Mondelez pricing execution fuels Q1 earnings beat, guidance lift

Food company Mondelez (NASDAQ:) topped earnings and revenue estimates in the first quarter, sending its shares more than 2% higher premarket Friday.

After the close Thursday, the company Q1 earnings of $0.89 per share, $0.09 better than the analyst estimate of $0.80, while revenue for the quarter came in at $9.17 billion versus the consensus estimate of $8.44B.

“We delivered a strong start to the year, with double-digit net revenue and profit dollar growth in our first quarter, as we continued to execute against our long-term strategy,” said Dirk Van de Put, chairman and chief executive officer. He added that the company’s results were driven by ongoing pricing execution to offset cost inflation and solid volume growth.

Looking ahead, MDLZ lifted its guidance for 2023. The company now expects 10%+ organic net revenue growth versus the prior outlook of 5% to 7%. In addition, it now sees adjusted EPS growth at 10%+ versus the prior outlook of high single digits.

Reacting to the report, Morgan Stanley analysts maintained an Overweight rating and $79 price target on the stock, telling investors the company’s “Q1 EPS beat by $0.08 driven by robust org sales (+19.4%) underscoring MDLZ’s attractive categories & solid execution.”

However, they noted that 2023 guidance “still appears conservative.”

Deutsche Bank analysts told investors in a note that Buy-rated MDLZ’s “FY23 outlook is still firmly grounded and very prudent, if not outright conservative. While inflation remains elevated at +DD COGS and A&CP levels are expected to step up as capacity ramps, pricing, volume leverage, and easing supply chain disruptions should enable sequential profitability improvement from here.”

They raised the firm’s price target on the stock to $80 from $76 per share.

Bernstein analysts raised the price target on MDLZ to $85 from $79, maintaining an Outperform rating. They said Mondelez results show the “company is now firing on all cylinders now that Europe is back on track.”