Why J.M. Smucker Co. Stock Plunged Today

What happened

Shares of J.M. Smucker Co. (NYSE: SJM) fell 9.5% on Thursday after the company announced weaker-than-expected fiscal first-quarter 2018 results.

Smucker's revenue declined 3.7% year over year to $1.749 billion, while adjusted earnings per share fell 18.8% to $1.51. By comparison, investors were looking for higher adjusted earnings of $1.62 per share on revenue of $1.81 billion.

So what

CEO Mark Smucker remained optimistic, stating:

More specifically, Smucker Co. endured a 5% impact to net sales from lower volume and mix across "several categories." But it primarily blamed weakness from its coffee and oils products, which were offset by growth in the pet food segment.

Now what

Looking ahead to the full fiscal year of 2018, Smucker reduced its guidance for adjusted earnings per share to be in the range of $7.75 to $7.95 (down from $7.85 to $8.05 previously).

All things considered, this wasn't a terrible quarter from J.M. Smucker. But with shares already down more than 20% over the past year leading up to the report, the market was obviously hungry for stronger results from the food products giant. So while it may have taken the action necessary to spur growth from its underperforming coffee segment, it's no surprise to see J.M. Smucker stock extend its losing streak today.

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Steve Symington has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.