Prepared foods maker General Mills on Wednesday offered an outlook for the fiscal year ahead that fell below investors’ expectations, projecting a lower adjusted profit as cautious consumers continue limiting their grocery expenses.

The Golden Valley-based company, which makes Progresso soup, Lucky Charms cereal and Blue Buffalo pet food, anticipates that the operating environment will continue to be volatile as value-seeking consumers feel pressured by tariffs, conflicts around the world and shifting regulations, said Chief Executive Officer Jeff Harmening in a statement.

“We’re not counting on a significant rebound in categories as we work our way through the year,” he added during a Wednesday call with analysts.

In a tough economic environment, the company sees the snacking category as “a bit more of a discretionary spend,” said Dana McNabb, group president for North America retail, on the call. “So our categories and our businesses have had a tougher time this year.”

Shares closed down 5% in Wednesday trading.

The company said fiscal year adjusted earnings per share will be down as much as 15%, and that organic sales will fall between a 1% decline and a 1% increase. The company sees a 1% to 2% hit on its cost of goods sold from tariffs, but is substituting ingredients and reformulating products to limit the impact, Chief Financial Officer Kofi Bruce said in prepared remarks.

General Mills is also navigating declining demand for processed breakfast cereal in the U.S. while adapting its products in response to demand for healthier options. It faces a likely short-term hit from the planned sale of its yogurt business in North America. The food-maker expects a roughly five percentage point hit to operating profit growth from the yogurt sale, as well as the acquisition of Whitebridge Pet Brands.

The company’s top goal for fiscal 2026 is to “restore volume-driven organic sales growth,” Harmening said. He pointed to efforts to lower prices and release new products, citing the upcoming release of fresh pet food under the Blue Buffalo brand and expansion of its protein-focused offerings.

Harmening said that this version of fresh pet food will see more success than a previous attempt in the category.

“We’re confident that we can build a profitable and growing business,” Harmening said. “But it will take a little bit of investment.”

In the most recent quarter, General Mills saw a 3% decline in organic sales, below average estimates. The firm also posted an adjusted EPS of $0.74, just above expectations.

— Bloomberg News

Nestle to remove artificial colors

Nestle said Wednesday it will eliminate artificial colors from its U.S. food and beverages by the middle of 2026.

It’s the latest big food company making that pledge. Last week, Kraft Heinz and General Mills said they would remove artificial dyes from their U.S. products by 2027. General Mills also said it plans to remove artificial dyes from its U.S. cereals and from all foods served in K-12 schools by the middle of 2026.

The move has broad support. About two-thirds of Americans favor restricting or reformulating processed foods to remove ingredients like added sugar or dyes, according to an AP-NORC poll. Both California and West Virginia have recently banned artificial dyes in foods served in schools.

Meta wins limited AI copyright ruling

A federal judge sided with Facebook parent Meta Platforms in dismissing a copyright infringement lawsuit from a group of authors who accused the company of stealing their works to train its artificial intelligence technology.

The Wednesday ruling from U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria was the second in a week from San Francisco’s federal court to dismiss major copyright claims from book authors against the rapidly developing AI industry.

Chhabria found that 13 authors who sued Meta “made the wrong arguments” and tossed the case. But the judge also said that the ruling is limited to the authors in the case and does not mean that Meta’s use of copyrighted materials is lawful.

In his 40-page ruling, Chhabria repeatedly indicated reasons to believe that Meta and other AI companies have turned into serial copyright infringers.

Kroger to close 60 stores nationally

Kroger plans to close around 60 U.S. grocery stores over the next 18 months to improve efficiency.

The Cincinnati, Ohio-based company announced the plan during a corporate earnings call last Friday. The company hasn’t said which stores it plans to shutter, but said the closures will happen around the country. It also said employees at impacted stores will be offered jobs at other locations.

Kroger is the nation’s largest supermarket chain, with 2,731 stores in 35 states and the District of Columbia. It operates stores under multiple brand names, including Smith’s, Ralphs, King Soopers and Fred Meyer.

— From news services