GIS General Mills Inc

Exhibit 99

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Dec. 18, 2024

General Mills Reports Fiscal 2025 Second-quarter Results

and Updates Full-year Outlook

MINNEAPOLIS (Dec. 18, 2024) – General Mills, Inc. (NYSE: GIS) today reported results for its fiscal 2025 second quarter.

“We made important progress accelerating our volume growth and market share trends in the first half of the year, including returning our North America Pet business to growth,” said General Mills Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Harmening. “To achieve and build on these enterprise-wide gains, we’ve made incremental investments to bring consumers greater value. While these investments lower our profit outlook for fiscal 2025, they better position General Mills for sustainable growth in fiscal 2026 and beyond. Amidst a dynamic external environment, I’m not only confident in our plans, but especially our teams, who are operating with agility and doing what’s right for our consumers.”

Guided by its purpose to make food the world loves, General Mills is executing its Accelerate strategy to drive sustainable, profitable growth and top-tier shareholder returns over the long term. The strategy focuses on four pillars to create competitive advantages and win: boldly building brands, relentlessly innovating, unleashing scale, and standing for good. The company is prioritizing its core markets, global platforms, and local gem brands that have the best prospects for profitable growth and is committed to reshaping its portfolio with strategic acquisitions and divestitures to further enhance its growth profile.

Second Quarter Results Summary

Six Month Results Summary

Operating Segment Results

North America Retail Segment

Second-quarter net sales for General Mills’ North America Retail segment of $3.3 billion essentially matched year-ago results, with favorable net price realization and mix offset by lower pound volume. Organic net sales were up 1 percent. Net sales outpaced Nielsen-measured retail sales by approximately 2 points in the quarter, reflecting an increase in retailer inventory due in part to the impact of the later Thanksgiving holiday in fiscal 2025, as well as stronger growth in non-measured channels. Net sales were up mid-single digits for the U.S. Morning Foods operating unit and up low-single digits for U.S. Snacks. Net sales were down low-single digits for U.S. Meals & Baking Solutions and were down mid-single digits for Canada in constant currency. Segment operating profit of $862 million essentially matched year-ago results as reported and in constant currency, driven primarily by HMM cost savings and favorable net price realization and mix, offset by input cost inflation, higher other supply chain costs, and lower volume.

Through six months, North America Retail segment net sales were down 1 percent to $6.3 billion. Organic net sales essentially matched year-ago levels. Segment operating profit of $1.6 billion was down 3 percent as reported and in constant currency, driven primarily by input cost inflation, higher other supply chain costs, and lower volume, partially offset by HMM cost savings and favorable net price realization and mix.

North America Pet Segment

Second-quarter net sales for the North America Pet segment were up 5 percent to $596 million, driven by higher pound volume, partially offset by unfavorable net price realization and mix. Organic net sales were also up 5 percent. Net sales performance outpaced all-channel retail sales results by roughly 4 points, reflecting a rebuild of retailer inventory after significant prior-year reductions. Net sales in the quarter were up high-single digits for dry pet food, up mid-single digits for wet pet food, and up low-single digits for pet treats. Segment operating profit of $139 million was up 36 percent, driven primarily by HMM cost savings, higher volume, and lower other supply chain costs, partially offset by unfavorable net price realization and mix and higher SG&A expenses including increased media investment.

Through six months, North America Pet segment net sales were up 2 percent to $1.2 billion. Organic net sales were also up 2 percent. Segment operating profit was up 21 percent to $259 million, driven primarily by HMM cost savings, lower other supply chain costs, and higher volume, partially offset by unfavorable net price realization and mix, higher SG&A expenses including increased media investment, and input cost inflation.

North America Foodservice Segment

Second-quarter net sales for the North America Foodservice segment were up 8 percent to $630 million. Organic net sales were also up 8 percent, with growth on breads, cereal, and frozen meals. Segment operating profit increased 24 percent to $118 million, driven primarily by favorable net price realization and mix.

Through six months, North America Foodservice net sales increased 4 percent to $1.2 billion. Organic net sales were also up 4 percent. Segment operating profit was up 23 percent to $190 million, driven primarily by favorable net price realization and mix.

International Segment

Second-quarter net sales for the International segment increased 1 percent to $691 million, including a 4-point benefit from the Edgard & Cooper acquisition. Organic net sales were down 3 percent, driven primarily by declines in China and Brazil, partially offset by growth in distributor markets and Europe & Australia. Segment operating profit totaled $24 million versus $35 million a year ago, driven primarily by unfavorable net price realization and mix and higher SG&A expenses, partially offset by HMM cost savings.

Through six months, International net sales increased 1 percent to $1.4 billion, including a 3-point benefit from the Edgard & Cooper acquisition. Organic net sales were down 2 percent. Segment operating profit totaled $45 million versus $85 million a year ago, driven primarily by unfavorable net price realization and mix and input cost inflation, partially offset by HMM cost savings and higher volume.

Joint Venture Summary

Second-quarter constant-currency net sales increased 2 percent for Cereal Partners Worldwide (CPW) and were up 1 percent for Häagen-Dazs Japan (HDJ). Combined after-tax earnings from joint ventures were up 24 percent to $30 million, driven primarily by lower input costs and favorable net price realization and mix at CPW, partially offset by higher SG&A expenses and lower volume at CPW and higher input costs at HDJ.

Other Income Statement Items

Second-quarter unallocated corporate items totaled $65 million net expense in fiscal 2025 compared to $157 million net expense a year ago. Excluding mark-to-market valuation effects and other items affecting comparability, unallocated corporate items totaled $80 million net expense this year compared to $103 million net expense a year ago.

Restructuring, impairment, and other exit costs totaled $1 million in the second quarter compared to $124 million a year ago (please see Note 3 below for more information on these charges).

Net interest expense totaled $125 million in the second quarter compared to $118 million a year ago, driven primarily by higher average long-term debt levels. The effective tax rate in the quarter was 20.1 percent compared to 19.0 percent last year (please see Note 6 below for more information on our effective tax rate). The second-quarter adjusted effective tax rate was 20.1 percent compared to 20.8 percent a year ago, driven primarily by favorable earnings mix by jurisdiction in the second quarter of fiscal 2025.

Cash Flow Generation and Cash Returns

Cash provided by operating activities totaled $1.8 billion through six months of fiscal 2025 and was up 19 percent from a year ago, driven primarily by a change in accounts payable, partially offset by changes in inventory and other current assets. Capital investments totaled $301 million compared to $294 million a year ago. Dividends paid of $676 million were down 2 percent, reflecting lower average shares outstanding. General Mills repurchased approximately 9 million shares of common stock through six months of fiscal 2025 for a total of $600 million compared to $1.3 billion in share repurchases a year ago. Average diluted shares outstanding in the first half decreased 4 percent to 562 million.

Fiscal 2025 Outlook

Amid an uncertain macroeconomic backdrop for consumers across its core markets, General Mills is focused on delivering remarkable experiences across its leading food brands, resulting in sustainable improvement in volume growth and market share trends over time. Through the first six months of fiscal 2025, General Mills generated 1 percent growth in organic pound volume, which represented a 4-point improvement versus its fiscal 2024 performance. Additionally, it grew or maintained dollar market share in 38 percent of its priority businesses in the second quarter, which represented a significant improvement from fiscal 2024 levels. To support these improvements, the company has added targeted promotional investment – above its original plans – in certain priority categories to deliver greater value for consumers, while continuing to invest in brand building above fiscal 2024 levels.

Based on the above assumptions, the company updated its full-year fiscal 2025 financial targets²:

General Mills will issue pre-recorded management remarks today, December 18, 2024, at approximately 6:30 a.m. Central time (7:30 a.m. Eastern time) and will hold a live, webcasted question and answer session beginning at 8:00 a.m. Central time (9:00 a.m. Eastern time). The pre-recorded remarks and the webcast will be made available at www.generalmills.com/investors.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are based on our current expectations and assumptions. These forward-looking statements, including the statements under the caption “Fiscal 2025 Outlook,” and statements made by Mr. Harmening, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the potential results discussed in the forward-looking statements. In particular, our predictions about future net sales and earnings could be affected by a variety of factors, including: disruptions or inefficiencies in the supply chain; competitive dynamics in the consumer foods industry and the markets for our products, including new product introductions, advertising activities, pricing actions, and promotional activities of our competitors; economic conditions, including changes in inflation rates, interest rates, tax rates, or the availability of capital; product development and innovation; consumer acceptance of new products and product improvements; consumer reaction to pricing actions and changes in promotion levels; acquisitions or dispositions of businesses or assets; changes in capital structure; changes in the legal and regulatory environment, including tax legislation, labeling and advertising regulations, and litigation; impairments in the carrying value of goodwill, other intangible assets, or other long-lived assets, or changes in the useful lives of other intangible assets; changes in accounting standards and the impact of critical accounting estimates; product quality and safety issues, including recalls and product liability; changes in consumer demand for our products; effectiveness of advertising, marketing, and promotional programs; changes in consumer behavior, trends, and preferences, including weight loss trends; consumer perception of health-related issues, including obesity; consolidation in the retail environment; changes in purchasing and inventory levels of significant customers; fluctuations in the cost and availability of supply chain resources, including raw materials, packaging, energy, and transportation; effectiveness of restructuring and cost saving initiatives; volatility in the market value of derivatives used to manage price risk for certain commodities; benefit plan expenses due to changes in plan asset values and discount rates used to determine plan liabilities; failure or breach of our information technology systems; foreign economic conditions, including currency rate fluctuations; and political unrest in foreign markets and economic uncertainty due to terrorism or war. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise any forward-looking statement to reflect any future events or circumstances.

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Contacts

(Investors) Jeff Siemon: +1-763-764-2301

(Media) Chelcy Walker: +1-763-764-6364

Consolidated Statements of Earnings and Supplementary Information

GENERAL MILLS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

(Unaudited) (In Millions, Except per Share Data)

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

Operating Segment Results and Supplementary Information

GENERAL MILLS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

(Unaudited) (In Millions)

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

Consolidated Balance Sheets

GENERAL MILLS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

(In Millions, Except Par Value)

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements. 

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

GENERAL MILLS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

(Unaudited) (In Millions)

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

GENERAL MILLS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unaudited)

During the second quarter of fiscal 2025, we entered into definitive agreements to sell our North American yogurt businesses to affiliates of Group Lactalis S.A. (Lactalis) and Sodiaal International (Sodiaal) for approximately $2 billion. We expect to close these divestitures in calendar year 2025, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. We have classified all assets and liabilities associated with our North American yogurt business as held for sale in our Consolidated Balance Sheets as of November 24, 2024.

During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, we acquired a pet food business in Europe for a purchase price of $434 million, net of cash acquired. During the first quarter of fiscal 2025, we paid $8 million related to a purchase price holdback after certain closing conditions were met. We financed the transaction with cash on hand. We consolidated the business into our Consolidated Balance Sheets and recorded goodwill of $318 million, an indefinite-lived brand intangible asset of $118 million, and a finite-lived customer relationship asset of $14 million. The goodwill is included in the International segment and is not deductible for tax purposes. The pro forma effects of this acquisition were not material. We have conducted a preliminary assessment of the fair value of the acquired assets and liabilities of the business and we are continuing our review of these items during the measurement period. If new information is obtained about facts and circumstances that existed at the acquisition date, the acquisition accounting will be revised to reflect the resulting adjustments to current estimates of those items. The consolidated results are reported in our International operating segment on a one-month lag beginning in fiscal 2025.

In the six-month period ended November 24, 2024, we did not undertake any new restructuring actions. We recorded $1 million of restructuring charges in the second quarter of fiscal 2025 and $4 million of restructuring charges in the six-month period ended November 24, 2024, related to restructuring actions previously announced. We recorded $15 million of restructuring charges in the second quarter of fiscal 2024 and $25 million of restructuring charges in the six-month period ended November 26, 2023, related to previously announced restructuring actions. We expect these actions to be completed by the end of fiscal 2026.

In the second quarter of fiscal 2024, we recorded a $117 million non-cash goodwill impairment charge related to our Latin America reporting unit.

Unallocated corporate expenses totaled $189 million in the six-month period ended November 24, 2024, compared to $244 million in the same period in fiscal 2024. In the six-month period ended November 24, 2024, we recorded a $1 million net decrease in expense related to the mark-to-market valuation of certain commodity positions and grain inventories, compared to a $20 million net decrease in expense in the same period last year. We recorded $4 million of net losses related to valuation adjustments on certain corporate investments in the six-month period ended November 24, 2024, compared to $22 million of net losses related to valuation adjustments and the loss on sale of certain corporate investments in the same period in fiscal 2024. In addition, we recorded $1 million of restructuring charges and an immaterial amount of restructuring initiative project-related costs in cost of sales in the six-month period ended November 24, 2024, compared to $17 million of restructuring charges and $1 million of restructuring initiative project-related costs in cost of sales in the same period last year. Compensation expense related to stock-based payments decreased in the six-month period ended November 24, 2024, compared to the same period in fiscal 2024. In the six-month period ended November 24, 2024, we recorded $9 million of transaction costs related to the definitive agreement for the Whitebridge Pet Brands acquisition and definitive agreements to sell our North American yogurt businesses, compared to $1 million of transaction costs in the same period last year. We recorded $4 million of integration costs related to the acquisition of a pet food business in Europe in the six-month period ended November 24, 2024.

The effective tax rate of the six-month period ended November 24, 2024, was 20.9 percent compared to 20.0 percent for the six-month period ended November 26, 2023. The 0.9 percentage point increase was primarily due to certain nonrecurring discrete tax benefits in fiscal 2024, partially offset by favorable earnings mix by jurisdiction in fiscal 2025. Our effective tax rate excluding certain items affecting comparability was 20.9 percent in the six-month period ended November 24, 2024, compared to 21.0 percent in the same period last year (see Note 7 below for a description of our use of measures not defined by GAAP). The 0.1 percentage point decrease was primarily due to favorable earnings mix by jurisdiction in fiscal 2025, partially offset by certain nonrecurring discrete tax benefits in fiscal 2024.

We provide organic net sales growth rates for our consolidated net sales and segment net sales. This measure is used in reporting to our Board of Directors and executive management and as a component of the Board of Directors’ measurement of our performance for incentive compensation purposes. We believe that organic net sales growth rates provide useful information to investors because they provide transparency to underlying performance in our net sales by excluding the effect that foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, acquisitions, divestitures, and a 53rd fiscal week, when applicable, have on year-to-year comparability. A reconciliation of these measures to reported net sales growth rates, the relevant GAAP measures, are included in our Operating Segment Results above.

Certain measures in this release are presented excluding the impact of foreign currency exchange (constant-currency). To present this information, current period results for entities reporting in currencies other than United States dollars are translated into United States dollars at the average exchange rates in effect during the corresponding period of the prior fiscal year, rather than the actual average exchange rates in effect during the current fiscal year. Therefore, the foreign currency impact is equal to current year results in local currencies multiplied by the change in the average foreign currency exchange rate between the current fiscal period and the corresponding period of the prior fiscal year. We believe that these constant-currency measures provide useful information to investors because they provide transparency to underlying performance by excluding the effect that foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations have on period-to-period comparability given volatility in foreign currency exchange markets.

Our fiscal 2025 outlook for organic net sales growth, adjusted operating profit growth, adjusted diluted EPS growth, and free cash flow conversion are non-GAAP financial measures that exclude, or have otherwise been adjusted for, items impacting comparability, including the effect of foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, acquisitions, divestitures, and a 53rd week, when applicable. We are not able to reconcile these forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable forward-looking GAAP financial measure without unreasonable efforts because we are unable to predict with a reasonable degree of certainty the actual impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates and the timing of acquisitions and divestitures throughout fiscal 2025. The unavailable information could have a significant impact on our fiscal 2025 GAAP financial results.

For fiscal 2025, we currently expect: foreign currency exchange rates (based on a blend of forward and forecasted rates and hedge positions) and acquisitions and divestitures will have no material impact to net sales growth and restructuring charges to be immaterial.

Significant Items Impacting Comparability

Several measures below are presented on an adjusted basis. The adjustments are either items resulting from infrequently occurring events or items that, in management’s judgement, significantly affect the year-to-year assessment of operating results.

The following are descriptions of significant items impacting comparability of our results.

Transaction costs

Fiscal 2025 transaction costs related to the definitive agreement for the Whitebridge Pet Brands acquisition and definitive agreements to sell our North American yogurt businesses. Immaterial transaction costs incurred in fiscal 2024. Please see Note 2.

Restructuring charges and project-related costs

Restructuring charges and project-related costs related to previously announced restructuring actions recorded in fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2024. Please see Note 3.

Acquisition integration costs

Integration costs resulting from the acquisition of a pet food business in Europe recorded in fiscal 2025. Integration costs primarily resulting from the acquisition of TNT Crust recorded in fiscal 2024. Please see Note 2.

Investment activity, net

Valuation adjustments of certain corporate investments in fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2024. Please see Note 4.

Mark-to-market effects

Net mark-to-market valuation of certain commodity positions recognized in unallocated corporate items. Please see Note 4.

Goodwill impairment

Non-cash goodwill impairment charge related to our Latin America reporting unit in fiscal 2024. Please see Note 3.

Product recall

Costs related to the fiscal 2023 voluntary recall of certain international Häagen-Dazs ice cream products recorded in fiscal 2024.

CPW restructuring charges

CPW restructuring charges related to previously announced restructuring actions.

Adjusted Operating Profit Growth and Related Constant-currency Growth Rate

This measure is used in reporting to our Board of Directors and executive management and as a component of the measurement of our performance for incentive compensation purposes. We believe that this measure provides useful information to investors because it is the operating profit measure we use to evaluate operating profit performance on a comparable year-to-year basis. The measure is evaluated on a constant-currency basis by excluding the effect that foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations have on year-to-year comparability given the volatility in foreign currency exchange rates. 

Our adjusted operating profit growth on a constant-currency basis is calculated as follows:

Note: Table may not foot due to rounding.

For more information on the reconciling items, please refer to the Significant Items Impacting Comparability section above.

Adjusted Diluted EPS and Related Constant-currency Growth Rate

This measure is used in reporting to our Board of Directors and executive management. We believe that this measure provides useful information to investors because it is the profitability measure we use to evaluate earnings performance on a comparable year-to-year basis.

The reconciliation of our GAAP measure, diluted EPS, to adjusted diluted EPS and the related constant-currency growth rates follows: