One-glance verdict
Undervalued
$58.25 our estimate vs market $27.45
Wall Street consensus: $33.44 (-42.6% lower than our fair-value estimate)
53% below our estimate, below the bear case
Fundamentals snapshot
Pilgrim's Pride Corporation
PPC · NMS · Consumer Defensive · Packaged Foods
Current price
$27.45
52-week range
$26.11 - $50.42
Market cap
$6.54B
Balance sheet
Watch
10.19x Adequate
Net debt $2.72B. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.
What stands out
3 Rewards
2 Risks
3 rewards · 2 risks
- Reward Returns 14.5% on equity, ahead of 80% of its peers.
- Reward Free cash flow was positive in 9/10 years.
- Risk Operating margin compressed from 6.9% to 1.6% over 3 years.
- Risk Stock trades 3.1% above its 5-year average P/E.
What this company does
Pilgrim's Pride Corporation
Pilgrim's Pride is one of the world's largest producers of chicken and pork, selling products like fresh meat, bacon, and chicken nuggets to grocery stores and restaurants. The company makes money by selling huge volumes of these food staples, so its profit margins (the percentage of each sale that is actual profit) are heavily influenced by the costs of animal feed. Because its products are everyday necessities, its business is sensitive to changes in what consumers are willing to spend on groceries.
How the company got here
Pilgrim's Pride started in 1946 as a small feed and seed store in Pittsburg, Texas, founded by brothers Bo and Aubrey Pilgrim. They grew by giving away free chicks with feed purchases, eventually moving into raising and processing chickens themselves. After facing financial trouble and filing for bankruptcy in 2008, the company was rescued when Brazilian meat processing giant JBS S.A. bought a majority stake in 2009. This backing allowed Pilgrim's to stabilize and expand significantly, acquiring major operations in Mexico and Europe to become a global food company.
What it actually does
Pilgrim's Pride is one of the world's largest chicken producers, controlling the entire process from the egg to the final product on store shelves. You've likely seen their products in grocery stores as fresh chicken under brands like Pilgrim's and Just BARE, or as prepared foods like chicken nuggets and patties. The company is a major supplier to large chain restaurants like KFC and wholesale clubs like Costco, providing them with fresh and frozen chicken tailored to their needs. Beyond chicken, the company also produces and sells pork and a variety of other prepared foods, especially in its European markets.
U.S.
This is the company's largest and original business, focused entirely on producing chicken. It sells everything from fresh, raw chicken parts in grocery store coolers to fully cooked, breaded chicken nuggets and tenders for restaurants and school cafeterias. Major customers include big-box retailers, grocery chains, and well-known fast-food restaurants. This segment forms the foundation of the company, but its profits can swing up and down based on the volatile price of commodity chicken (chicken sold in bulk with little to distinguish it from competitors).
Europe
Through its acquisitions of companies like Moy Park and Tulip, Pilgrim's has built a significant business in the United Kingdom and Europe. This division sells chicken but also has a much larger focus on other prepared foods, including pork sausages, sliced meats for sandwiches, and chilled snacks under popular local brands like Richmond, Fridge Raiders, and Denny. This part of the company provides important diversification (a strategy to reduce risk by investing in a variety of assets), making Pilgrim's less dependent on the U.S. chicken market. Customers are primarily major supermarket chains and food service operators across the region.
Mexico
Pilgrim's is one of the top two chicken producers in Mexico, a market it first entered in the late 1980s. This segment operates its own production facilities and sells fresh and value-added chicken products to retailers and foodservice customers throughout the country. The company has established strong local brands and distribution networks, making this a key area for growth. Pilgrim's is currently investing heavily to expand its operations in Mexico to meet local demand and reduce the need for imports.
What management is betting on now
The company's main focus is to sell more branded and prepared foods, which have higher margins (the percentage of profit made from a sale) than basic, fresh chicken. This strategy aims to make earnings (the company's total profit) more stable and less subject to the ups and downs of the commodity markets. They are also pushing for global growth, investing to expand their footprint in Mexico and using their European business as a platform for new products. Finally, Pilgrim's is investing in modernizing its facilities with automation to improve efficiency and lower production costs.
Price history
How the share price has moved
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Earnings history
Last 8 quarters — what happened
Click any quarter to read the call summary and what the numbers say.
FY2024 Q3
$565.34M
FY2024 Q4
$176.63M
FY2025 Q1
$28.09M
FY2025 Q2
$339.11M
FY2025 Q3
$275.94M
FY2025 Q4
$10.01M
FY2026 Q1
$-95.38M
FY2026 Q2
$76.83M
Revenue
$4.63B
Net income
$13.38M
Diluted EPS
0.06
Operating cash flow
$331.03M
Free cash flow
$76.83M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$4.53B
Net income
$101.42M
Diluted EPS
0.43
Operating cash flow
$140.82M
Free cash flow
$-95.38M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$4.52B
Net income
$87.99M
Diluted EPS
0.37
Operating cash flow
$291.21M
Free cash flow
$10.01M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$4.76B
Net income
$342.81M
Diluted EPS
1.44
Operating cash flow
$458.34M
Free cash flow
$275.94M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$4.76B
Net income
$355.52M
Diluted EPS
1.49
Operating cash flow
$495.21M
Free cash flow
$339.11M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$4.46B
Net income
$296.03M
Diluted EPS
1.24
Operating cash flow
$126.89M
Free cash flow
$28.09M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$4.37B
Net income
$235.85M
Diluted EPS
1.00
Operating cash flow
$349.33M
Free cash flow
$176.63M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$4.58B
Net income
$349.86M
Diluted EPS
1.47
Operating cash flow
$651.14M
Free cash flow
$565.34M
Fetching…
Sources
Is it cheap or expensive?
Fair value $58.25 vs current price $27.45
Wall Street consensus is the average analyst price target: $33.44 (-42.6% lower than our fair-value estimate).
Our most-likely fair value is $58.25 a share — about 112.2% above today's price of $27.45, so the stock currently looks cheap (undervalued).
Is it drowning in debt?
Watch
Net debt $2.7B. Interest coverage 10.2x.
Net debt
$2.72B
Interest coverage
10.19x
Pilgrim's Pride Corporation's profit covers its interest bill about 10.2 times over. which is stronger than most peers shown here.
Watch
Worse cushion
Baseline
Better cushion
PPC
BASELINE
Pilgrim's Pride Corporation
Total debt $3.11B Interest coverage 10.19x This is the baseline the peer rows are being compared against.
Total debt $8.01B Interest coverage 3.21x -69% vs PPC Carries about 3.2x less debt cushion than PPC.
Total debt $250.00M Interest coverage 11.47x +13% vs PPC Has roughly the same debt cushion as PPC.
Total debt $1.97B Interest coverage 3.41x -67% vs PPC Carries about 3.0x less debt cushion than PPC.
Total debt $0.00 Interest coverage 560.06x +5,395% vs PPC Carries about 55.0x more debt cushion than PPC.
What you should know
The case for and against PPC
3 Rewards
2 Risks
Rewards
-
Returns 14.5% on equity, ahead of 80% of its peers.
-
Free cash flow was positive in 9/10 years.
-
Trades at 12.0x P/E vs peer median 21.1x (43.3% cheaper).
Risks
-
Operating margin compressed from 6.9% to 1.6% over 3 years.
-
Stock trades 3.1% above its 5-year average P/E.
The numbers
All the key metrics, grouped by purpose
Tap any ? icon to learn what it means.
Valuation
How expensive the stock looks
P/E (TTM)
11.99x
Forward P/E
9.05x
P/B
1.74x
P/S
0.35x
EV/EBITDA
5.23x
PEG ratio
0.61x
Profitability
How much profit each dollar creates
Gross margin
9.7%
Operating margin
1.6%
Net margin
3.0%
ROE
14.5%
ROA
8.0%
Health
Liquidity and balance-sheet strength
Debt / equity
0.83x
Current ratio
1.35x
Quick ratio
0.50x
Total debt
$3.11B
Total cash
$388.84M
Growth
How the business has been compounding
Revenue TTM
$18.44B
Revenue 5Y CAGR
5.8%
EPS TTM
2.29
EPS 5Y CAGR
13.4%
Cash flow
How much cash the business throws off
Operating CF TTM
$1.22B
Free CF TTM
$653.15M
FCF margin
3.5%
Dividend
Shareholder payout
Yield
—
Payout ratio
0.0%
Last ex-div date
2025-08-20