Snapshot
Mccormick & Co Inc reported $1.66B of revenue in Q2 2025, up 1.0% year over year, with diluted EPS of $0.65 and an operating margin of 14.8%.
- Revenue
- $1.66B
- YoY growth
- +1.0%
- Diluted EPS
- $0.65
- Operating margin
- 14.8%
What management said
- •By focusing on the levers within our control, we are delivering profitable volume-led growth by investing in our brands, expanding distribution, driving innovation, and increasing operational efficiencies.
- •McCormick remains a growth-oriented company with robust plans that leverage the demand for flavor and the strength of our brands.
- •I will highlight some areas of success and the areas we continue to work on, as well as our growth plans.
- •Marcos will then go into more depth on the second quarter results, as well as review our 2025 outlook, including a discussion of our tariff exposure and mitigation plans.
- •In the second quarter, total organic sales increased by 2%, primarily driven by volume growth, in line with our expectations.
- •Volume growth of more than 3% in the consumer segment was partially offset by declines in flavor solutions, as expected.
- •In global consumer, organic sales growth was volume-led across all three regions, demonstrating continued momentum across key markets.
- •This sustained volume growth is supported by investments across our core categories, including innovative brand marketing, accelerated innovation aligned with consumer trends, expanded distribution, and robust category management initiatives.
- •In the Americas, we drove volume growth and share gains across core categories.
- •This shift supports demand for flavorful, fresh, and healthy meals that offer both value and health benefits.
- •We have numerous levers to manage this impact, which is enabling us to maintain our volume-led top-line growth and operating profit outlook for 2025, inclusive of tariffs.
- •Across our global consumer segment, we continue to successfully execute on our plans and have driven share gains across our core categories in key markets for the last three quarters.
What went well
- •Total organic sales grew 2% in the quarter, driven by volume and mix, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of total volume-led growth.
- •The consumer segment delivered organic sales growth of 3% led by volume across all three regions, with Americas volume up 4%, EMEA volume up 2%, and Asia Pacific up 4% on China's gradual recovery.
- •McCormick drove share gains across core categories in key markets for the last three quarters, with U.S. spices and seasonings volume outpacing private label for the fourth consecutive quarter.
- •Adjusted operating income increased 10% (11% in constant currency), driven by CCI savings and SG&A streamlining initiatives.
- •Income from unconsolidated operations rose 17%, primarily due to strong performance from the McCormick de Mexico joint venture.
- •Hot sauce delivered strong results in the U.S. with unit and volume share gains, supported by distribution gains, brand marketing, and innovation.
What went wrong
- •Flavor solutions volumes declined, with overall organic sales flat as a 1% volume/mix decline offset a 1% price contribution, driven by softness in packaged food and EMEA QSR customer volumes.
- •Flavor solutions EMEA organic sales fell 7% (5% volume decline, 2% price decline), reflecting soft CPG and QSR customer volumes impacted by geopolitical boycotts tied to the Middle East conflict, softer than expected.
- •Gross profit margin was flat versus the prior year, pressured by costs to support increased capacity and higher commodity costs driven by global trade uncertainty; full-year gross margin guidance was lowered.
- •Large CPG customers in flavors continued to experience volume softness, appearing incrementally softer than the first quarter, particularly in center-store grocery.
- •Cash flow from operations through the second quarter fell to $161 million from $302 million a year earlier, due to the timing of working capital.
Guidance changes
| Metric | Period | Previous | Current | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Organic net sales growth | FY2025 | 1%-3% | 1%-3% | Maintained; volume-led, primarily consumer segment; flavor solutions volumes now expected flat for the year |
| Adjusted operating income growth (constant currency) | FY2025 | 4%-6% | 4%-6% | Maintained; implies higher second-half growth than first half |
| Gross margin | FY2025 | Up 50-100 bps | Flat to up 50 bps | Lowered due to elevated commodity costs from global trade environment; expansion weighted to Q4 |
| Adjusted effective tax rate | FY2025 | — | 22%-23% | Slightly higher than prior guide due to changes in discrete tax benefits; vs 20.5% in 2024 |
| Adjusted EPS | FY2025 | — | Maintained | Reaffirmed alongside net sales and adjusted operating profit |
| Gross annualized tariff exposure | FY2025 | — | ~$90M gross annualized; ~$50M in-year | Expect to fully offset current tariff costs in 2025 via sourcing, CCI, and surgical pricing |
Performance breakdown
| Metric | YoY change | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Total organic sales | +2% | Volume and mix growth, marking the fourth straight quarter of volume-led growth |
| Consumer segment organic sales | +3% | Volume and mix growth across all three regions supported by brand marketing, innovation, and category management |
| Consumer Americas organic sales | +3% | 4% volume growth partially offset by a 1% price decrease related to targeted incremental promotions |
| Consumer EMEA organic sales | +3% | 2% volume increase plus 1% price increase from targeted actions on higher commodity costs |
| Consumer Asia Pacific organic sales | +4% | Volume-driven, reflecting expected gradual recovery in China |
| Flavor solutions organic sales | Flat | 1% price offset by 1% volume/mix decline from soft packaged food and EMEA QSR customers |
| Flavor solutions Americas organic sales | +1% | 2% price (primarily Latin America currency) offset by 1% volume decline from CPG customer softness |
| Flavor solutions EMEA organic sales | -7% | 5% lower volume and 2% lower price from soft CPG and QSR volumes hit by Middle East-related geopolitical boycotts |
| Flavor solutions Asia Pacific organic sales | +3% | 5% volume growth from QSR customer promotions and limited-time offers, partially offset by 2% price |
| Adjusted operating income | +10% (+11% cc) | CCI savings and SG&A streamlining, partially offset by gross margin pressure and growth investments |
| Consumer segment adjusted operating income | +10% | Primarily improved SG&A expenses, minimal currency impact |
| Flavor solutions adjusted operating income | +10% (+13% cc) | Product mix, pricing, and improved SG&A expenses |
| Income from unconsolidated operations | +17% | Strong performance from McCormick de Mexico JV, partially offset by a stronger U.S. dollar against the peso |
| Adjusted EPS | Flat at $0.69 | Operating profit and unconsolidated income gains offset by lower gross margin and a less favorable tax rate |
Earnings call themes & trends
| Topic | Previous mention | Current period | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tariffs and global trade cost pressure | — | Gross annualized exposure ~$90M (~$50M in-year), to be fully offset via sourcing, CCI, and surgical pricing; ~2% of global COGS subject to tariffs | rising |
| Surgical/targeted pricing | — | Residual mitigation lever after sourcing and CCI; some tariff-related pricing to come through in Q4 | rising |
| CCI and SG&A streamlining savings | — | Primary lever to offset commodity and tariff pressure; organizational changes in Q2 continuing through the year | rising |
| Value-seeking and health-and-wellness convergence | — | Consumers cooking at home (86% of meals sourced at home), seeking value and health, benefiting McCormick's categories | steady |
| China gradual recovery | — | Recovery continuing as expected over the past two quarters; consumer sales expected to improve slightly year over year | steady |
| CPG customer volume softness in flavor solutions | — | Large CPG customers still soft, incrementally weaker than Q1, partially offset by high-growth health-and-wellness innovators | declining |
| EMEA QSR softness from Middle East boycotts | — | Continued and softer than expected; expected to stabilize on weak prior-year comparisons | steady |
| ERP / SAP transition | — | Pivoted from big-bang to functional deployment to de-risk; spend smoothed, no investment peak expected next year | steady |
Q&A summary
Andrew Lazar (Barclays) asked what surprised management as Q2 EBIT came in far stronger than the prior second-half-weighted messaging.
Management said consumer performed well on volume and share gains while flavor solutions performed better than peers through tough conditions. The strong ~11% constant-currency operating profit was driven mainly by SG&A: about half from a stock-based compensation timing swing (a Q1 headwind becoming a Q2 tailwind) and half from CCI and SG&A streamlining. Normalized first-half operating profit grew 4% constant currency, implying higher second-half growth weighted to Q4 as mitigation efforts fully implement.
Andrew Lazar (Barclays) asked how tariff mitigation splits between cost work and strategic pricing and how pricing locations are chosen without hurting volume.
The majority of the ~$50M in-year mitigation comes from sourcing and CCI, with pricing as the residual. Management takes a targeted, surgical, analytics-driven approach to pricing where elasticity allows. Existing price-gap management investments remain in the base and apply to different SKUs than surgical pricing, so they expect to maintain solid volume despite some expected elasticity impact.
Peter Galbo (Bank of America) asked management to frame the $90M gross tariff exposure and distinguish it from the separate global-trade cost pressure on COGS.
Management explained the local-for-local manufacturing footprint (over 90% of U.S. sales made in the U.S.) limits exposure mainly to imported raw materials that cannot be grown domestically. Applying ~30% China, 10% rest-of-world, and near-zero USMCA tariffs yields a blended rate of about 2% of global COGS, with Americas higher. Separately, expected supply-demand-driven cost declines did not materialize amid a trade standstill, pressuring gross margin.
Robert Moskow (TD Cowen) asked whether finding cheaper sourcing risks sacrificing quality and why elevated commodity pressure is being mitigated through SG&A.
Management said there is no quality trade-off; sourcing finds lower cost while still meeting quality requirements they consider higher than peers. On commodities, suppliers and customers are in a standstill so expected lower costs did not materialize, prompting the gross-margin cut; they will offset via SG&A levers including CCI and streamlining while still investing in brand marketing and technology.
Steve Powers (Deutsche Bank) questioned the apparent ~$5-10M step-down in brand marketing in the outlook and why not reinvest for top-line insurance.
Management said the reduction reflects productivity and CCI efficiencies in buying media more cheaply, not a strategy change; significant year-over-year A&P growth still remains for the back half. They continue reinvesting every quarter, citing recipe mixes in Q1 and hot sauce in Q2, and expect to find additional reinvestment opportunities in the second half.
Max Gumport (BNP Paribas) asked about the magnitude of the innovation uptick from large CPG customers and how McCormick benefits.
Management said reformulation and matching activity is accelerating and is net incremental to normal innovation levels, driven heavily by health-and-wellness (protein, zero sugar, functional ingredients). They expect this to drive performance over time though timing is hard to predict, and noted a strong win rate when engaging customers.