What Campbell Soup Company's Earnings Mean for Mutual Fund Investors

On Monday morning, Campbell Soup Company (CPB) reported its fourth quarter earnings. The company turned a profit in the most recent quarter, compared to a loss from a year ago.

The company reported earnings of $137 million, or 43 cents per share, compared to a net loss of $158 million, or 50 cents per share a year ago. Excluding special items, earnings were 49 cents per share, in-line with analysts’ view.

Net sales were $1.85 billion, up from $1.72 billion last year. Analysts expected to see sales of $1.87 billion.

The Camden, NJ-based company turned a profit for the fourth quarter. Last year, the company was hurt by a significant loss from discontinued operations. The company also benefited by an extra week in the most recent quarter, which added $25 million to net income.

On a segment basis, sales for U.S. simple meals rose 5% to $518 million, while the Global Baking and Snacking segment rose 10% to $628 million and the International Simple Meals and Beverages segment increased 1% to $188 million.

The U.S. Beverage segment jumped 6% to $184 million and the Bolthouse and Foodservice segments increased 11% to $334 million.

The company’s U.S. Soup sales dropped 3%.

Campbell’s also reported that its gross margin narrowed to 34.3% from 36.7%. Marketing costs fell by 1%.

The stock remained flat during pre-market trading on Monday. YTD, the stock is up 2.91%.

While owning a mutual fund gives you exposure to a percentage of a company, it is still important to be aware of how the holdings of your mutual funds are performing.

Earnings can have a major effect on a company’s stock price and is one of the most important aspects that investors should pay attention to.