Orin
TSNNYSE·Agricultural Farm Products

Tyson Foods, Inc. TSN

Market cap $18.1BP/E 30.6× trailingGross margin 6.2%
$50.98
−0.16 (−0.31%)live 11:25 ET
52-wk $50.56 – $69.48
Watch
Orin's take
0.62conviction · moderate
Refreshed 18 Aug · take v7. A new filing or a print queues the next refresh.

Tyson Foods remains a hold as the beef restructuring announced in August 2026 is a rational response to a historic cattle shortage, but FY2025 results show the earnings recovery is faltering — EPS fell 40% to $1.36 even as revenue grew 2.1% to $54.4B, and gross profit declined to $3.56B from $3.63B the prior year. At 34.7x trailing earnings versus a 21.3x peer median, the stock prices in a margin recovery that has not yet materialized, while smart money scores have deteriorated from 0.031 to -0.004 over the past two quarters as of the quarter ended 2026-06-30.

Debt reduction to $8.83B and $1.18B in FCF provide a floor, and the beef footprint rationalization could eventually stabilize segment losses, but there is no clear catalyst to justify paying a premium multiple for deteriorating earnings.

What could go wrong

  • Structural cattle shortage. USDA data shows limited heifer retention, meaning beef supply constraints and segment losses could persist for multiple years despite the three-facility restructuring announced August 2026.
  • Valuation compression. At 34.7x trailing PE versus a 21.3x peer median, any further earnings disappointment could trigger multiple contraction, especially with EPS already down 40% YoY in FY2025.
  • Smart money exodus. Institutional smart money score turned negative at -0.0035 as of 2026-06-30, down from 0.031 in Q4 2025, with fund count declining from 61 to 60.
  • Margin pressure spreading. Gross margin compressed to 6.54% in FY2025 from 6.8% in FY2024; if beef losses spill into other segments or chicken margins weaken, the thin operating margin of 2.65% offers little buffer.

What would change my mind

Beef segment turnaround. Q3 or Q4 2026 results show beef segment operating losses narrowing materially or returning to breakeven, indicating the restructuring is working faster than expectedbullish
Further earnings deterioration. FY2026 EPS falls below $1.36 or operating margin drops below 2%, confirming the FY2025 decline was not a troughbearish
Chicken/Prepared Foods margin expansion. Chicken and Prepared Foods segment profits grow enough to more than offset beef losses, lifting consolidated operating margin above 3%bullish
Smart money continues to exit. Q3 2026 13F composite shows smart money score declining further below -0.01 with fund count dropping below 55bearish

Where this comes from: FMP FY2025 fundamentals + derived_metrics (eps_growth_yoy: -0.3956) · FMP FY2025 fundamentals + derived_metrics (revenue_growth_yoy: 0.0212) · FMP FY2025 vs FY2024 fundamentals (gross_profit) · peer_relative (pe: 34.72, peer_median_pe: 21.28). Orin's read on TSN; not advice.

Twelve months actual closes to 2026-09-24 · actual filings

Sept 25Nov 25Jan 26Mar 26May 26Jul 26

50-day average 200-day average · volume below

Largest holders · 13F Q2 2026

Money flow
FilerPositionOf fund
Vanguard Capital Management$1.1B0.0% of fund
Vanguard Portfolio Management$889.0M0.0% of fund
State Street$839.4M0.0% of fund
Aqr Capital Management$469.3M0.2% of fund
Geode Capital Management$440.4M0.0% of fund
Invesco$316.4M0.0% of fund

80 filers · quarter ended Q2 2026 · positions, not flows

Insiders, last 24 months: 92 Form 4 filings, net −$31.1B. Of the 50 on hand, 1 was an open-market purchase and 2 sales— the rest are grants, option exercises and tax withholding.

Ask Orin about TSN

its filings · its transcripts · its numbers

Orin answers questions about TSN from its filings, transcripts and numbers — with the source behind every claim. Your own desk starts with 3 free days, card required.

Start 3 free days →

Where it trades

vs its own 5y · Consumer Defensive
MetricNowOwn medianSector
P/E30.6×—38.3×
EV/EBITDA9.8×9.8×—
P/S0.33×0.40×—
P/B1.0×1.1×—

Its P/E sits 80th percentile of its own last 5 years (+0.86σ from its own mean).

What the price assumes

4.1%

free-cash-flow growth every year for 10 years, discounted at 10%, is what today’s price implies — starting from $1.2B of trailing free cash flow. It is an assumption the market is making, not a forecast Orin is making.

What Wall Street published

30 firms · 2026-09-24
Consensus target

$67

$65 – $75 · +32% against today's price

How they rate it
  • 16 buy or overweight
  • 13 hold
  • 1 underweight or sell

The analysts’ consensus and their own ratings, not Orin’s. A target is a twelve-month opinion published by the firm that wrote it.

Against the companies it is compared to

median P/E 17.6× of 4 peers
CompanyMarket capP/EEV/EBITDAGrossNetROE
TSNTyson Foods, Inc.$18B30.6×9.8×6.2%1.0%3%
BGBunge Global S.A.$21B21.4×14.9×4.9%1.1%6%
CHDChurch & Dwight Co., Inc.$23B30.6×20.3×45.6%12.0%18%
DLTRDollar Tree, Inc.$22B13.8×9.9×38.7%8.0%46%
MKCMcCormick & Company, Incorporated$13B7.9×12.7×38.6%22.0%26%

The median is of the 4 peers listed above and nothing else — check it against the column. This company trades 73.8% above it. The peer set is the vendor’s, so a company can appear here that a person would not have chosen.

What it has traded at

P/E by fiscal year
FY14 15.9×FY25 39.8×

What its sector has traded at

Consumer Defensive
FY14 22.9×FY26 39.1×

Two scales, drawn separately on purpose: a sector median and one company’s multiple are not the same number and putting them on one axis invites a comparison neither series supports.

Discounted cash flow

not recomputed since
ModelFair valueAgainstComputed
Standard DCF$79$56.34 · +40%2026-06-10
Levered DCF$53$56.34 · −6%2026-06-10

The vendor’s intrinsic-value models. Treat them as a low-growth anchor — for a fast grower the market routinely pays well above a DCF. These were computed against the price in the “against” column, not today’s.

Every estimate on one scale

price $50.98
52-week range$51 – $69
Analyst targets$65 – $75
Standard DCF$79 as of 2026-06-10, when it was $56.34
Levered DCF$53 as of 2026-06-10, when it was $56.34
At own 5y-median P/E (9×)$16
At 5y P/E range (-28–40×)$-46 – $66
At sector P/E (38×)$64

The vertical rule is the current price. Ranges and point estimates are the backend’s, published as they were calculated; an arrow means the estimate sits beyond this scale, and its number is on the right.