Flowers Foods Inc

BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Ross Stores, Flowers Foods, and Broadcom all moved on company-specific news. BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings jumped 5.6% after reporting second-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings of $1.36 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.16 per share. Ross Stores gained 4.4% after reporting second-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings of $2.06 per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.93 per share. Flowers Foods declined 2.1% after reporting second-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings of $0.21 per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.23 per share. Broadcom gained 1.2% following a report that the company plans to raise more than $60 billion in debt to fund a deal supporting Anthropic.

Flowers Foods reported second-quarter sales of US$1,192.94 million and net income of US$40.66 million, both lower than a year earlier, and cut its full-year 2026 sales and earnings guidance. Management cited pressured household budgets, shifting consumer purchasing patterns, and heightened competition in fresh packaged bread as key drivers of the weaker results and reduced outlook. The company now expects 2026 net sales of US$5.070 billion to US$5.142 billion and earnings per diluted share of US$0.64 to US$0.74, down from prior expectations. The revised guidance anchors expectations after a weaker first half and frames how much improvement the market now assumes from initiatives like product relaunches and pack size changes.

Ross Stores raised its full-year earnings forecast and projected stronger comparable-store sales, sending its shares up nearly 9% in premarket trading. The discount retailer now expects full-year earnings per share of $8.61 to $8.77, up from its prior range of $7.50 to $7.74, and sees third-quarter comparable sales rising 6% to 7% and fourth-quarter sales up 4% to 5%, ahead of analyst expectations. Second-quarter revenue rose about 13% to $6.26 billion, beating estimates of $6.18 billion. Separately, cryptocurrency-linked stocks rallied as Bitcoin jumped 8.9% to $78,135.60, with Strategy up 10.2%, Coinbase up 6.8%, and Circle Internet Group up 6.4% in premarket trading. O-I Glass shares climbed 6.6% after Citi upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and raised its price target to $9 from $8, while Flowers Foods fell 4.2% after reporting weaker-than-expected second-quarter results.

Stock futures edged slightly higher early Friday as markets attempted to rebound from Thursday's steep selloff, with gains supported by a pullback in U.S. Treasury yields. Strategy rallied 10% after the firm returned to profitability on its Bitcoin holdings, swinging to an estimated $1.4B unrealized gain as the cryptocurrency surged nearly 22% over five sessions to around $78,500. Ross Stores jumped 9% after reporting stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with sales up 14% to $6.3B, comparable store sales up 10%, and EPS of $2.66, while raising its FY2026 EPS outlook to $8.61-$8.77 from $7.50-$7.74. OSI Systems plunged 14% after Q4 revenue declined 4.1% Y/Y to $484.1M, missing estimates by $45.6M, and its FY2027 revenue guidance of $1.875B-$1.93B came in below the $1.94B consensus. Aveanna Healthcare Holdings tumbled 9% after existing stockholders priced a 15M-share secondary offering at $11.75 per share, with the company receiving no proceeds. Flowers Foods fell 5% after Q2 revenue declined 4% Y/Y to $1.19B, missing estimates by $40M, and the company cut its FY2026 outlook to $5.07B-$5.14B in sales and $0.75-$0.85 in adjusted EPS, below consensus.

Flowers Foods reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.21 per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.23 per share and down from $0.30 a year earlier. Revenue came in at $1.19 billion, below the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion and down from $1.24 billion in the prior-year quarter. The earnings surprise was negative 8.70%, while the revenue miss was 3.04%. The company has topped consensus EPS estimates twice in the last four quarters. Flowers Foods shares have lost about 31.4% since the beginning of the year, compared with a 12.6% gain for the S&P 500.

Flowers Foods is expected to report lower revenue and earnings for its second quarter of 2026 on August 20. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is around $1.2 billion, down nearly 1% from a year ago, while the consensus earnings estimate of 23 cents per share implies a 23.3% decline. The company faces softness in traditional loaf bread, price-sensitive consumers, and an intensely promotional environment, with volumes modeled to fall 2.7%. Cost pressures from diesel fuel, edible oils, packaging resin, and potential tariff-related import costs are expected to weigh on margins, though productivity initiatives and strength in better-for-you brands like Simple Mills and Nature's Own may provide some offset. Zacks does not predict an earnings beat, as Flowers Foods carries a Zacks Rank of 3 and an Earnings ESP of 0.00%.

StockStory identifies Brown-Forman, Flowers Foods, and Kraft Heinz as consumer stocks warranting caution. Brown-Forman, known for Jack Daniel's, has seen annual sales decline 2% over three years with a forecasted 1.1% revenue drop and falling operating margin. Flowers Foods, maker of Wonder Bread, faces declining unit sales and a projected 1.9% revenue decline, while its earnings per share fell 21.7% annually over three years. Kraft Heinz, formed from the 2015 merger, is experiencing falling unit sales, a forecasted 2.2% revenue decline, and a 25.1 percentage point drop in operating margin. The consumer staples sector has declined 3.9% over the past six months, underperforming the S&P 500's 8.4% gain.

Boot Barn is highlighted as a small-cap stock with promising prospects, while Flowers Foods and Choice Hotels are flagged as facing headwinds. Boot Barn, a western-inspired apparel and footwear retailer with a market cap of $5.31 billion, is expanding its store base and seeing same-store sales growth average 6.3% over the past two years, with its free cash flow margin jumping by 5.6 percentage points last year. In contrast, Flowers Foods, a $1.65 billion packaged bakery company, has experienced shrinking unit sales and a forecasted revenue decline of 1.9%, with earnings per share falling 21.7% annually over three years. Choice Hotels, a $4.84 billion hotel franchisor, faces softer revenue per room and a weak free cash flow margin of 8.8%, limiting its ability to invest or reward shareholders.

StockStory highlights Coinbase as a profitable stock with promising prospects, citing its 28.5% annual revenue growth over the last two years, best-in-class gross margin of 85.9%, and robust free cash flow margin of 35.2%. In contrast, the research firm recommends selling Flowers Foods, which faces falling unit sales and a projected 1.9% revenue decline over the next 12 months, and Danaher, where organic revenue growth fell short of benchmarks and operating margin declined by 10.6 percentage points over five years. Coinbase trades at $164.58 per share, Flowers Foods at $7.41, and Danaher at $178.03.