Mondelez: Can Mondelez's Oreo and Ritz Brands Accelerate Sales Growth?

Mondelez International, Inc. MDLZ is relying on its biscuit portfolio to support sales growth, with Oreo and Ritz continuing to play an important role in the category. The company's strategy combines established brands with product innovation and broader distribution as it works to strengthen its biscuits business across markets. The approach delivered encouraging results in the first quarter of 2026. Biscuits and baked snacks, which represented 48% of fiscal 2025 net revenues, generated organic net revenue growth of 1.7%, supported by a 0.6-percentage-point improvement in volume and mix. Oreo and Ritz were among the brands that posted growth during the quarter, while the U.S. biscuit business returned to slight growth after showing sequential improvement. Innovation remains an important part of that effort. During the quarter, Mondelez introduced Ritz Drizzled, a sweet-and-salty extension of its Ritz crackers featuring fudge or caramel coating. The company said the launch helped the Ritz brand gain 0.2 percentage points of market share year to date. Oreo also featured in the company's innovation lineup with Oreo Minis. Alongside innovation, Mondelez is expanding distribution in emerging markets and increasing its presence in under-indexed developed-market channels, including convenience, club and online, where these channels contributed to improved U.S. biscuit volume performance on a sequential basis. The first-quarter performance indicates that Oreo and Ritz continue to support Mondelez's biscuits business through a combination of brand growth, innovation and wider distribution. At the same time, the company noted that the U.S. biscuit category remains soft, although its own biscuit business has shown signs of stabilization. Continued execution across these initiatives will be important in supporting future sales growth for the category. MDLZ Stock Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates Shares of Mondelez International have tumbled 11.5% over the past year compared with the industry's decline of 21.9%. MDLZ currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). MDLZ Price Performance Versus Industry Zacks Investment Research Image Source: Zacks Investment Research From a valuation standpoint, MDLZ trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 18.49, higher than the industry's average of 14.55. MDLZ Valuation Compared to Industry Zacks Investment Research Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MDLZ's current and next fiscal-year earnings per share implies year-over-year growth of 4.5% and 11.3%, respectively. Better-Ranked Stocks to Consider United Natural Foods, Inc. UNFI, a major food wholesaler serving grocery retailers, currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for United Natural's current and next fiscal-year earnings per share suggests a year-over-year increase of 254.9% and 21.4%, respectively. UNFI delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 29.9%, on average. Mama's Creations, Inc. MAMA, a maker of refrigerated prepared foods for retail and foodservice, carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Mama's Creations' current and next fiscal-year EPS implies growth of 73.3% and 46.2%, respectively, from the prior-year reported levels. MAMA delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 129.2%, on average. Hormel Foods Corporation HRL, a global branded food company offering meat, protein and packaged food products, carries a Zacks Rank #2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Hormel Foods' current and next fiscal-year EPS calls for a year-over-year jump of 9.5% and 3.5%, respectively. HRL delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 3.2%, on average. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Mondelez International, Inc. (MDLZ) : Free Stock Analysis Report Hormel Foods Corporation (HRL) : Free Stock Analysis Report United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI) : Free Stock Analysis Report Mama's Creations, Inc. (MAMA) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research