Hurricane Helene unlikely to have a 'material' impact in production, egg producer says

Cal-Maine Foods Inc. said late Tuesday that higher egg prices and lower production costs boosted its quarterly sales by more than 70% year over year.

Cal-Maine (CALM), the largest egg producer and distributor in the U.S., said that first-quarter 2025 sales rose to $786 million, from $489 million in the year-ago quarter and expectations around $705 million.

Cal-Maine's net average selling price of shell eggs and number of dozens sold also rose, the company said. The U.S. egg supply has dwindled due to the ongoing outbreak of avian influenza, and the humble dozen eggs has become shorthand for inflation.

The net average selling price of a dozen eggs rose to $2.392 from $1.589 a year ago, the company said. Declining production costs were another tailwind, mostly due to lower prices for key feed ingredients, the company said.

Cal-Maine, whose operations and contract farmers are mostly in the Southeast U.S., said that deadly Hurricane Helene, which wreaked havoc in the region, will be unlikely to materially affect its operations.

"We are still evaluating the impact of the storm on our people, birds, facilities and operations; however, at this time, we believe that all of our employees and contractors are safe and that any loss of company-owned production assets is minimal and not likely to be material," the company said.

Cal-Maine earned $150 million, or $3.06 a share, in the quarter, compared with $926,000, or 2 cents a share, for the first quarter of fiscal 2024. That was ahead of FactSet consensus for per-share earnings of $3.02 a share.

Shares of Cal-Maine have gained about 34% this year, outpacing gains of around 20% for the S&P 500 index SPX.

-Claudia Assis

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