The Kraft Heinz Company KHC is likely to register a top-line decline when it reports third-quarter 2024 earnings on Oct. 30. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $6.43 billion, suggesting a decrease of 2.2% from the prior-year quarter’s reported figure. However, the bottom line is likely to have increased year over year. The consensus mark for third-quarter earnings has remained unchanged in the past 30 days at 74 cents per share, indicating a rise of 2.8% from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter. KHC has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 4.7%, on average.

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Things to Consider Ahead of KHC’s Upcoming Results

The Kraft Heinz Company is bearing the brunt of the ongoing struggles in the consumer environment, marked by slower income growth, decreasing savings and persistent inflation concerns, which have dampened consumer sentiment and increased the focus on value-seeking. This has led to a slower-than-expected recovery across the industry. As a result, KHC has been battling with weak volumes, which raises concerns for the quarter to be reported.

Our model suggests a 0.9% decline in organic sales in the third quarter while projecting a 1.3% dip in volumes.

Kraft Heinz Company Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Kraft Heinz Company price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Kraft Heinz Company Quote

However, The Kraft Heinz Company has been implementing effective pricing strategies to enhance its performance, maintaining strong margins despite inflationary pressures. We expect pricing to be up 0.4% in the quarter under review and an adjusted gross margin expansion of 50 basis points. KHC’s emphasis on productivity improvements through Agile@Scale and strategic partnerships has been crucial to its success.

Earnings Whispers for KHC

Our proven model doesn’t conclusively predict an earnings beat for The Kraft Heinz Company this time. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat, which is not the case here.

The Kraft Heinz Company carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) and has an Earnings ESP of -0.69%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Stocks With the Favorable Combination

Here are some companies worth considering, as our model shows that these have the correct combination to beat on earnings this time.

Clorox CLX currently has an Earnings ESP of +2.41% and a Zacks Rank of 2. The company is likely to register top-and-bottom-line growth when it reports first-quarter fiscal 2025 numbers. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Clorox’s quarterly revenues is pegged at $1.62 billion, which indicates an increase of 17.2% from the figure reported in the prior-year quarter. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Clorox’s quarterly earnings of $1.36 per share indicates growth of 177.6% from the year-ago quarter’s levels. CLX has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 122.9%, on average.

Colgate-Palmolive CL currently has an Earnings ESP of +0.96% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is expected to register top-and-bottom-line growth when it reports third-quarter 2024 results. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for quarterly revenues is pegged at $5 billion, suggesting a rise of 1.9% from the figure reported in the prior-year quarter.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for quarterly earnings has remained unchanged at 88 cents per share in the past 30 days. The consensus mark for CL’s earnings indicates growth of 2.3% from the year-ago quarter’s reported number. CL delivered an earnings surprise of 4.8%, on average, in the trailing four quarters.

Mondelez International MDLZ has an Earnings ESP of +0.80% and a Zacks Rank of 3 at present. MDLZ is likely to register top and bottom-line growth when it releases second-quarter 2024 results. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its quarterly revenues is pegged at $9.1 billion, implying a rise of 0.4% from that reported in the year-ago quarter.

The consensus estimate for Mondelez’s quarterly earnings has remained unchanged in the past 30 days at 84 cents per share, indicating growth of 2.4% from the year-ago quarter’s reported number. MDLZ has a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 7.8%.