Quality Investor

Smithfield Foods, Inc.

Rank #372Capital ReturnWatchlistCompare with other stocks

SFD · Nasdaq · Consumer Defensive

Smithfield Foods, Inc. (SFD) — Rank #372 by gross profitability (GP/assets 0.17) · ROE 14.1% · Piotroski F-Score 6 / 9.

As-of 2026-10-30 · CIK 0000091388 · all metrics point-in-time as of the filing date.

About

Smithfield Foods, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, produces various packaged meats and fresh pork products in the United States and internationally.

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It operates through Packaged Meats, Fresh Pork, Hog Production, and Other segments. The Packaged Meats segment processes fresh meat into various packaged meats products, including bacon, sausage, hot dogs, deli and lunch meats, dry sausage products, ham products, ready-to-eat products, and prepared foods to retail and foodservice customers. This segment markets its packaged meat products under the Smithfield, Eckrich, Nathan's Famous, Farmland, Armour, Farmer John, Kretschmar, Krakus, John Morrell, Cook's, Gwaltney, Carando, Margherita, Curly's and Smithfield Culinary, as well as under private labels. The Fresh Pork segment processes live hogs into a variety of primal, sub-primal, and offal products, such as bellies, butts, hams, loins, trimmings, picnics, and ribs. This segment sells its fresh pork products to retail, foodservice and industrial customers, as well as to export markets, including China, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, and Canada. The Hog Production segment produces and raises its hogs on various company-owned farms and farms that are owned and operated by contract farmers. This segment also sells livestock feed and grains; and provides transportation and other ancillary services. The Other segment engages in the bioscience operations uses raw materials from hogs that process to manufacture heparin products, including an active pharmaceutical ingredient that mitigates the risk of blood clots; and produces fresh pork products in Mexico.

The company was founded in 1936 and is headquartered in Smithfield, Virginia. Smithfield Foods, Inc. is a subsidiary of SFDS UK Holdings Limited.

Industry
Packaged Foods
Sector
Consumer Defensive
State
VA
Filer Category
Non-accelerated filer
Fiscal Year End
January 3

Company Snapshot

P/E and reverse DCF are the primary valuation lenses at this stage.

Market Cap

—

P/E (annual)

—

P/S (annual)

—

P/B

—

P/OCF (annual)

—

Shareholder Yield

—

Employees

33,500

Industry

Packaged Foods

Exchange

Nasdaq

11/12

Flags passed

SFD passes 11/12 quality flags

1 caution to review

  • CAUTION
    Dilution above 2%

    Annual share count increase exceeds 2%. May be acceptable for high-growth companies funding talent via stock compensation

  • PASS
    Gross margin holding
  • PASS
    FCF not negative from investment
  • PASS
    Disclosure consistent
  • PASS
    Revenue not declining
  • PASS
    Operating margin holding
  • PASS
    Free cash flow intact
  • PASS
    Passes safety gate
  • PASS
    Balance sheet stable
  • PASS
    No competitive retreat
  • PASS
    SBC not compressing margin
  • PASS
    No valuation convergence

Strengths Revenue growth accelerating · Operating leverage expanding · Sequential beat (rev + EPS)

A count of the 12 warning flags that could be evaluated. Unweighted: colour follows the worst flag.

Quality Profile

Profitability

1/1 pass
GP / assets
0.17
Return on equity
14.1%
Gross margin trend
PASS

Safety

1/1 pass
Balance-sheet safety
PASS
Debt / equity
0.73
Current ratio
2.39×
Net cash
-$808.00M

Cash Flow

2/3 pass
Positive FCF
PASS
Cash-backed earnings
WARN
Accruals healthy
PASS
SBC / revenue
0.1%

Growth

1/2 pass
Revenue growth
9.8%
Piotroski F-Score
6 / 9
Share dilution
3.3%

FCF yield, shareholder yield, and buyback activity are the primary reads at this stage.

Profitability

Does it make money well?

No warning flags · GP/assets 0.17

Gross profitability (GP / assets)

0.17

Primary signal (Novy-Marx).

12th of 13 SIC 20 peers

Return on equity

14.1%

Gross margin

13.5%

13th of 13 SIC 20 peers

Revenue growth (YoY)

9.8%

Gross margin improving

Margin trend vs prior year.

PASS

Operating Leverage

2023202320242025
Revenue vs COGS
Revenue vs OpEx
Op. Income vs Revenue

Growth

Revenue CAGR (3Y)

-1.4%

Revenue CAGR (5Y)

—

Earnings CAGR (3Y)

4.3%

FCF CAGR (3Y)

—

Cash Flow Health

Is the cash real?

No warning flags · FCF 27% below net income

Free cash flow

$718.00M

Operating cash flow minus capex.

Positive free cash flow

PASS

FCF vs net income

-27.3%

(FCF − net income) ÷ |net income|. Positive: cash above earnings. Negative: below.

FCF not below net income

Fails when free cash flow is below net income (yellow flag).

WARN

Accruals healthy

Cash-backed earnings.

PASS

SBC / revenue

0.1%

Stock-based comp intensity.

Balance Sheet Strength

Can it survive a storm?

Caution: Dilution above 2% · net debt $808.00M, F-Score 6/9

Balance-sheet safety

Composite anti-fragile check.

PASS

Debt / equity

0.73

8th of 13 SIC 20 peers (best = lowest)

Current ratio

2.39×

9th of 13 SIC 20 peers

Quick ratio

1.02×

Net cash

-$808.00M

Cash & equivalents minus total debt.

Piotroski F-Score

6 / 9

Fundamental-strength score (0-9).

Valuation

Is the price reasonable?

No warning flags

Dividend safety

Composite score

2.5 / 5

Fair
Payout ratio
40.1%4/5 Strong
FCF coverage
1.81×3/5 Good
Dividend growth streak
1 yr1/5 Weak
Balance-sheet health
D/E 0.73 · IC N/A2/5 Fair

Capital allocation quality

Composite score

2.0 / 5

Fair
Share count trend
3.3%1/5 Weak
Buyback timing
N/AN/A
Dividend growth consistency
1 yr1/5 Weak
Net debt trajectory(deleveraging)
4.9%4/5 Strong

Lifecycle Phase History

20232025
Value
Capital Return

Price History

SFD+9.0% · +5.4% CAGRSPY+28.5% · +16.5% CAGR