Tyson Foods reports a loss and lowers its annual revenue forecast

Tyson Foods cut its sales projection for the year as the U.S. meat industry was squeezed by high costs and weakening consumer demand in the most recent quarter.

In the three months that ended on April 1, Tyson, which produces about one out of every five pounds of chicken, beef, and pork sold in the U.S., reported a loss of $97 million, down from a net income of $829 million in the same period last year. According to FactSet, the results were significantly below Wall Street's expectations.

Over the past year, meatpackers like Springdale, Arkansas-based Tyson have had to pay more for animal feed and plant worker wages, which has reduced profits. Tyson is also having trouble with declining profits in its two largest sales divisions, beef and chicken.

The price that meatpackers like Tyson pay to secure the livestock has increased as ranchers reduce the size of their herds as a result of years of drought, putting pressure on Tyson's beef unit's profit margins, which accounted for nearly 40% of its annual sales last year.

Tyson's beef sales fell from the same time last year as consumers grew weary of paying higher prices for beef and opted instead for less expensive options.

Tyson reported that its quarterly revenue for the quarter fell short of the $13.6 billion analysts had predicted, remaining flat from the prior year at $13.1 billion. Tyson revised its fiscal year 2023 sales forecast downward. Sales are expected to be between $53 billion and $54 billion, down from between $55 billion and $57 billion, according to the company.