RIDGELAND, Miss. — Cal-Maine Foods Inc., the largest egg company in the United States, has reported results for its fiscal 2026 second quarter, ended Nov. 29, 2025. Unless otherwise indicated, all comparisons are to the comparable period of fiscal 2025.
“Despite the impact of eggs prices, we believe our performance in the second quarter and first half of the fiscal year demonstrates strength and momentum,” Sherman Miller, Cal-Maine Foods president and CEO, said. “We delivered solid results compared to a prior year marked by supply-demand imbalances and historic price levels. With lower egg prices, our increasingly diversified business model, paired with disciplined execution, proved to be a source of resilience. In our view, this positions us as a rare combination of value and growth—an advantage poised to strengthen over time.”
For the second quarter, Cal-Maine notes: Continued focus on sales diversification and mix shift, expected to strengthen earnings durability and predictability over time. Shell egg sales represented 84.4 percent of total net sales. Specialty eggs drove a greater portion of shell egg sales, accounting for 44 percent of total shell egg sales. Specialty eggs and prepared foods combined accounted for 46.4 percent of net sales. Announced a $36 million investment to centralize and expand prepared foods production, increasing capacity by more than 30 percent in the next two years to support long-term growth in high-protein, ready-to-eat products. Acquired Clean Egg,LLC production assets expanding specialty, free-range egg capacity to support local sourcing, capture accelerating market growth, and optimize supply chain.
For the first half of FY 2026: Shell egg sales represented 85 percent of total net sales. Specialty eggs drove a greater portion of shell egg sales, accounting for 39.6 percent of total shell egg sales. Specialty eggs and prepared foods combined accounted for 42.8 percent of net sales.
Second quarter 2026 highlights also included: Net sales of $769.5 million, down 19.4 percent. Shell egg sales of $649.6 million, down 28.1 percent. Conventional egg sales of $363.9 million, down 41 percent. Specialty egg sales of $285.7 million, down 0.4 percent. Breeder flocks grew 12.7 percent, total chicks hatched rose 65.1 percent, and the average number of layer hens expanded 2.6 percent. Prepared foods sales of $71.7 million versus $10.4 million, up 586.4 percent. Sales down 14.5 percent sequentially due to short-term production decline during Echo Lake remodeling and expansion projects. Gross profit of $207.4 million, down 41.8 percent, and gross profit margin of 27 percent. Operating income of $123.9 million, down 55.5 percent, and operating income margin of 16.1 percent. Net income attributable to Cal-Maine Foods of $102.8 million, down 53.1 percent. Diluted earnings per share of $2.13, down 52.3 percent. Net cash flow from operations of $94.8 million, down 22.8 percent. Cash dividend of approximately $34.3 million, or approximately 72 cents per share, pursuant to the company’s established dividend policy.
“Our specialty egg business maintained strong prices and volumes in the quarter and achieved higher sales dollars and volume in the first half of the fiscal year,” Miller said. “With our recently announced expansions, we are positioning our prepared foods business to deliver sustained double-digit volume growth.”
“We expect the ongoing sales mix shift across our portfolio, visible throughout the first half of the fiscal year, will enhance the durability and predictability of our earnings over time,” Miller added. “This reflects the deliberate execution of our long-term strategy, and our results reinforce the strength of that approach as we continue to deliver operational and financial excellence.”
· Looking forward
“Cal-Maine is systematically advancing a structural upgrade in the egg category from a position of strength,” Miller said. “While the market has long viewed us as a pure commodity business, we are focused on becoming a higher-value, more stable earnings platform as consumer demand shifts toward specialty, premium, and convenient protein solutions.”
“Our core shell-egg business provides a durable foundation, while specialty eggs, more hybrid pricing arrangements, and prepared foods are driving sales mix improvement, deeper customer engagement, and a higher earnings floor with more predictable and resilient results,” he noted. “This is not a pivot — it is a disciplined evolution of an essential food business into a more diversified platform with multiple growth engines and opportunity for improved long-term earnings visibility.”
Cal-Maine Foods also repurchased 846,037 shares of its common stock during the quarter for a total of $74.8 million. These transactions were completed under the company’s current share repurchase authorization, which permits the repurchase of up to $500 million, of which $375.2 million remains available.
For the second quarter of fiscal 2026, Cal-Maine Foods will pay a cash dividend of approximately 72 cents per share to holders of its common stock, pursuant to the company’s variable dividend policy. The dividend is payable on Feb. 12, 2026, to holders of record on Jan. 28, 2026. The final amount paid per share will be based on the number of outstanding shares on the record date, the company reported.
