The stock of Mondelez International is down 5% after the snack food company reported mixed financial results for the fourth and final quarter of 2024.
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The Chicago-based company best known as the maker of Oreo cookies announced earnings per share (EPS) of $0.65, which missed the consensus estimate of analysts that called for $0.66. Revenue of $9.60 billion fell short of Wall Street’s forecast of $9.64 billion.
The company blamed the poor results on what it called “unprecedented cocoa cost inflation,” and added that it expects the situation to worsen moving forward. Management at Mondelez said they expect 2025 earnings per share to decline 10% on a constant currency basis due to ongoing cocoa costs.
Record Coca Prices
Poor weather in Africa has wiped out much of the world’s cocoa crop in recent years, leading to record prices for the main ingredient in chocolate. According to market data, cocoa prices rose more than 200% throughout 2024, peaking at an all-time high of $12,987 per metric ton on December 18 of last year.
The dramatic rise in cocoa’s price has led to a sharp increase in input costs for companies that make chocolate. In Mondelez’s case, the company owns Cadbury and produces popular chocolate bars such as Dairy Milk and 5Star, as well as Cadbury Creme Eggs.
MDLZ stock has declined 23% over the past 12 months.
Is MDLZ Stock a Buy?
The stock of Mondelez International has a consensus Moderate Buy rating among 18 Wall Street analysts. That rating is based on 12 Buy and six Hold recommendations assigned in the past three months. The average MDLZ price target of $68.25 implies 21.61% upside from current levels. These ratings are likely to change after today’s financial results.
