Lamb Weston (LW) Stock Jumps 3% on Earnings Beat and Guidance Hike

TLDR

• Lamb Weston stock rose about 3% after fiscal first-quarter earnings beat Wall Street estimates.
• Adjusted earnings per share came in at 75 cents, topping the 59-cent forecast.
• Revenue grew 1% to $1.67 billion, slightly ahead of expectations.
• The company raised its full-year fiscal 2027 outlook, citing North America growth and cost cuts.
• Net income fell 55% year-over-year to $29.1 million despite the earnings beat.

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Lamb Weston stock climbed roughly 3% in premarket trading Tuesday after the frozen-potato supplier posted fiscal first-quarter results that beat Wall Street’s expectations. Shares traded near $45.85, up from Monday’s close.

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc., LW

The company behind fries for McDonald’s and Chick-fil-A reported adjusted earnings of 75 cents a share. That topped analyst estimates of 59 cents by a wide margin.

Revenue for the quarter grew 1% to $1.67 billion. Analysts had expected $1.65 billion.

Lamb Weston didn’t just beat the quarter. It also raised its guidance for the rest of fiscal 2027.

Why The Outlook Improved

Management pointed to strong momentum in North America. Sales volume grew as existing customers bought more and the company picked up new accounts.

Lamb Weston, $LW, Q1-27.

A clear beat and higher guidance, but International remains the weak spot.

🟢 Revenue: $1.67B vs. $1.65B est.
🟢 Adj. EPS: $0.75 vs. $0.59 est.
📈 FY27 adj. EPS: $3.05-$3.35, raised
🌍 International adj. EBITDA: -54% YoY pic.twitter.com/OBpHeHW6bX

— EarningsTime (@Earnings_Time) October 6, 2026

Cost savings also played a big role. Lamb Weston has been shutting down certain facilities and trimming its global workforce by about 4%.

CEO Mike Smith said the quarter reflected “continued momentum in North America” alongside the cost-cutting push. Those two factors together lifted segment profitability.

The company now expects full-year net sales to grow by low single digits. That’s up from its earlier forecast of flat to 1% growth.

Adjusted earnings guidance moved up too. Lamb Weston now sees $3.05 to $3.35 a share for the year, better than its previous range of $2.95 to $3.25.

A Mixed Picture Beneath The Headline

Not every number moved in the right direction. Net income actually dropped 55% from a year ago, landing at $29.1 million versus $64.3 million.

Adjusted EBITDA fell nearly 6% to $285.6 million. That missed last year’s $302.2 million.

The weakness wasn’t a North America problem. It came from overseas.

Lamb Weston’s International segment sales fell 8% to $529 million. Segment adjusted EBITDA there dropped 54% to just $27 million, largely due to tough conditions in Europe.

North America told a different story entirely. Segment sales rose 5% to $1.14 billion, helped by 7% volume growth.

North America segment adjusted EBITDA jumped 11% to $287 million. Higher sales volumes, cost savings, and $5 million in tariff refunds all contributed.

Adjusted net income held steady at $103 million compared to the same quarter last year. Adjusted diluted EPS actually ticked up slightly, from 74 cents to 75 cents.

Lamb Weston also raised its adjusted EBITDA outlook for the full year. The company now projects $1.125 billion to $1.215 billion, up from $1.10 billion to $1.20 billion previously.

That new range sits above analyst consensus, which had been looking for a midpoint closer to $3.01 in EPS terms. Lamb Weston’s updated midpoint of $3.20 clears that bar.

Lamb Weston stock is up nearly 8% so far this year, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Tuesday’s premarket gain builds on that trend.

The company’s fiscal first quarter ended with a split scorecard. Strong North America execution offset European softness, and investors appear focused on the raised guidance rather than the net income decline.