Why Cal-Maine Foods Stock Just Cracked

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ: CALM) may be "the largest egg company in the United States," but Cal-Maine stock got smaller on Wednesday when its stock fell 3.7% through 9:45 a.m. ET after reporting earnings.

But it could have been much worse.

Cal-Maine Q4 earnings miss

Analysts forecast the food company to earn $0.11 per share on $657 million in sales for its fourth and final quarter of 2026. Instead of earning a profit, though, Cal-Maine reported a big loss -- $0.76 per share -- and its $552.6 million in quarterly sales fell far short.

Q4 sales plunged 50% year over year, with gross profit all but evaporating -- down 94%. Factor in operating costs, and Cal-Maine flipped from a massive $7.01 per share profit a year ago to this year's $0.76 quarterly loss.

CEO Sherman Miller admitted that Q4 was "particularly challenging" for Cal-Maine as "industry oversupply drove wholesale shell egg prices to historically low inflation-adjusted levels."

In fact, 2026 as a whole was rough for Cal-Maine. While market prices for eggs declined a steep 71% in the quarter, prices were also down substantially -- 51% -- for the year, resulting in a 32% drop in revenue for the year, and a 73% decline in profit.

What's next for Cal-Maine

Cal-Maine still ended 2026 with $6.63 per share in earnings, though, so it wasn't a total loss -- and fiscal 2027 could be better. The first month of Q1 2027 saw prices down 54% sequentially, but most of that decline has already been erased, with prices up "by more than 90% in only a few weeks," says management.

If egg supply and demand continue to rebalance, Q1 revenue might end up flat sequentially, and if the trend continues, prices could start to recover in Q2 and start to compare favorably to 2026 levels.

Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Cal-Maine Foods. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.