As the Q2 earnings season comes to a close, it’s time to take stock of this quarter’s best and worst performers in the shelf-stable food industry, including J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) and its peers.

As America industrialized and moved away from an agricultural economy, people faced more demands on their time. Packaged foods emerged as a solution offering convenience to the evolving American family, whether it be canned goods or snacks. Today, Americans seek brands that are high in quality, reliable, and reasonably priced. Furthermore, there's a growing emphasis on health-conscious and sustainable food options. Packaged food stocks are considered resilient investments. People always need to eat, so these companies can enjoy consistent demand as long as they stay on top of changing consumer preferences. The industry spans from multinational corporations to smaller specialized firms and is subject to food safety and labeling regulations.

The 21 shelf-stable food stocks we track reported a mixed Q2. As a group, revenues missed analysts’ consensus estimates by 0.9% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 0.7% below.

Stocks, especially growth stocks with cash flows further into the future, had a good end of 2023. On the other hand, this year has seen more volatile stock market swings due to mixed inflation data. Thankfully, shelf-stable food stocks have been resilient with share prices up 8.8% on average since the latest earnings results.

J. M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM)

Best known for its fruit jams and spreads, J.M Smucker (NYSE:SJM) is a packaged foods company whose products span peanut butter to coffee to pet food.

J. M. Smucker reported revenues of $2.13 billion, up 17.7% year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations, but overall, it was a mixed quarter for the company with a decent beat of analysts’ earnings estimates but underwhelming earnings guidance for the full year.

"We are pleased with the strong start of our fiscal year and ability to deliver net sales and earnings growth in what remains a dynamic consumer environment," said Mark Smucker, Chair of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer.

The market was likely pricing in the results, and the stock is flat since reporting. It currently trades at $119.71.

Read our full report on J. M. Smucker here, it’s free.

Best Q2: BellRing Brands (NYSE:BRBR)

Spun out of Post Holdings in 2019, Bellring Brands (NYSE:BRBR) offers protein shakes, nutrition bars, and other products under the PowerBar, Premier Protein, and Dymatize brands.

BellRing Brands reported revenues of $515.4 million, up 15.6% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 2%. The business had an exceptional quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ gross margin and organic revenue growth estimates.