General Mills Shares Drop After It Lowers Sales Outlook

General Mills Inc. shares dropped 4.1% in Friday premarket trading after the food company lowered its guidance for fiscal 2017, ending in May. The revision is largely due to recent sales performance of U.S. yogurt and soup. General Mills organic net sales are now expected to fall about 4%, which is the low end of the 3%-to-4% decline in the previous guidance range, "due primarily to a widening gap between the company's level of promotional activity and that of competitors in the U.S. yogurt and soup categories." Adjusted earnings per share are expected to increase 5% to 7% in constant currency. General Mills shares are up 5.9% for the past year while the S&P 500 index is up 21.8% for the same period.