Executive Summary
General Mills reported Q1 2025 revenue of $4.848 billion, down 4.92% year over year, with a gross margin of approximately 34.83% and an operating margin around 17.15%. Net income was $579.9 million, and diluted earnings per share stood at $1.03. Despite a modest top-line contraction, the company delivered solid cash generation, with operating cash flow of $624.2 million and free cash flow of $483.9 million, supporting a substantial dividend and a sizable share repurchase program. The quarter reflects ongoing margin pressures from input costs and mix, offset by cost controls and a favorable working-capital cadence, culminating in a negative cash conversion cycle that benefits liquidity timing.
However, year-over-year profitability declined meaningfully across the board: gross profit decreased about 1.09% YoY, operating income fell ~8.70% YoY, and net income declined ~13.46% YoY. The company maintains a robust asset base and substantial goodwill/intangible asset load, but liquidity metrics show near-term fragility with a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.386. Leverage remains elevated, with total debt around $13.32 billion and net debt near $12.85 billion, which could constrain flexibility if macro conditions worsen. In sum, General Mills exhibits durable cash-flow resilience and a strong shareholder return profile, yet faces meaningful near-term margin headwinds and balance-sheet leverage to monitor.
Key Performance Indicators
Key Insights
Revenue: $4.848B in Q1 2025, YoY decline -4.92%, QoQ 0.00%. Gross Profit: $1.6888B, YoY -1.09%, QoQ -0.05%. Operating Income: $831.5M, YoY -8.70%, QoQ 0.00%. Net Income: $579.9M, YoY -13.46%, QoQ 0.00%. Earnings per Share (EPS): $1.03, YoY -12.71%, QoQ 0.00%. Gross Margin: 34.83%; Operating Margin: 17.15%; Net Margin: 12.01%. EBITDA: $973.3M; EBITDA Margin: 20.08%. Tax Rate: 21.8%; Return on Equity (ROE): 6.25%; Return on Assets (ROA): 1.83%; Net Debt: ~$12.85B; Total Debt: ~$13.32B; Current Rat...
Financial Highlights
Revenue: $4.848B in Q1 2025, YoY decline -4.92%, QoQ 0.00%. Gross Profit: $1.6888B, YoY -1.09%, QoQ -0.05%. Operating Income: $831.5M, YoY -8.70%, QoQ 0.00%. Net Income: $579.9M, YoY -13.46%, QoQ 0.00%. Earnings per Share (EPS): $1.03, YoY -12.71%, QoQ 0.00%. Gross Margin: 34.83%; Operating Margin: 17.15%; Net Margin: 12.01%. EBITDA: $973.3M; EBITDA Margin: 20.08%. Tax Rate: 21.8%; Return on Equity (ROE): 6.25%; Return on Assets (ROA): 1.83%; Net Debt: ~$12.85B; Total Debt: ~$13.32B; Current Ratio: 0.66; Quick Ratio: 0.386; Cash Ratio: 0.0642. Days Sales Outstanding (DSO): 34.23; Days Inventory Outstanding (DIO): 56.87; Days Payables Outstanding (DPO): 108.92; Cash Conversion Cycle (CCC): -17.82 days. Free Cash Flow (FCF): $483.9M; FCF per share: $0.863. Payout Ratio (dividends): 58.3%; Dividend Yield: 0.849%; Price to Earnings (P/E): 17.15x; Price to Book (P/B): 4.29x; Price to Sales (P/S): 8.21x; Enterprise Value to EBITDA (EV/EBITDA): ~54.09x. Free Cash Flow Yield and related metrics remain modest given the capital structure; Management commentary on price/mix and cost actions is not provided in the dataset.
Income Statement
| Metric |
Value |
YoY Change |
QoQ Change |
| Revenue |
4.85B |
-4.92% |
0.00% |
| Gross Profit |
1.69B |
-1.09% |
-0.05% |
| Operating Income |
831.50M |
-8.70% |
0.00% |
| Net Income |
579.90M |
-13.46% |
0.00% |
| EPS |
1.03 |
-12.71% |
0.00% |
Key Financial Ratios
operatingProfitMargin
17.2%
operatingCashFlowPerShare
$1.11
freeCashFlowPerShare
$0.86
dividendPayoutRatio
58.3%
Management Commentary
No earnings call transcript data is provided in the dataset. As a result, there are no management quotes or themes to summarize under transcript highlights. If a transcript becomes available, I can extract quotes by theme (strategy, operations, market conditions) and attach context and significance.
Forward Guidance
Forward guidance is not explicitly provided in the supplied data for QQ1 2025. Given the earnings cadence, investors should monitor: (i) input-cost trajectories and commodity/freight inflation, (ii) pricing actions and product-mix shifts to protect margin, (iii) ongoing cost-efficiency programs and supply-chain resilience, (iv) deleveraging progress and liquidity improvements, and (v) macro consumer demand trends in core regions. If the company institutes or reiterates guidance around mid-single-digit revenue trajectory with margin stabilization, a path to improved returns would hinge on: (a) successful price/mix gains that offset cost inflation, (b) sustained operating leverage from scale, and (c) incremental reductions in working-capital intensity. Key watchpoints include the cadence of debt repayments, any share buyback pacing, and the evolution of working capital given a CCC of -17.82 days indicating favorable payables timing but a stressed current-liability base.