Conagra reviews non-core assets after dividend cut and profit warning

Conagra Brands is reviewing its non-core assets after cutting its annual dividend by half and warning that sales and profit will come in below expectations, a sharp reset for one of the best-known names in packaged food. The move comes under new chief executive John Brase and signals that the company is preparing to shed businesses that no longer fit a tighter portfolio.

The dividend was reduced to 70 cents per share from $1.40, a cut that RBC Capital Markets estimated would free up more than $330 million in cash. Conagra is also forecasting annual organic net sales to fall 1% to 3%, after a 0.4% decline in fiscal 2026, and has taken a $2 billion impairment charge in its latest quarter. Those figures put hard numbers on the strain inside a category that once relied on steady volume and dependable pricing power.

The pressure on Conagra reflects a broader break in the packaged-food model. Cash-strapped consumers are trading down to cheaper alternatives, buying smaller package sizes, and leaning harder on private-label brands as inflation and higher grocery bills reshape shopping habits. For food makers, that has made it harder to raise prices fast enough to offset higher ingredient, freight, and labor costs, while also preserving the kind of margins investors expect from consumer staples.

Conagra is not responding only with cuts. The company plans to increase annual advertising spending by 14% and raise capital expenditure to $550 million, a sign that management wants to support core brands even while pruning the rest of the business. That combination, more marketing, more investment, and a smaller dividend, suggests a company trying to protect the brands it believes can still win in a more price-sensitive market.

For investors, the review of non-core assets raises the prospect of divestitures or a longer restructuring process if management decides some brands or product lines no longer belong in the portfolio. Conagra’s stock had already been under pressure before the announcement, and the latest warning adds to the sense that legacy food companies are being forced to prove they can still grow in a market where shoppers have far more low-cost choices than they did a few years ago.