Shares of Lamb Weston, Kraft Heinz, Darling Ingredients, The Marzetti Company, and Pilgrim's Pride fell sharply in afternoon trading after a historic U.S. cattle shortage and volatile livestock prices squeezed margins and prompted outlook cuts across the food production industry. The cattle shortage, which has pushed herd sizes to a 75-year low, has drastically elevated procurement costs for meatpackers, according to Reuters. Industry leader Tyson Foods cut its fiscal 2026 adjusted operating income outlook to a range of $2.1 billion to $2.3 billion, down $100 million from its previous forecast, and projected its full-year adjusted operating loss for the beef business will widen to between $500 million and $650 million. To mitigate these headwinds, Tyson is closing processing facilities in Joslin, Illinois, and Eagle Mountain, Utah, and pursuing a sale of its Pasco, Washington plant, following the earlier shutdown of a plant in Lexington, Nebraska. Among the impacted stocks, Lamb Weston fell 3.4%, Kraft Heinz fell 3.1%, Darling Ingredients fell 3.3%, The Marzetti Company fell 4.3%, and Pilgrim's Pride fell 2.5%.
Tyson Foods IncCattle shortage raises procurement costs, squeezing margins and prompting outlook cuts.
The Kraft Heinz Company
Lamb Weston Holdings Inc
The Marzetti Company
Pilgrims Pride Corp
Darling Ingredients Inc