sweet Baked Snacks through foodservice.
The model depends on repeat purchases of consumable products and on maintaining brand distribution, marketing and product availability. The company can implement material price increases or decreases when commodity and supply-chain costs move. In coffee, it is using promotional activity and pricing to pass through a deflationary commodity environment to customers and consumers, while retaining list prices at a slightly lower level where appropriate.
Hostess expanded the sweet baked goods portfolio through the November 2023 acquisition of Hostess Brands. The company subsequently sold certain Sweet Baked Snacks value brands, the Voortman business, the Canada condiment business and Sahale Snacks. Away From Home became a reportable segment in the fourth quarter of 2026.
The company’s long-term growth objectives are for net sales to rise by a low single-digit percentage, adjusted operating income by a mid-single-digit percentage and adjusted earnings per share by a high single-digit percentage, on average over the long term. It identifies organic growth and new products as expected drivers, while acquisition contributions can vary year to year.
Customers and how it sells
Most sales are in the United States. Operations outside the United States are principally in Canada, while products are also exported to other countries; net sales outside the United States represented 4 percent of consolidated net sales for 2026.
Retail customers include food retailers, supermarkets, club stores, discount and dollar stores, e-commerce retailers, pet specialty stores, drug stores, military commissaries, mass merchandisers and distributors. Sweet Baked Snacks also reaches convenience, vending and foreign channels. The Away From Home segment supplies foodservice distributors and operators, including restaurants, healthcare, education, office, lodging, gaming and convenience locations.
Walmart Inc. and its subsidiaries, including Sam’s Club, accounted for 34 percent of net sales in 2026, primarily in the U.S. Retail segments. The top 10 customers collectively accounted for approximately 60 percent of consolidated net sales in 2026. The company expects a significant portion of revenue to continue to come from a limited number of customers as supermarkets, warehouse clubs and food distributors consolidate.
Suppliers and costs
Raw-material spending is centered on commodities, agricultural products and packaging. Key inputs include green coffee, peanuts, flour, sugar, oils, fats, fruit and other ingredients, plus plastic, glass, metal cans, caps, carton board and corrugate. Green coffee is sourced from more than 20 coffee-producing countries, while peanuts, flour, sugar, oils, fats and fruit are sourced mainly from North America.
Coffee costs can be volatile because of weather, global supply and demand, scarcity, disease, geopolitical conditions, policies and tariffs. The company uses futures, basis, options and fixed-price contracts to manage price volatility for a significant portion of commodity costs. It also enters long-term peanut and plastic-container purchase contracts.
Raw materials are generally available from numerous sources, but the company uses primary or single sources under long-term contracts for certain Folgers and Jif plastic packaging, K-Cup pods, Pup-Peroni dog snacks and liquid coffee. Overall commodity costs in 2026, excluding derivative gains and losses, were higher than in 2025, principally because of green coffee, corn and meals. The company is experiencing mid-single-digit underlying inflation, driven above its initial expectations by freight, commodities and other ingredients.
- Revenue$9.1B
- Cost of revenue−$6.0B
- Selling, general and administrative−$1.5B
- Other operating costs−$1.2B
- Operating income$360.2M
Competitive position
The company competes with branded food and beverage producers and private-label products across coffee, spreads, frozen snacks, pet food and snacks, sweet baked goods, and foodservice. Named competitors include The Kraft Heinz Company, Keurig Dr Pepper, Nestlé S.A., Hormel Foods Corporation, Ferrero SpA, Post Holdings, Inc., General Mills, Inc., Mars, Incorporated, McKee Foods Corporation and Grupo Bimbo, S.A. Private label is also a competitor across its categories.
For the U.S. Retail and Sweet Baked Snacks segments, private label held a 14.0 dollar average market share during the 52 weeks ended April 19, 2026, compared with 13.7 dollar average market share in the prior-year period. For Away From Home categories, private label held a 22.2 dollar average market share during 2026, compared with 22.9 dollar average market share in the prior year. The company identifies brand recognition, quality, price, packaging, innovation, convenience, advertising, promotion and the ability to meet consumer preferences as important competitive factors.
Our reading: The brand portfolio is a meaningful moat because several company brands are identified as current category leaders, and the company says its owned and licensed intellectual property is essential to the business. This protection is moderated by the availability and increasing quality of private-label alternatives.
Our reading: Distribution across major retail formats and foodservice is a meaningful moat because shelf access and customer relationships matter in repeat-purchase categories, but customer concentration gives large retailers negotiating leverage.
| Competitor | Where they compete | Threat (our reading) |
|---|---|---|
| The Kraft Heinz Company | retail coffee and foodservice portion control | High |
| Keurig Dr Pepper | retail coffee and single-serve coffee | High |
| Nestlé S.A. | coffee, frozen snacks, pet food and foodservice | High |
| F. Gaviña & Sons, Inc. | retail coffee | Medium |
| Hormel Foods Corporation | peanut butter and specialty spreads | Medium |
| Ferrero SpA | peanut butter and specialty spreads | Medium |
| Post Holdings, Inc. | peanut butter and specialty spreads | Medium |
| General Mills, Inc. | frozen snacks and pet snacks | High |
Growth opportunities
The company’s stated growth plan centers on building brands in coffee, frozen handhelds and spreads, pet foods and snacks, sweet baked goods, and Away From Home. It expects organic growth, including new products, to drive much of top-line growth. It also operates a company-wide transformation initiative intended to produce sustainable productivity gains, support margins, reinvestment and cost savings.
Uncrustables is a current capacity and innovation focus. The company expects high single-digit growth for the brand for fiscal 2027, up from its earlier mid-single-digit outlook after it achieved its billion dollar ambition in the prior fiscal year. It is advancing pre-production expense to begin capacity earlier at McCalla, Alabama. The company has introduced a fridge-friendly Uncrustables version that can be kept thawed in a refrigerator for five days, alongside new flavors, limited-time offerings and higher-protein products.
Coffee growth efforts include Café Bustelo’s expansion into central and western regions, new roast profiles and ready-to-drink options. In spreads, the company has launched Jif Simply, a two- to three-ingredient offering, refreshed Jif packaging and begun a multi-year fruit-spreads brand refresh. In sweet baked goods, it is seeking incremental progress in Hostess, with Donettes performance in larger bags and mini churro donuts among the cited bright spots.
The company expects a low single-digit percentage increase in net sales, a mid-single-digit percentage increase in adjusted operating income, and a high single-digit percentage increase in adjusted earnings per share, on average over the long term.
- $8.0BFY2022
- $8.5BFY2023
- $8.2BFY2024
- $8.7BFY2025
- $9.1BFY2026
Structural risks
-
Commodity, ingredient, freight and packaging costs can rise or become volatile. Green coffee is particularly exposed to weather, supply and demand, scarcity, plant disease, geopolitical conditions and tariffs; the company is experiencing mid-single-digit underlying inflation.
-
Consumers may shift spending in an economic downturn, inflationary period or uncertain macroeconomic environment. Consumers could choose private label or other lower-priced competitive products.
-
The company relies on a limited number of large customers. Walmart Inc. and subsidiaries, including Sam’s Club, represented 34 percent of net sales in 2026, and the loss of a large customer for an extended period could reduce sales and profits.
-
Some inputs and finished goods depend on primary or single-source arrangements, including certain packaging, K-Cup pods, Pup-Peroni dog snacks and liquid coffee. Supply disruptions, tariffs, shipping delays and labor shortages could affect product availability or costs.
-
Food categories are highly competitive, with branded and private-label alternatives. Longer-term center-store volume pressure has been associated with health and wellness preferences, fresh-food demand, social media and e-commerce.
-
Debt and capital-market conditions can affect financial flexibility. The company identifies risks that borrowing costs could rise, public credit ratings could change, and leverage could limit its ability to compete, borrow or react to industry changes.
Leadership
The company describes continuity from five generations of family leadership and says it has had six chief executive officers in more than 125 years.
| Name | Role | Since | Total pay, FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Ferguson | Chief Product Supply Officer EVP, Coffee, Pet, and Away from Home | — | $3.3 million |
Bottom line
Our reading
Our reading: Smucker is a North American branded-consumables business built around repeat retail and foodservice purchases across coffee, frozen handhelds, spreads, pet products and sweet baked goods. Its brand and distribution assets support its position, while large-customer concentration, private-label competition and volatile commodity costs shape its exposure. Growth currently relies on brand innovation, Uncrustables capacity and product availability, alongside cost-management efforts.