As the Q4 earnings season wraps, let’s dig into this quarter’s best and worst performers in the shelf-stable food industry, including Utz (NYSE: UTZ) 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 17 shelf-stable food stocks we track reported a mixed Q4. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 0.5%.

Amidst this news, share prices of the companies have had a rough stretch. On average, they are down 12.9% since the latest earnings results.

Utz (NYSE: UTZ)

Tracing its roots back to 1921 when Bill and Salie Utz began making potato chips in their kitchen, Utz Brands (NYSE: UTZ) offers salty snacks such as potato chips, tortilla chips, pretzels, cheese snacks, and ready-to-eat popcorn, among others.

Utz reported revenues of $342.2 million, flat year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations, and overall, it was a strong quarter for the company with a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

“2025 was a year of solid progress in a dynamic operating environment. Branded Salty Organic Net Sales increased nearly 5%(1), driven by the Power Four Brands and Expansion Geographies. We also expanded Adjusted Gross Margin by more than 250bps for the full year, with an especially strong performance of 560bps in the fourth quarter.” said Howard Friedman, Chief Executive Officer of Utz.

Unsurprisingly, the stock is down 29.2% since reporting and currently trades at $7.89.

Is now the time to buy Utz? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Best Q4: Hershey (NYSE: HSY)

Best known for its milk chocolate bar and Hershey's Kisses, Hershey (NYSE: HSY) is an iconic company known for its chocolate products.

Hershey reported revenues of $3.09 billion, up 7% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 3.8%. The business had an exceptional quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and full-year EPS guidance exceeding analysts’ expectations.

The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 5.3% since reporting. It currently trades at $216.74.

Is now the time to buy Hershey? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Weakest Q4: Campbell's (NASDAQ: CPB)

With its iconic canned soup as its cornerstone product, Campbell's (NASDAQ: CPB) is a packaged food company with an illustrious portfolio of brands.

Campbell's reported revenues of $2.56 billion, down 4.5% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 1.6%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates.

As expected, the stock is down 12.4% since the results and currently trades at $21.63.

Read our full analysis of Campbell’s results here.

Hormel Foods (NYSE: HRL)

Best known for its SPAM brand, Hormel (NYSE: HRL) is a packaged foods company with products that span meat, poultry, shelf-stable foods, and spreads.

Hormel Foods reported revenues of $3.03 billion, up 1.3% year on year. This result lagged analysts' expectations by 1.5%. Taking a step back, it was a mixed quarter as it also recorded a decent beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates but a slight miss of analysts’ revenue estimates.

The stock is down 9.3% since reporting and currently trades at $22.95.

Read our full, actionable report on Hormel Foods here, it’s free.

Mondelez (NASDAQ: MDLZ)

Founded as Nabisco in 1903, Mondelez (NASDAQ: MDLZ) is a packaged snacks powerhouse best known for its Oreo, Cadbury, Toblerone, Ritz, and Trident brands.

Mondelez reported revenues of $10.5 billion, up 9.3% year on year. This number surpassed analysts’ expectations by 1.8%. Zooming out, it was a mixed quarter as it also produced a decent beat of analysts’ revenue estimates but a significant miss of analysts’ gross margin estimates.

The stock is down 3.5% since reporting and currently trades at $57.39.

Read our full, actionable report on Mondelez here, it’s free.

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