Kraft Heinz

Kraft Heinz is one of the largest food and beverage companies in the world. Its brands include Heinz, Kraft, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Lunchables, Velveeta, Maxwell House and Kool-Aid. It sells condiments and sauces, cheese, meats, meals, snacks, coffee and drinks to grocery stores and mass merchants, and to restaurants and other food service customers. North America is most of the business: $4,626 million of $6,262 million of net sales in Q2 2026.

Since Q3 2026, it reports three segments: North America, Europe and Pacific Developed Markets, and Emerging Markets. Kraft Heinz makes money from the sale of branded products, and it pays a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share. Its stock moved from Nasdaq to the NYSE on September 14, 2026.

The market prices Kraft Heinz for brands that lose buyers in North America. In Q2 2026, organic net sales fell 1.3%, and volume and mix fell 2.6 points, with declines in meats and spoonables. Cuts to SNAP food benefits reduce demand, and the company expects them to lower 2026 organic sales by about 1 point. To win back buyers, Kraft Heinz spends about $700 million more on its brands in 2026 than in 2025, so it expects constant currency adjusted operating income to fall 16% to 18%.

In Q2 2026, it also wrote down $7.4 billion of goodwill and brand values, including $3.4 billion for the Kraft brand, and these impairments show that the brands earn less than before. The plan to split into two companies, announced in September 2025, is paused since February 11, 2026, so a split no longer gives a dated path to unlock value. For the gap to close, three things must be true. Volume in North America must stop falling and turn positive in 2027, as the higher brand spending takes effect.

Adjusted EPS must reach the 2026 guidance of $2.03 to $2.09 with free cash flow conversion near 110%. The company must keep its dividend and its investment-grade ratings while it reduces debt; Moody's has its Baa2 rating under review for a downgrade. The Q3 2026 report on November 4, 2026, and the 2027 outlook in about February 2027 give the evidence. If volume recovers, the gap can close over several years.

If brand volume keeps falling, the gap can stay.

1. Nov 4, 2026Pending

   Q3 2026 results: North America volumeA smaller fall in North America volume and mix than the 3.8 points of Q2 and the 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $2.03 to $2.09 kept pass; a larger volume fall or lower guidance fails.
2. Feb 2027 · est.Pending

   Full-year 2026 results and 2027 outlookA 2027 outlook with stable or positive organic sales from volume and stable adjusted operating income passes; another year of falling volume and profit fails.
3. 2027 · est.Pending

   Credit ratings and the paused splitRatings kept at BBB or Baa2 with the dividend unchanged pass; a downgrade or a dividend cut fails.

Every passed and failed checkpoint across all picks

Kraft Heinz funds itself mostly with senior unsecured notes of its operating subsidiary, Kraft Heinz Foods Company, which the parent guarantees. Debt is the carrying amount of long-term debt at June 27, 2026, $17,619 million, and its current portion of $1,382 million. Read more

• Kraft Heinz brands lose volume in North America. Volume and mix fell 3.8 points in North America in Q2 2026. The company wrote down $7.4 billion of goodwill and brand values in Q2 2026. If the extra spending does not bring buyers back, profits can keep falling.
• Changes to SNAP food benefits under the OBBBA law reduced the number of participants and their benefits. Kraft Heinz expects about 1 point of lower organic net sales in 2026 from SNAP, and the effect can continue.
• Debt was about $19.0 billion at June 27, 2026. Adjusted operating income falls in 2026, so leverage can rise. S&P and Fitch rate the debt BBB with a negative outlook, and Moody's has its Baa2 rating under review for a downgrade. A downgrade would raise borrowing costs.
• The plan to split into two companies is paused since February 11, 2026. If the board resumes it, the split needs board approval, tax opinions and other conditions, and it costs money; if it stays paused, investors lose one path to unlock value.
• Input costs such as coffee, meat, packaging, manufacturing and logistics rise. Price increases can offset them only in part, because higher prices can lower volume. Several senior leaders also left in 2026, including the general counsel in October.

• October 12, 2026Kraft Heinz said it will report Q3 2026 results on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, before the market opens, with an analyst question-and-answer session at 9:00 a.m. ET.
• October 7, 2026Kraft Heinz changed its reportable segments from Q3 2026. It combined its emerging market units into one Emerging Markets segment, moved some European countries into Europe and Pacific Developed Markets, and now reports three segments with North America.
• October 2, 2026Angel Willis, Executive Vice President, Global General Counsel and Corporate Affairs Officer, said she will resign from Kraft Heinz on October 20, 2026.