Butterball nearly doubled its net income to $32 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2026, driven by a 10% increase in turkey product sales prices and a 6% boost in sales volumes, despite declining commodity market prices.
- Butterball's net income nearly doubled to $32 million in Q2 2026, compared to $17 million in Q2 2025
- Sales prices increased 10% and sales volumes grew 6% year-over-year
- Higher concentration of value-added products in the sales mix contributed to profitability gains
- Improved fixed-cost absorption from increased volumes helped offset production and plant cost increases
- Company expects Butterball to remain profitable through 2026 despite declining commodity turkey prices
The second quarter of fiscal year 2026 was a strong one for Butterball, with its net income nearly doubling compared with the same quarter of the previous year.
According to a securities filing from Seaboard Corp., which holds a 52.5% stake in the turkey company, Seaboard gained net earnings of $32 million for its investment in Butterball for the second quarter, which ended on July 4. That compares with a net income of $17 million for the second quarter of fiscal year 2025.
Seaboard stated that the increase in profitability was "primarily driven by higher turkey product sales resulting from increases in both sales prices and sales volumes."
"Sales prices increased 10% for each period reflecting continued strength in commodity markets and a greater concentration of value-added products in the sales mix. Sales volumes increased 6% for each period. Production and plant costs had an immaterial impact on results as improved fixed-cost absorption from higher volumes helped offset any cost increases," the company said.
Seaboard added that it anticipates Butterball will continue to be profitable for the remainder of 2026, despite the fact that commodity turkey market prices have continued to decline.
Other Seaboard financial results
As a whole, Seaboard saw its net earnings increase from $102 million for the second quarter of 2025 to $153 million during the most recent quarter.
Its pork operations, however, did not perform as well. Although the segment remained profitable, net sales fell $27 million to $502 million in the latest quarter, while operating income declined year over year from $28 million to $17 million.
"The decrease in operating income for the three-month period of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025 primarily reflected lower sales prices and higher costs per unit of pork products sold, partially offset by lower production costs due to the decrease in volumes," Seaboard stated.
The company added that based on current market conditions, it is uncertain whether its pork segment will be profitable during the remainder of the year.
