The Campbell Soup Company (CPB 0.08%) is on a hotter growth trajectory. The soup and packaged food specialist raised its 2020 outlook after announcing sharp sales gains over the last few months
Organic sales gains sped up to 17% compared to a 1% uptick in the prior quarter as consumers stocked up on the company's soup and prepared food products. "We experienced unprecedented broad-based demand across our brands," CEO Mark Clouse said in a press release, "as consumers sought food that delivered comfort, quality and value." Campbell Soup also announced improving profitability, which supported a 57% spike in adjusted earnings per share.
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Clouse and his team now see sales growth landing as high as 6.5% in fiscal 2020, which ends in late July, compared to the roughly flat result they had predicted before COVID-19. That prediction implies that demand has remained strong into May even if it has slowed from the surge the company enjoyed in April and late March. Campbell Soup's fourth-quarter report in late August will give investors more details to parse as they try to determine whether this new positive momentum will last as the pandemic threat lessens.
