AI interpretation based on checked source excerpts. Issuer assertions and evidence limitations remain explicit.
Policy quality-scores-2: six equally weighted categories. The overall score requires full coverage. Missing inputs are not zero. Qualitative grades are sourced interpretations, not probabilities. 5/6 · 18/10/2026
Moat38
Equal-weight average of four evidence-backed rubric grades (0–4), scaled to 100.
structural advantage · 2/4 · Brands have operating support from penetration, base-volume and category-share improvements, but lower-priced substitutes constrain differentiation. Neither relative cost leadership nor structural customer lock-in is established.
durability · 2/4 · Recent demand gains support a continuing franchise, while substantial pet goodwill and brand impairments and declining organic sales weaken confidence in its persistence. The evidence does not establish exceptional durability.
customer dependency · 1/4 · Consumer demand improved, but interchangeable lower-priced alternatives indicate fragile dependency. Walmart's 22% sales concentration creates dependence on a buyer rather than evidence that buyers depend on General Mills.
erosion resilience · 1/4 · Investment helped restore base-volume growth, but impairments and continued adjusted margin and profit declines show limited demonstrated resilience. This assessment uses realized outcomes rather than hypothetical risk factors.
Pricing power—
Insufficient evidence for every rubric criterion; no category score is inferred.
realized pricing · 2/4 · Favorable consolidated price realization and mix partly offset pressure in the latest quarter, and fiscal 2026 International results also benefited. Latest-quarter International price realization and mix was unfavorable. These are mixed observed outcomes; mix prevents isolating price increases.
retention · 2/4 · Indirect demand evidence includes increased household penetration, improved base volume and International organic volume growth. Flat latest-quarter consolidated organic sales and declining fiscal 2026 organic sales temper those gains. No repeat-purchase rate is disclosed.
margin resilience · 1/4 · Latest-quarter adjusted operating margin fell from 15.7% to 14.4%; favorable price realization and mix did not offset input-cost and volume-contribution pressures. Fiscal 2026 adjusted profit also declined. International demand improvements provide partial counterweight, but consolidated resilience remains weak.
contractual freedom · — · Observed pricing outcomes establish pricing activity, but the passages do not disclose customer contract duration, repricing rights or restrictions on changing terms. Buyer concentration alone cannot establish contractual freedom.
Predictability81
Five consecutive annual periods. Equal weights: nondeclining revenue frequency; revenue-growth volatility (5–40pp); positive FCF frequency; FCF-margin volatility (3–20pp). Stability indicator, not a growth forecast.
- Nondeclining revenue years (%)
- 25.00
- Revenue growth volatility (pp)
- 4.07
- Positive FCF years (%)
- 100.00
- FCF margin volatility (pp)
- 1.93
Financial strength6
Equal-weight grades: debt/FCF (1–8x), net debt/earnings before interest and tax (0–5x), interest service (1–12x), current ratio (0.75–2x). Earnings use reported operating income, or reported pretax profit plus reported interest expense when operating income is unavailable. Interest service uses earnings/interest expense; if unavailable, it uses reported operating cash flow/cash interest paid, without relabeling cash paid as accrued expense. Nonpositive cash flow/earnings score 0 for their service component; reported zero interest with a positive numerator scores 100. Net cash scores 100 for net leverage. Missing disclosures remain unavailable. General nonfinancial-company rubric, not a credit rating; exceptional and nonoperating gains are not normalized out. IFRS finance-cost and cash-flow classifications retain their reported scope.
- debtFcfGrade
- 0.00
- netDebtEbitGrade
- 0.00
- interestCoverageGrade
- 25.22
- currentRatioGrade
- 0.00
- Debt / FCF (x)
- 8.32
- Net debt / operating income (x)
- 14.77
- Current ratio (x)
- 0.68
- cashInterestPaid
- 573.90
- cashInterestCoverage
- 3.77
Capital allocation61
Three-year equal-weight indicators: pretax return on average invested capital (0–25%; equity + debt − cash, each year and its prior year), share-count growth (0–5%, lower better), share-based cost/revenue (2–20%, lower better), consolidated FCF/net income (0–1x). Return uses reported operating income or, if unavailable, EBIT calculated from reported pretax profit plus reported interest expense; exceptional/nonoperating gains are not normalized out. Share-based cost uses the reported cash-flow add-back or, if absent, separately reported recognized compensation expense; the latter never becomes an FCF adjustment. Nonpositive net income scores 0 for cash conversion; absent income/FCF stays unavailable. Nonpositive invested capital has no defined return and remains unavailable. Does not establish acquisition quality or buyback timing.
- 3-year pre-tax operating return (%)
- 11.34
- 3-year average dilution (%)
- -3.31
- 3-year average SBC / revenue (%)
- 0.46
- cashConversionGrade
- 0.00
Management50
Equal-weight average of four evidence-backed rubric grades (0–4), scaled to 100.
capital discipline · 2/4 · Fiscal 2026 operating cash of about $2.2 billion funded $540 million of capital investment, while $1.8 billion was distributed to shareholders. Large pet impairments and the Brazil valuation loss weaken allocation outcomes. The latest quarter shows no repurchases, but dividends exceeded operating cash after capital spending and net borrowing increased. Outcomes are mixed.
incentive alignment · 2/4 · The disclosed program links compensation to sales, profit, cash flow and relative shareholder returns, with multiyear vesting and ownership requirements. However, adjusted measures exclude selected costs, qualifying ownership includes unvested RSUs, and the new COO had not met the ownership requirement. Full holdings and realized payout sensitivity are unavailable.
execution · 2/4 · Reported penetration, share and base-volume improvements demonstrate progress, assessed through indirect operating evidence. Fiscal 2026 organic sales and adjusted profit declined, followed by another adjusted profit decline in the latest quarter. Execution is mixed rather than established as consistently strong.
governance · 2/4 · Actual disclosures describe an independent compensation committee, sessions without management, related-person transaction review and effective disclosure controls. The combined Chairman and CEO role concentrates authority. These practices support functioning oversight, but do not establish exceptional effectiveness; proposed charter changes are excluded.
Evidence
Some of the more important trademarks used in our global operations (set forth in italics in this report) include Annie’s, Betty Crocker, Bisquick, Blue Buffalo, Bugles, Cascadian Farm, Cheerios, Chex, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cocoa Puffs, Cookie Crisp, Dunkaroos, Edgard & Cooper, Fiber One, Fruit by the Foot, Fruit Gushers, Fruit Roll-Ups, Gardetto’s, Gold Medal, Golden Grahams, Häagen-Dazs, Kitano, Kix, Lärabar, Latina, Lucky Charms, Nature Valley, Nudges, Oatmeal Crisp, Old El Paso, Pillsbury, Progresso, Tastefuls, Tiki Pets, Total, Totino’s, Trix, True Solutions, Wanchai Ferry, Wheaties, Wilderness, and Yoki.
Business / Trademarks and patents · Filed 01/07/2026
Our investments in value, innovation, and brand building helped drive base volume improvement from a 10 percent decline in fiscal 2025 to 1 percent growth in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026.
Executive compensation / Fiscal 2026 operating highlights / Base volume · Filed 13/08/2026
We grew or held pound share in 65 percent of our top 10 U.S.
Executive compensation / Fiscal 2026 operating highlights / Pound share · Filed 13/08/2026
categories, and household penetration increased in both North America Retail and North America Pet.
Executive compensation / Fiscal 2026 operating highlights / Categories and household penetration · Filed 13/08/2026
Competition in our product categories is based on product innovation, product quality, price, brand recognition and loyalty, effectiveness of marketing, promotional activity, convenient ordering and delivery to the consumer, and the ability to identify and satisfy consumer preferences.
Business / Competition / Competitive factors · Filed 01/07/2026
In most product categories, we compete not only with other widely advertised, branded products, but also with regional brands and with generic and private label products that are generally sold at lower prices.
Business / Competition / Lower-priced alternatives · Filed 01/07/2026
All our principal competitors have substantial financial, marketing, and other resources.
Business / Competition / Competitor resources · Filed 01/07/2026
In fiscal 2026, Walmart accounted for 22 percent of our consolidated net sales and 31 percent of net sales of our North America Retail segment.
Risk factors / Customer concentration · Filed 01/07/2026
QUARTERLY DATA (UNAUDITED) Summarized quarterly data for fiscal 2026 and fiscal 2025 follows: First Quarter Second Quarter Third Quarter Fourth Quarter Fiscal Year Fiscal Year Fiscal Year Fiscal Year In Millions, Except Per Share Amounts 2026 2025 2026 2025 2026 2025 2026 2025 Net sales $4,517.5 $4,848.1 $4,860.8 $5,240.1 $4,436.7 $4,842.2 $4,609.6 $4,556.2 Gross margin 1,532.8 1,688.8 1,692.5 1,931.1 1,366.9 1,639.1 1,603.5 1,474.0 Net earnings (loss) attributable to General Mills 1,204.2 579.9 413.0 795.7 303.1 625.6 (2,007.9) 294.0 EPS: Basic $2.22 $1.03 $0.78 $1.43 $0.57 $1.14 $(3.74) $0.53 Diluted $2.22 $1.03 $0.78 $1.42 $0.56 $1.12 $(3.74) $0.53 In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, we recorded a $1,500.0 million non-cash goodwill impairment charge related to our North America Pet reporting unit and $250.0 million of non-cash impairment charges related to our Nudges and True Chews brand intangible assets.
Note 19 / Quarterly data / Pet goodwill and brand impairments · Filed 01/07/2026
International organic net sales increased 3 percent in fiscal 2026 compared to fiscal 2025, driven by an increase in contributions from
MD&A / International / Fiscal 2026 organic sales · Filed 01/07/2026
organic volume growth and favorable organic net price realization and mix.
MD&A / International / Organic volume and price realization and mix · Filed 01/07/2026
F26 Financial Results Net sales totaled $18.4 billion and organic net sales decreased 2% compared to year-ago levels*.
Executive compensation / Fiscal 2026 financial results / Organic sales · Filed 13/08/2026
30, 2026 Aug. 24, 2025 In Millions Value Percent of Net Sales Value Percent of Net Sales Operating profit as reported $633.6 14.4% $1,725.8 38.2% Mark-to-market effects (29.5) (0.7)% 8.5 0.2% Valuation loss on held for sale business 23.7 0.5% — —% Transaction costs 4.3 0.1% 11.8 0.3% Acquisition integration costs 1.7 —% 1.4 —% Restructuring and transformation charges 0.2 —% 18.3 0.4% Divestitures gain — —% (1,054.4) (23.3)% Investment activity, net — —% (0.2) —% Adjusted operating profit $634.0 14.4% $711.2 15.7% Note: Table may not foot due to rounding.
Non-GAAP measures / Adjusted operating profit margin reconciliation · Filed 23/09/2026
by an increase in contributions from organic volume growth, partially offset by unfavorable organic net price realization and mix.
MD&A / International / First-quarter fiscal 2027 organic growth drivers · Filed 23/09/2026
basis, primarily driven by higher input costs and a decrease in contributions from volume growth, partially offset by favorable net
MD&A / Consolidated results / Adjusted operating profit drivers · Filed 23/09/2026
price realization and mix. Adjusted operating profit margin decreased 130 basis points to 14.4 percent.
MD&A / Consolidated results / Price realization and adjusted margin · Filed 23/09/2026
International organic net sales increased 4 percent in the first quarter of fiscal 2027 compared to the same period in fiscal 2026, driven
MD&A / International / First-quarter fiscal 2027 organic sales · Filed 23/09/2026
Organic net sales essentially matched the same period last year.
MD&A / Consolidated results / First-quarter fiscal 2027 organic sales · Filed 23/09/2026
Net cash provided by operating activities totaled $2.2 billion and capital investments totaled $540 million.
Executive compensation / Fiscal 2026 capital allocation / Operating cash and investment · Filed 13/08/2026
We returned $1.8 billion to shareholders through dividends of $1.3 billion and share repurchases of $500 million.
Executive compensation / Fiscal 2026 capital allocation / Shareholder distributions · Filed 13/08/2026
30, 2026 Aug. 24, 2025 Cash Flows - Operating Activities Net earnings, including earnings (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests $398.1 $1,204.0 Adjustments to reconcile net earnings to net cash provided by operating activities: Depreciation and amortization 139.8 138.7 After-tax earnings from joint ventures (18.9) (6.8) Distributions of earnings from joint ventures 10.9 26.9 Stock-based compensation 21.8 15.1 Deferred income taxes (18.0) 10.0 Pension and other postretirement benefit plan contributions (6.6) (5.2) Pension and other postretirement benefit plan costs (3.0) (6.7) Divestitures gain — (1,054.4) Restructuring, transformation, impairment, and other exit costs 21.0 (2.7) Changes in current assets and liabilities, excluding the effects of acquisitions and divestitures (251.5) 58.8 Other, net 4.2 19.3 Net cash provided by operating activities 297.8 397.0 Cash Flows - Investing Activities Purchases of land, buildings, and equipment (90.5) (109.5) Proceeds from divestitures — 1,803.4 Investments in affiliates, net (25.4) — Proceeds from disposal of land, buildings, and equipment — 2.8 Other, net — (1.9) Net cash (used) provided by investing activities (115.9) 1,694.8 Cash Flows - Financing Activities Change in notes payable 132.7 (654.8) Proceeds from common stock issued on exercised options — 0.2 Purchases of common stock for treasury — (500.0) Dividends paid (330.5) (330.9) Other, net (11.8) (21.7) Net cash used by financing activities (209.6) (1,507.2) Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents (0.2) 4.4 (Decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents (27.9) 589.0 Cash and cash equivalents - beginning of year (includes $37.9 million of cash classified as held for sale as of May 31, 2026) 491.7 363.9 Cash and cash equivalents - end of period (includes $30.7 million of cash classified as held for sale as of Aug.
Consolidated statements of cash flows / Quarter ended August 30, 2026 · Filed 23/09/2026
Also, we recorded a $1,031.8 million non-cash pre-tax valuation loss related to the planned divestiture of our Brazil business.
Note 19 / Quarterly data / Brazil valuation loss · Filed 01/07/2026
Percentage Of CEO Target Compensation Total Direct Compensation Element Pay Element Performance Measure Strategy and Performance Alignment BASE SALARY Cash •Individual performance and contributions based on scope and complexity of role •Positioned within a reasonable range of market median based on individual performance and contributions ANNUAL INCENTIVE Cash-based award Company Performance (80%) •Organic net sales growth* •Adjusted operating profit growth* Individual Performance (20%) •Rewards and recognizes annual accomplishment of key financial objectives •Corporate performance measures aligned with long-term growth model LONG-TERM INCENTIVE PSUs Three-year cliff vesting (with one- year additional holding period required) and Three-year measurement period •Organic net sales growth* (CAGR) •Cumulative operating cash flow* •+/- 25% Relative TSR Modifier •Performance metrics align with key elements for delivering growth and creating value for shareholders Stock Options Four-year graded vesting •Ultimate value tied to stock price appreciation RSUs Four-year graded vesting •Ultimate value tied to TSR *Non-GAAP measures.
Executive compensation / Compensation elements, performance measures and vesting · Filed 13/08/2026
Minimum ownership requirements are 10 times annual salary for the CEO, five times annual salary for members of the CEO’s senior leadership team and three times annual salary for other corporate officers.
Stock ownership / Executive ownership requirements · Filed 13/08/2026
Executives must hold 50% of net, after-tax shares that they receive pursuant to stock awards until they meet the ownership requirements.
Stock ownership / Executive share-retention requirement · Filed 13/08/2026
Stock ownership includes direct and indirect ownership, deferred stock units, unvested RSUs, and stock held in the 401(k) Plan as of July 31, 2026, but does not include unvested PSUs and unexercised stock options (whether vested or unvested).
Stock ownership / Definition of qualifying ownership · Filed 13/08/2026
Given Ms. McNabb’s recent appointment as Chief Operating Officer, she has not yet met our minimum ownership requirements.
Stock ownership / Chief Operating Officer ownership shortfall · Filed 13/08/2026
(a)Incentive performance is measured on a comparable basis and excludes certain items affecting comparability, including the impact of acquisitions and divestitures, restructuring projects, and tax reform.
Appendix / Incentive performance adjustments · Filed 13/08/2026
Each member met the independence standards for compensation and talent committee membership under the listing standards of the NYSE during fiscal 2026.
Corporate governance / Compensation committee independence · Filed 13/08/2026
In order to promote independent decision making on executive compensation matters, the compensation and talent committee meets in executive session without management present at each meeting, often with the participation of the independent compensation consultant.
Executive compensation / Committee executive sessions · Filed 13/08/2026
Henry Jo Ann Jenkins Eric D. Sprunk Functions: •Monitors and recommends changes in the organization, procedures, and policies of the board, including committee appointments and corporate governance policies and practices; •Develops policy on composition, participation, and size of the board as well as tenure and retirement of directors; •Recommends candidates for election to the board and evaluates continuing service of incumbent directors; •Oversees the annual board self-evaluation process; and •Reviews and approves transactions between General Mills and related persons.
Corporate governance / Governance committee responsibilities · Filed 13/08/2026
Our chief operating decision maker (CODM) is the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer.
Segment reporting / Combined Chairman and Chief Executive Officer role · Filed 23/09/2026
Based on that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that, as of May 31, 2026, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in reports that we file or submit under the 1934 Act is (1) recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in applicable rules and forms, and (2) accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, in a manner that allows timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Item 9A / Management conclusion on disclosure controls · Filed 01/07/2026
Adjusted operating profit totaled $2.8 billion representing a decrease of 16% on a constant-currency basis*.
Executive compensation / Fiscal 2026 adjusted operating profit · Filed 13/08/2026
30, 2026 Aug. 24, 2025 Change Operating profit as reported $633.6 $1,725.8 (63)% Mark-to-market effects (29.5) 8.5 Valuation loss on held for sale business 23.7 — Transaction costs 4.3 11.8 Acquisition integration costs 1.7 1.4 Restructuring and transformation charges 0.2 18.3 Divestitures gain — (1,054.4) Investment activity, net — (0.2) Adjusted operating profit $634.0 $711.2 (11)% Foreign currency exchange impact Flat Adjusted operating profit growth, on a constant-currency basis (11)% Note: Table may not foot due to rounding.
Non-GAAP measures / First-quarter fiscal 2027 adjusted operating profit reconciliation · Filed 23/09/2026
