Good day, and welcome to the Smithfield Foods Fourth Quarter 2025 Financial Results Conference Call. Please note today's event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Julie MacMedan, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. Welcome to Smithfield's Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Earnings Call. Earlier this morning, we announced our results. A copy of the release as well as today's presentation are available on our IR website, investors.smithfieldfoods.com. Today's presentation contains projections and other forward-looking statements that are being provided pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include all comments reflecting our expectations, assumptions, or beliefs about future events or performance that do not relate solely to historical periods. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations and projections. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the factors identified in the release, in our annual report on Form 10-K, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events, or other factors. Please refer to our legal disclaimer on Slide 2 of the presentation for more information. Today's presentation will also include certain non-GAAP measures, including, but not limited to, adjusted operating profit and margin, adjusted net income, adjusted earnings per share, and adjusted EBITDA. For a reconciliation of these and other non-GAAP measures to the corresponding GAAP measures, please refer to our earnings press release and our slide presentation on our website. Finally, all references to retail volume and market share are based on Circana, MULO+ data. With me this morning are Shane Smith, President and CEO; Mark Hall, CFO; Steve France, President of Packaged Meats; and Donovan Owens, President of North America Pork. I will now turn the discussion over to Shane. Shane?

Thank you, Julie. Good morning, everyone. 2025 was an outstanding year. Solid execution on our strategies drove record profits, expanded margins, and increased cash flow. We set the foundation for multiyear growth while maintaining a very strong financial position, investing in our business and returning value to our shareholders. Last January, we returned to the U.S. equity markets through an IPO that reintroduced us as the new Smithfield. While our history spans 90 years, the transformation underway over the past decade has fundamentally reshaped Smithfield into a leaner, more profitable and strategically focused company. We streamlined our Packaged Meats portfolio, exited non-core and high-cost operations, accelerated automation, and built an accountable culture focused on profitable growth. This hard work prepared us for the IPO. In 2025, our first year as a public company, we delivered on our commitments, record operating profit, record net income, strengthened margins, and disciplined execution across all segments. Importantly, these results were broad-based, reflecting the power of our diversified product portfolio, our vertically integrated model, and our relentless focus on operational excellence. The advantages of our model were clear in 2025, and we see further opportunities for coordination across the value chain. I'm pleased to announce that we have named Donovan Owens, President of North America Pork. Under Donovan's leadership, the Fresh Pork segment adjusted operating profit increased to $209 million in 2025 from $30 million in 2022. This performance demonstrates our improved agility, channel mix and disciplined operating focus. Under the new structure, Fresh Pork, Hog Production, and Commodity Risk Management will report to Donovan. Donovan will also oversee our Mexico operations, which are an integral part of our North America growth strategy. We are excited about the opportunity to unlock additional synergies across our upstream businesses in this new structure. Now, I'd like to review our fiscal 2025 accomplishments in more detail. On a consolidated basis, adjusted operating profit increased 30% to $1.3 billion, with profit margin expanding to 8.6%, up from 7.2% in 2024. Each segment executed effectively. Packaged Meats delivered its fourth consecutive year of operating profit above $1 billion and its second highest profit year despite higher raw material costs and a cautious consumer spending environment. Fresh Pork demonstrated strong execution amid a compressed industry market spread and trade disruptions due to tariffs. And Hog Production achieved its highest profit year since 2014, reflecting improved operations and market conditions. Across the company, continuous improvement and productivity initiatives delivered meaningful cost savings. Our rock-solid balance sheet with net debt to adjusted EBITDA of just 0.3x at the end of the year provides us with the financial flexibility to support our growth strategies and return value to our shareholders. In 2025, we returned value to shareholders through dividend payments of $1 per share. Today, we announced a quarterly dividend of $0.3125 per share, and we anticipate paying annual dividends of $1.25 per share in 2026. In January, we entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Nathan's Famous for $102 per share. Successfully closing this acquisition will be immediately accretive and will secure a core national brand and create meaningful growth and synergy opportunities. In February, we announced that we have initiated the approval process to invest up to an estimated $1.3 billion over the next 3 years to build a new state-of-the-art packaged meats and fresh pork processing facility in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Building this innovative new plant from the ground up will represent one of the largest investments in American agriculture and will modernize our manufacturing footprint and unlock long-term cost and efficiency benefits. Now, let's turn to our growth outlook for fiscal 2026. Protein demand is strong and growing across consumer demographics, valued for its nutrition and health benefits. Pork, which is not our only protein but is our primary offering, is well positioned within the protein complex. Pork presents a strong relative value to beef and its nutritional profile. Lean cuts like pork tenderloin offer a superior nutritional alternative to chicken breast. Pork is also central to Asian and Latin cuisines, which are popular with U.S. consumers, particularly among Gen Z and Millennials. We believe all these factors serve as a long-term tailwind for pork, and we expect 2026 to be another year of increased profitability, driven by margin expansion, disciplined cost management, and continued execution of our core strategies. Our 5 strategic priorities remain unchanged: increase Packaged Meats profit through mix, volume growth, and innovation; grow Fresh Pork profit by maximizing the net realizable value across channels in a best-in-class cost structure; achieve a best-in-class Hog Production cost structure; drive operating efficiencies in manufacturing, supply chain, distribution, procurement, and SG&A; and evaluate synergistic M&A opportunities. First, in Packaged Meats, which is our largest and most profitable segment, we are meeting the demand for protein with convenience, flavor, and value through our strong brand portfolio as well as our private label offerings. Our strategy to grow Packaged Meats operating profit centers on 3 levels: mix improvement, volume growth, and innovation. So first, product mix. We remain focused on accelerating the shift toward higher-margin, value-added product categories and expanding unit velocity while reducing the volume of lower-margin commodity type product categories. Coming out of 2025, we saw strong momentum in these value-added categories. In the fourth quarter, we grew units and market share in our core higher-margin focus areas of lunch meat and cooked dinner sausage, among others, and we expect these higher-margin categories to again achieve strong volume growth in 2026. Second, volume growth. We participate in 25 key Packaged Meat subcategories at retail, 10 of which are valued at over $1 billion. In 2025, we grew branded volume share in 6 of these $1 billion-plus categories. This volume growth reflected strong increases in our points of distribution led by our national brands. Looking ahead, we see continued white space opportunities to grow volume and increase market share in each of these categories. We are driving volume in today's economy by delivering quality protein at a good value. Our portfolio of quality branded products spans multiple categories and price points and is an important competitive advantage for Smithfield. A great example is lunchmeat. We are attracting and retaining consumers within our branded portfolio even as they trade up and down the value spectrum. If they choose private label, we benefit as well. Over the past several years, we have improved private label profitability, which represents just under 40% of our retail channel sales. We are also supporting our brands by investing in direct-to-consumer advertising and effective trade promotion. In 2025, we increased foodservice sales by 10%, driving higher sales volumes with both new and existing customers. Our success in foodservice reflects our position as a scaled, trusted provider of high-quality products as well as our ability to deliver value-added solutions that save our foodservice customers time and money. We are also very agile in helping foodservice customers launch limited-time offers, which help drive traffic. In 2025, we introduced 57 new limited-time offers, which gave consumers reasons to keep coming back. Despite food away-from-home inflation nearly double that of food at home, we successfully grew foodservice volume 2% in 2025. In 2026, we expect to increase Packaged Meats volume across the retail and foodservice channels, driven by product innovation, strong marketing, advertising, and trade investment. Next, product innovation. Innovation is an important pillar of our Packaged Meats growth strategy. We focus on introducing new flavors, convenient and easily prepared offerings, and premium offerings. We have numerous innovative product offerings planned for 2026 in the retail channel for our 3 national brands: Smithfield, Eckrich, and Nathan's. So in summary, we expect to grow Packaged Meats profitability by focusing on 3 levers: mix improvement, volume, and innovation. Now, let's talk about our second core growth strategy, increasing Fresh Pork profitability. We are focused on maximizing net realizable value across channels and continuing to improve operating efficiencies. 2025 was a dynamic year for Fresh Pork due to both compressed market spreads and trade disruptions. Historically, compressed market spreads, the price between hogs and meat significantly reduced profitability. However, our Fresh Pork team demonstrated agility and delivered strong profitability even in tighter markets due to our improved cost structure and diversified channel strategy. In 2025, Fresh Pork profitability was strengthened by sales and volume growth in the U.S. retail channel, with profit enhanced by value-added case-ready items. We also grew volume and profitability in our pet food and pharmaceutical channels, executing well on our next best sales strategy. In addition, we continue to deliver operating efficiencies and cost savings, which helped mitigate the impact of the compressed market spread on segment profitability. In 2026, our priorities include growing volume in the U.S. retail channel, emphasizing higher-margin, value-added, case-ready and marinated offerings, expanding adjacent channel opportunities such as pet food and pharmaceuticals, increasing automation, plant efficiency, yield optimization and supply chain savings, and optimizing harvest levels across our network. By focusing on these priorities, we will continue to outperform the market. Now, to our strategy to optimize Hog Production. We continue to progress toward a best-in-class cost structure in Hog Production. In 2025, we outperformed the Iowa State benchmark for hog grower profitability, reflecting improved genetics, feed management, and herd health. In 2026, we will continue to focus on improving our operations, including herd health and feed conversion. We're also excited about unlocking more opportunities across our Hog Production and Fresh Pork segments under Donovan's leadership. With respect to the number of hogs internally produced, in 2025, we produced 11.1 million hogs, which is down from 17.6 million at the high point in 2019 and from 14.6 million in 2024. This reduction reflects the transfer of 3.8 million hogs to our external joint ventures, which was consistent with our rightsizing strategy. Over the medium term, we continue to target producing approximately 30% of Fresh Pork's needs internally. We believe this will provide an optimal balance of assured supply and cost risk management. Next, our strategy to optimize operations and deliver operating efficiencies in manufacturing, supply chain, distribution, procurement, and SG&A was a meaningful contributor to our improved profitability in 2025. In 2026, we are looking to accelerate the use of innovative technologies across all aspects of our business. We are increasingly leveraging advanced technology to become a more efficient business and to further strengthen our competitive position. We deploy this technology to drive innovation, productivity and optimize performance on our farms in our processing facilities and across our corporate functions. For example, we recently formed a co-sourcing partnership with a third-party technology provider that will provide the benefits of artificial intelligence and robotic process automation for administrative and transactional work in our finance operations. This partnership gives us immediate access to the latest technology and provides flexibility as technology change continues to accelerate. Finally, we continue to evaluate opportunistic M&A to support our growth strategies. In January, we entered into an agreement to acquire one of our top national packaged meats brands, Nathan's Famous. Successfully closing the acquisition will secure our rights to this iconic brand into perpetuity and enable us to maximize Nathan's Famous brand growth across the retail and foodservice channels. With this acquisition, we will own all our major Packaged Meats brands. We will remain disciplined in evaluating additional complementary and synergistic M&A opportunities. In summary, we have returned to the U.S. equity market well positioned to deliver reliable, repeatable earnings and cash flow growth. Our business model has never been stronger. Our high-performing vertically integrated model led by Packaged Meats provides a competitive advantage and supports sustainable margin expansion over the long term. We are investing capital in a disciplined manner to support our growth strategies, to generate attractive returns and to build sustainable long-term value for our shareholders. With that, I will turn it over to Mark to review our financials in more detail.

Thanks, Shane, and good morning to everyone joining the call. Our strong 2025 results reflect the consistent execution and resilience of our teams. We closed the year with an outstanding fourth quarter. Total company sales increased 7% for the fourth quarter and 10% for the year with growth across all segments, reflecting higher market prices across the pork value chain and Packaged Meats' ability to maintain pricing discipline through innovation and brand power. Record fourth quarter adjusted operating profit of $402 million fueled our record full year 2025 adjusted operating profit of $1.3 billion. Full year adjusted operating profit margin increased an impressive 140 basis points to 8.6%. Fourth quarter adjusted net income from continuing operations attributable to Smithfield was $329 million, which was our second highest on record. This helped us deliver a record $1 billion for the full year. Adjusted diluted EPS for the fourth quarter was $0.83 per share, up from $0.52 per share in 2024 and for the full year was $2.55 per share, representing a 36% increase from 2024. Now, on to our fiscal year 2025 segment results. Packaged Meats delivered fiscal year 2025 adjusted operating profit of $1.1 billion, which was the second highest profit on record and an adjusted operating profit margin of 12.4%. This strong profitability in the face of raw material input cost increases of $525 million and a challenging consumer spending environment demonstrates the success of our Packaged Meats segment strategy. Packaged Meats fiscal 2025 sales of $8.8 billion increased by 5.3% compared to fiscal 2024. This was driven by a 5.6% increase in average selling price with roughly flat sales volume. Industry-wide, volume growth has been challenged due to inflation and consumers' tight budgets. As Shane mentioned, we were able to maintain volume through the power of our strong branded portfolio, complemented with private label options and our diversified product portfolio offering convenience, flavor, and value. The higher average selling price was driven primarily by higher market prices across the pork value chain with key raw materials such as bellies, up 19%; trim, up 19% to 35%; and ham, up 9% year-over-year. Next, Fresh Pork. For 2025, we delivered $209 million in adjusted operating profit despite a $135 million year-over-year decline in the industry market spread, truly an outstanding job by the Fresh pork team. As Shane mentioned, Fresh Pork executed well on maximizing the net realizable value of each hog and continue to deliver operating efficiencies and cost savings, which largely mitigated the impact of the compressed market spread and export market disruption on segment profitability. Fresh Pork sales of $8.3 billion increased 6% year-over-year, primarily driven by a 5.8% increase in the average selling price and roughly flat volume. The higher average selling price was driven primarily by higher market prices across the pork value chain. Turning now to Hog Production. Hog Production generated $176 million in adjusted operating profit, the highest since 2014. The strong results were driven by improved commodity markets as well as actions we've taken to optimize our operations. 2025 Hog Production sales of $3.4 billion increased by 13% year-over-year. This was despite a 23% or approximately 3.4 million head reduction in the number of hogs produced as part of our planned rationalization strategy. The sales increase was primarily due to higher external sales to our new joint venture partners, both from ongoing sales of grain, feed, and other services as well as from the initial transfer of commercial hog inventories. Our average market hog sales price was up 8.9% year-over-year, inclusive of the effects of hedging. Adjusted operating profit for our Other segment, which includes our Mexico and Bioscience operations, of $45 million increased $10 million compared to 2024. We see the Mexico market as a big opportunity for future growth. Our corporate expenses came in $26 million below the prior year, reflecting our disciplined cost management strategies. In summary, we delivered a record 2025 operating profit and net income due to solid consistent execution across our operations. Next, let's review our strong financial position and cash flow generation. At the end of 2025, our net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio was 0.3x, well below our policy of no less than 2x. Our liquidity at the end of the year was $3.8 billion, including $1.5 billion in cash and cash equivalents. This is well above our liquidity policy threshold of $1 billion. During 2025, we generated cash flows from operations of over $1 billion, and it would have been a record of nearly $1.3 billion when adjusted for the repayment of an accounts receivable monetization facility. Capital expenditures for 2025 were $341 million compared to $350 million for 2024. Approximately 50% of our planned capital investments each year are to fund projects that will drive both top and bottom line growth. This consists primarily of various plant automation and improvement projects, as we continue to lower our manufacturing cost structure and better utilize labor. Reinforcing our commitment to return value to shareholders, we paid $1 per share in annual dividends in 2025. And as Shane mentioned today, we announced that our Board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.3125 per share and that we anticipate paying annual dividends of $1.25 in 2026. Our ample liquidity, including sizable cash balance and robust cash flow supports our investment in business growth and shareholder return while maintaining a strong financial position. Now, on to our outlook for fiscal 2026. First, I'd like to share our thoughts on potential market tailwinds and headwinds that could impact our 2026 results. First, tailwinds. We expect protein to remain in high demand in 2026 and for pork to be well poised as a healthy, affordable option for consumers. We also see raw material costs as a tailwind. While we expect input costs to remain elevated by historical standards, they should be slightly lower than in 2025. Our raw material assumptions are supported by the USDA outlook for pork production to be up 2.5% in 2026. That said, we're monitoring herd health as a key variable impacting the outlook for U.S. pork production and raw material costs. Potential headwinds that we're monitoring include a continued cautious consumer spending environment and a dynamic geopolitical environment. It's still too early to predict the full impact from the conflict in Iran, but there are 3 main components of our business that this could impact. First, the direct impact of fuel costs such as diesel; second, corn prices, which are tightly correlated to the oil markets; third, the petroleum-derived supplies that we use such as resin-based packaging. Based on what we know today, we believe our outlook incorporates identified risks, but it will depend on the duration of the conflict. With these assumptions as a backdrop, our outlook for fiscal 2026 called for continued margin expansion driven by the strategies Shane just reviewed. This includes continued innovation, improved asset utilization, accelerated automation initiatives, and cost savings that will help us achieve another record-setting year. First, we anticipate total company sales to be up low single digits compared to fiscal 2025. Our outlook for segment adjusted operating profit is as follows: for Packaged Meats, we anticipate adjusted operating profit in the range of $1.1 billion to $1.2 billion. For Fresh Pork, we anticipate adjusted operating profit of between $200 million to $260 million. And for Hog Production, our anticipated adjusted operating profit range is $150 million to $200 million. As a result, we anticipate total company adjusted operating profit in the range of $1.325 billion to $1.475 billion, reflecting broad-based performance. Please note that our outlook reflects 53 weeks of operations in 2026 and does not include the impact of the proposed Nathan's Famous acquisition and investment in the new processing facilities in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Our targeted capital spend for 2026 will be in the range of $350 million to $450 million. In addition, subject to permitting and other approvals, we expect to invest up to $1.3 billion over the next 3 years to construct the new state-of-the-art Packaged Meats and Fresh Pork processing facility in Sioux Falls. We currently anticipate groundbreaking to commence in the first half of 2027 and for operations to commence by the end of 2028. We'll provide more updates as we progress. In summary, 2025 demonstrated that our key strategies are working. We expect 2026 to be another year of increased profitability as we continue to execute our core strategies. Now, I'll ask the operator to open up the call for Q&A.

And today's first question comes from Megan Clapp with Morgan Stanley.

I guess, maybe to pick up, Mark, where you left off there, I wanted to start with the Packaged Meats outlook specifically. You talked about low single-digit top line growth for the total company. I guess...

Megan, did we lose you?

Sorry, can you still hear me?

Yes, you cut out for a second, though, Megan.

Okay. Okay. I'll start over. So Packaged Meats outlook, I wanted to ask about that. As we think about the top line guide, you talked about low single-digit growth for the total company. Should we be thinking about Packaged Meats kind of in that range? And then, from a margin perspective, if we just kind of take the midpoint of your profit guidance, I think it does imply some modest margin expansion, but, yes, still kind of well below where you've been historically. And, Mark, you kind of talked about this a little bit in your remarks, but maybe you can just help us understand a little bit more of the puts and takes on margins, as we think about the year ahead in terms of input cost inflation, continued mix benefits, and then, anything you're taking into account on consumer demand given some of the macro factors?

Thanks, Megan, for the question. So just on the top line, it's important to note that the low single-digit revenue growth year-over-year includes $230 million of one-time inventory sales to the joint ventures in 2025 that won't repeat. So that's about 150 basis points. And then, consistent with the comments, we're looking for lower markets year-over-year with the USDA call for pork production to be up about 2.5% year-over-year. So that's going to have a ripple effect throughout the segment. And I'll let Steve talk specifically to the top line on Packaged Meats.

Thank you for the question. I want to emphasize that our long-term outlook for Packaged Meats margins remains unchanged. In the short term, as Mark mentioned, consumers are feeling financially strained, leading them to spend less or opt for cheaper products that offer more value. It's important to note that in 2025, our raw material costs increased by over $525 million. While we expect to see a decrease in raw material costs, as Mark pointed out, they will still be higher than historical averages. Despite these challenges, we believe our strong brand portfolio and broad product range position us better than many competitors. Our successful private label business enables us to engage consumers as they shift through different price points. This strategy helps us mitigate some financial risks as consumers navigate the pricing landscape. We aim to create long-term value while also safeguarding our short-term profits, which involves investing in our brands and pursuing innovations that align with consumer trends. Additionally, as Shane mentioned in his comments, we are shifting our focus from commodity products to higher-margin, value-added items. We're also investing capital to enhance our capacity to support long-term and profitable growth. According to our outlook for 2026, we currently anticipate our Packaged Meats profit to be between $1.1 billion and $1.2 billion, which we believe is a healthy profitability level considering cautious consumer spending and elevated raw material costs. There's also uncertainty related to the ongoing situation in Iran. Ultimately, we maintain confidence in our outlook and feel prepared to tackle these challenges as they arise.

Great. That's super helpful. I have a follow-up on Hog Production. The guidance for the year, ranging from $150 million to $200 million, suggests that profitability will be similar to 2025 at the midpoint. The futures curve also indicates comparable producer profit levels. Additionally, you have spoken in detail about the structural improvements within your business and mentioned monitoring herd health as a potential advantage. Could you elaborate on what is factored into the guidance from an industry viewpoint and what you are currently observing regarding supply compared to your own internal cost enhancements?

Yes, Megan, currently we don't observe any significant expansion in supply apart from enhancements in productivity and health. The USDA's model reflects a 2.5% increase, and last year, the real effects of health issues in the U.S. industry didn't truly surface until we entered the second quarter. We're keeping a close watch on the overall health situation and its potential impact on meat supply in the latter half of the year. We believe the guidance we provided today accounts for current conditions in the grain markets and the effect of rising diesel fuel prices on freight and animal movements. We're feeling confident about our position and believe we are returning to a more typical cycle, with a contrast between Q1-Q4 and Q2-Q3. As you know, we employ various hedging strategies throughout the year, and we are comfortable with the guidance we've given regarding hog production. Regarding the structural changes in our business, the genetics we've discussed in the past few years have positively affected us. We recorded an approximate 8% decrease in lean pig costs year-over-year due to better feed and livability initiatives, and our overall feed costs dropped over 5%. We're seeing these improvements reflected in our earnings, so we feel confident about our guidance based on today's observations.

And our next question today comes from Ben Theurer with Barclays.

Shane, Mark and team, 2 quick ones. So first of all, as we look into like the value chain as a whole, and we've kind of talked a little bit about the Hog Production just now and before that about the Packaged Meat segment. So picking up on what's in the middle in the Fresh Pork segment. Clearly, it was, call it, potentially a somewhat challenging 2025 with all the trade restrictions, et cetera. But as we move into 2026 and as you kind of like pointed to the puts and takes, can you maybe elaborate a little bit more on the Fresh Pork business itself, what to think about, a, seasonality? And b, what are like the more Fresh Pork-specific risks and opportunities for 2026 in contrast to 2025? That would be my first question.

Yes. So, Ben, maybe I'll start and then hand over to Donovan. 2025, I'm really proud of how the Fresh Pork team executed. We saw $135 million degradation in the gross market spread, but yet our profits were only down about $17 million. And so we saw growth in retail and sales volumes. I think that was 4% in sales and 5% in U.S. retail channel volume, really leaning into the case-ready part of the business. But also looking at some of those alternative channels that we've discussed before with our pet food business and our pharmaceutical business. And so I would say the Fresh Pork team in the face of what was a really dynamic and ever-changing 2025 did an excellent job in executing that next best sales strategy. Donovan, do you want to add to that?

Yes, I think Doug, you expressed it well in your opening remarks. However, 2026 for Fresh was a challenging year, primarily due to the tariffs, which started to have an impact. Despite this, we saw a rebound in our net realizable value efforts in 2025, which proved beneficial. We concentrated on our core strategy, particularly in our Fresh Pork and Fresh Pork value-added business, which Shane earlier highlighted. Growing our Fresh Pork in this area will be crucial in 2026, just as it was in 2025. We will focus on our case-ready value-added pork, our marinate offerings, and our branded fresh pork to integrate into our Packaged Meats portfolio. Our goal is to connect all aspects of our business. This has been an opportunity for Smithfield for some time, allowing us to leverage the strength of our Packaged Meats business and promote our Fresh Pork portfolio under the Smithfield name, rather than merely competing as another brand in the industry. I am confident that we will continue our fresh pork strategy in 2026 and anticipate improved results.

Awesome. And then, real quick on the capacity expansion project, Sioux Falls. I think you said groundbreaking first half 2027. So probably within the CapEx of that $1.3 billion, probably nothing yet to be contemplated for 2026. But how should we think about the CapEx needs for that project splitting that into what would be '27 and '28? And how do you think about just the general timeline? If you could refresh me on that one, that would be much appreciated.

Yes. So, Ben, as you indicated, there is no capital included in our estimate of $350 million to $450 million for the current year. So there may be some incremental spending towards the end of the year, but the most significant portion of the spend will come in '27, '28 and a little bit of spillover into '29. So anticipate groundbreaking, as you said, in early 2027, hopefully, to have the first products running down the line at the end of 2028. And I would say that the capital spending will be paced pretty evenly throughout the construction period.

Our next question today comes from Leah Jordan at Goldman Sachs.

I wanted to follow up on Megan's question within Packaged Meats. Just seeing if you could provide more color on how we should think about the margin cadence in that segment as we go through the year. And any timing impacts we should keep in mind? I mean, we're going to be lapping some different input costs as we go through the year as well as potential shift in Easter and as well as the 53rd week.

Thank you for the question. When considering margins and their connection to promotions, our focus is on quality merchandising rather than quantity. Pursuing quantity can lead to profitability challenges. We're seeing improvements in our promoted volume sold through features and displays, which is our most effective promotional approach. We will maintain our current promotional strategy, but we are fortunate that our consumers are highly loyal. Our brands succeed because customers trust us to consistently deliver high quality, flavor, and value every time. This consistency, built over decades, is evident in every product, and our customers know they can rely on us. Regarding your question about consistency, while there is seasonality with different items, such as seasonal hams and growing products in the summer, both halves of the year are fairly equal in terms of profitability.

Leah, the only thing I would add there, and I think this was part of your question, we will see Easter a little earlier this year. So there will be some Q1 impact of last year we would have seen in Q2. And the 53rd week actually will fall at the end of December, which would be post-Christmas for us.

Right. So to Shane's point, on a segment profit margin perspective, it's a little lighter in the first and fourth quarters because of that seasonal ham influence.

That's very helpful. And then just for a follow-up, I wanted to ask on the feed side, given lower feed costs were such a tailwind for you in Hog Production last year, and now, we've got maybe some potential headwinds emerging, so how are you planning for feed over the coming year? What have you locked in so far? And just any color around assumptions within the guidance range and your flexibility there? Should we see some movement?

Yes. In regard to our feed strategy, while we don't disclose specific hedge positions, we do utilize corn and soybean meal contracts to secure advantages when possible. Our feed strategy encompasses more than just grain; it focuses on overall efficiency and ensuring the health of our animals that consume this grain. Looking ahead to 2026, we anticipate some increases in feed costs, particularly linked to developments in the Middle East. We've proactively managed our hedging strategies to address these grain costs. From our perspective, we are well-prepared for 2026 regarding corn. It's important to note that as the year progresses, any feed cost changes will predominantly affect the latter part of the year and carry into 2027. Overall, we feel we are in a strong position for 2026, and the guidance we've provided considers the variability we expect in corn prices.

And our next question today comes from Heather Jones at Vertical Group.

I wanted to ask a quick clarifying question about the extra week. You mentioned expecting a low single-digit volume increase in the Packaged Meat segment for retail and foodservice. Is that adjusted for the extra week, or is it primarily due to that week, meaning we should anticipate most of that increase in Q4?

That includes the extra week, which occurs after the Christmas holiday this year. Seasonally, it tends to be a softer week as most of the loading happens leading up to the holiday season. Therefore, from a volume and profitability perspective, it performs below the average week.

Okay. So you're expecting growth in the other quarters as well, not just the Q4?

Correct.

And then, I just wanted to ask about the Hog Production outlook, and just, how you all are thinking about the cadence of that 2.5% growth? Because my understanding is that there was some expectation that there would be like an easy comparison because of the PED and PRRS we had in '25. But PRRS has hit pretty hard again. I think it's in the upper Midwest. And so I was wondering, do you think the 2.5% takes that fully into effect? And how you're thinking about industry volumes year-on-year as the year progresses?

Yes. If I understood your question correctly, we are hearing that same thing that you just mentioned, that PRRS is really beginning to show up in the Midwest. But again, I think our guidance, as we've issued this morning, takes that into account, both from what we expect to see on a seasonality basis between Q1 and Q4 and in the middle part of the year as in Q2 and Q3. So we think from a disease standpoint, from a corn standpoint, transportation that we've got those things embedded. And of course, as we move through the year, things will become much clearer, and we'll continue to update that guidance as we move through the year. But as it sits today, we feel really comfortable with that range that we printed this morning.

And our next question today comes from Chris Downing of Bank of America.

This is Chris on for Pete. You noted that acquiring Nathan's will eliminate licensing fees and allow you to capture the full retail margin with immediate earnings growth expected. Can you quantify for us how much of the anticipated accretion comes from recapturing licensing economics versus incremental operating synergies? And how quickly those benefits should scale post close?

Yes, Chris, I'll start and then pass it to Steve or Mark. We are really limited in what we can share until we complete this transaction. Once the deal is closed, we will be able to provide more details about our plans and the related financials. For now, we can't disclose much until the deal is finalized. Steve, do you want to add anything about Nathan's?

Yes, I can just add a couple of things. And first and foremost, we're very excited on the Packaged Meat side of the business about Nathan's and what that represents for the future of Smithfield. So we know the Nathan's brand incredibly well. Obviously, we've been making products for years and selling it into the retail channel. So there's virtually no integration risk, and that's a really big deal from an M&A standpoint. Owning the brand will let us scale with utilizing our marketing, innovation, and also distribution across retail. And then ultimately, we'd have access to that foodservice channel, which again would be a big plus for the total Smithfield business. I would like to share more about what we have planned. But at this point, since the deal is not finalized, I'm going to have to wait until the transaction closes. But it's a great question. We're very excited about the opportunity to purchase Nathan's.

Yes. And, Chris, the only other thing I would add to that is we do believe that the transaction will be immediately accretive to our earnings. And I think you can look at Nathan's disclosures and really get to the crux of your question about what that licensing fee has been.

And our next question today comes from Max Gumport with BNP.

I was hoping to turn back to Sioux Falls. Obviously, it's a very big investment for the company. I realize it's early, but any color or quantification you can provide on the benefits that you will receive? It's replacing a very old plant. I think it's over 100 years old, so maybe particularly on the cost side, what this means for efficiencies, automations, and cost savings?

Yes, Max. I'm really excited about this investment in Sioux Falls. And to your point, it's a large investment, but it's necessary. Sioux Falls is a key part of not only our Fresh Pork business, but also our Packaged Meats strategy in general. And so that facility is over 100 years old. And as you can imagine, there's a lot of upkeep on that facility. But not only that, the footprint of that facility makes it very difficult to implement some of the automation and technology that we as a company are really rolling out across our footprint. When this facility is done, it will be the largest fresh combined, Fresh Pork and Packaged Meats facility in our system. We are anticipating a best-in-class facility that will just deliver significant efficiency gains to both Fresh Pork and Packaged Meats. So I'm really excited about the investment. We're anticipating it's going to have a really strong intern investment, and we expect to see those benefits in year 1, as we move to that optimal production level. But the interesting thing about Sioux Falls for us is it's a key part of the country. There's a tremendous culture of Hog Production in that part of the country. And from a vertical integration standpoint, that plant is less than 1% vertically integrated. So this investment is not only good for us, it's good for South Dakota agriculture, the surrounding regions, and American agriculture in general. And like I said in my opening comments, this investment really represents one of the largest single investments in American agriculture that I'm aware of. And so we, as a company, are extremely excited about the opportunity to do this. I think it's going to be transformative for us as a company. And I think it's going to lead the way in the industry, as it relates to cost structures, and to competitiveness. And so I'm really looking forward to getting this project done.

Great. And then, on the first quarter, I realize we're essentially through the first quarter at this point already. So I was hoping maybe for a bit more color on any initial thoughts on the sales and profit realized, maybe you don't typically guide by quarter, but just given that there's essentially only a week left or so, maybe a bit of color on how the first quarter is looking.

Yes. It's really about continuing execution of our strategies, continue to improve that mix within the Packaged Meat side of the business, appealing to the consumer across that price spectrum, whether it's in our branded portfolio or in private label. And again, continuing optimization of our net realizable value within Fresh Pork. So we're seeing continued execution of our strategies, and we look forward to a solid first quarter. We'll be back in front of you in, what, about 5 weeks, I think, to report on the first quarter, but things are shaping up.

We have time for one more question today. And our final question comes from Saumya Jain with UBS.

Congrats on the quarter. A quick one. With more CapEx spend, as you noted in '27 and onwards, would you see more upgrades or bolt-ons on current facilities or acquisitions of new ones? And what would drive one versus the other?

Yes. So in terms of CapEx, again, the uptick in '27 and '28 is related to the Sioux Falls build-out. Our guide for this year is really in that $350 million to $450 million range. And what you've seen is over the recent past, we've really worked significantly to optimize our network and improve our cost structure. So most recently, we announced the closure of 2 lease facilities in Elizabeth, New Jersey and in Springfield, Massachusetts, and we're folding those into existing operations. So that along with the transfer of the $3.8 million head that Shane mentioned in Hog Production to our joint venture partners, it really brings reduced requirements for maintenance CapEx across the network. So we're going to continue to invest about half of that CapEx figure on growth capital and about the other half on infrastructure, so maintenance types of projects. But we have plenty of opportunities to invest in growth capital, drive capacity expansions, and cost savings projects through automation. So again, the $350 million to $450 million is all-encompassing on the base business with incremental spend related to Sioux Falls in '27, '28, and '29.

Great. And then real quick, I noticed that the market share in the hot dogs Packaged Meat subcategory changed from third to fourth. So I guess just wanted to understand what was driving that last quarter. And how do you view your acquisitions of Nathan's then changing the competitive dynamic in the space?

No, it's a good question. So, as far as the total hot dog category, so this is for the total industry, obviously, we're seeing some historic beef markets, which is resulting in consumers seeking value or gravitating down to private label or value tiers. Now, keep in mind, when I say that, that even when they gravitate down into private label, we have the ability to capture that consumer with some of the private label products that we do produce or some of the regional brands that fit that value tier. Now, if you look at the total category, so not just where we were, but for the total hot dog category for the U.S., in Q4, the sales were down 5.2%. And for total 2025, sales were down 4.8%. Now, with all that said, despite some of the category declines and some of the consumer shifting, we're still able to grow our Nathan's volume share, unit share, and dollar share in Q4. So we also increased our points of distribution by over 19% in 2025, and that's on the Nathan's brand. So that really highlights the strength of the brand and also consumer loyalty. So despite some of the category declines that we saw within the hot dog space, we're very comfortable with where we are from a Nathan's performance and also what we expect to see in 2026.

That concludes our question-and-answer session. I'd like to turn the conference back over to President and CEO, Shane Smith, for closing remarks.

Thank you, and thanks to everyone who joined our call today. I want to thank all of our Smithfield Foods employees for their exceptional execution in 2025. It truly was an outstanding year, and we're proud that our strategies drove record results, but we're not stopping here. Instead, we're constantly challenging ourselves to grow our business and continuously improve our operations. I'm looking forward to speaking to you again when we report our first quarter results. Thank you.

Thank you. The conference has now concluded, and we thank you all for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect your lines, and have a wonderful day.