CluenexHormel Foods HRL
Hormel Foods scores weak on business quality (4.3 of 10). Here is why, in plain words, and what our sealed record shows.
Why it matters
- What Hormel Foods does
Hormel Foods sells branded meat and food products to retail, foodservice, and international customers, making money by processing and marketing items like Spam and Jennie-O. The company recently expanded its portfolio by acquiring Brakebush to drive volume in key protein segments.
- What it does best
Hormel dominates branded shelf-stable protein through unmatched scale, delivering a gross margin of 15.7% that outpaces Tyson's 6.9%. This edge is tough to copy due to deep retail relationships and century-old brand equity.
- The main risk
Sacrificing future growth to protect the dividend leaves the company vulnerable. High payout commitments relative to net income risk starving necessary operational reinvestment if commodity costs spike further.
Quality, check by check
Scored against its own industry, from company filings.
Operating margin sits at 8.2% with net margin at 2.8%, compressing as cost pressures mount. Scale fails to drive higher margins in this environment.
The moat relies on brand intangibles and consumer loyalty, sitting in the 38th percentile for operating margin. Rival firms easily compete on private-label pricing, limiting pricing power.
Revenue grew 1.6% to $12.1B, showing a stagnant trend compared to historical levels. Growth is currently fading as core volume struggles to expand meaningfully.
Debt-to-equity sits at 0.4 with interest coverage at 12.6x, meaning debt costs are manageable. Free cash flow stands at $776M, showing steady generation.
Insiders
Executives and directors, from SEC Form 4 filings we read ourselves. Open market trades only; grants, option exercises and pre-planned sales left out.
1 insider bought $201K on the open market.
Our sealed record on HRL
Verdicts appear here 30 days after we publish them; members see today's. Each one is in the nightly ledger, fingerprinted the night it was made.
The first sealed verdicts appear here on Oct 11, 2026.
Questions
Hormel Foods scores weak on the Cluenex quality check (4.3 of 10), measured against its own industry. Profitability is weak, moat fair, growth slow and financial health strong.
In the last 90 days of SEC Form 4 filings: 1 insider bought $201K on the open market.
Dec 2, 2026, after the close.
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Cite this page: Cluenex, “Hormel Foods (HRL)”, https://cluenex.com/stocks/hrl/, data as of Oct 10, 2026.