General Mills has been a breakfast staple in America for almost a century. It wasn’t that long ago that every breakfast commercial included the phrase “part of your complete breakfast.” But lately, it feels like Americans have kind of fallen out of love with cereal. It’s not really the “breakfast of champions” anymore. With all the competition and the rise of convenient options, cereal sales have dropped about 4% to 8% each year for the last decade—except in 2020, of course because you know– we had more time to sit around and eat cheerios. 

But General Mills is banking on you swapping those nights out for chilling at home with a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and honestly? It's not a bad call. I mean, according to one report– eating at home costs four times less than hitting up a restaurant, so if you're trying to save a buck, it just makes sense. In fact, General Mills is leaning into this trend hard, with some pretty creative new partnerships and strategies aimed at keeping their brands front and center in your kitchens for every meal of the day.

Let’s start with their latest power move: teaming up with football’s most famous brothers, Travis (Taylor Swift’s latest crush) and Jason Kelce. If you haven’t heard, these guys have taken their love for cereal (yes, they ranked their favorites on their "New Heights" podcast) and turned it into a full-on collaboration with General Mills. The result? Kelce Mix, a new cereal that combines Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Lucky Charms, and Reese’s Puffs. Because, why pick one when you can have all three? Sounds kind of gross to me though…

(Source: General Mills)

The Minneapolis-based company also just announced a partnership with WNBA star Angel Reese to be on their Reese’s Puffs cereal boxes. If you haven’t seen (because it’s the WNBA), Angel is one of the top stories in the league behind your girl Caitlin Clark. And sure, she's setting records for rebounds, but let’s be real — maybe that’s just because she’s grabbing all her own missed layups. Looks like General Mills is hoping she rebounds their cereal sales too.

Now let’s talk numbers: General Mills saw a slight 1% dip in net sales last quarter, landing at a cool $4.85 billion. Not exactly what they were hoping for, but hey, it could be worse. On the flip side, their stock is actually up 15% this year, so there’s that silver lining. Now, their operating profit took an 11% hit, which isn’t great. But they’re making some moves—like rolling back prices on certain products to lure shoppers back into the grocery aisles. Even with all the craziness of inflation and people being a bit picky with their wallets, CEO Jeff Harmening is staying optimistic. He noted, “We did anticipate that might be the case as we see consumers seeking value.” 

But while lower prices are great for consumers, analysts like TD Cowen’s Robert Moskow are watching closely. He warned that cutting prices too much could lead to more sales declines. Still, General Mills is holding its ground, doubling down on its strategy and eyeing future acquisitions, especially in the pet food and snack categories.

But hey, it’s not all about cereal. General Mills has been pretty sneaky, making some smart moves by scooping up other food giants over the past decade, especially since cereal sales have been taking a hit. They’ve really jumped into the pet treat scene lately, snagging cool brands like Blue Buffalo and Tyson’s pet goodies. And while we all know them for their baking staples like Betty Crocker and Pillsbury, they’ve got a whole lineup of other favorites too—think Annie’s, Nature Valley, and Häagen-Dazs. 

They’ve also been repurchasing shares, using proceeds from the $2.1 billion sale of their yogurt business (farewell, Yoplait) to keep the stock looking good. And with more acquisitions potentially in the future, General Mills is doing its best to put itself in the fast lane for some actual growth—even in a tough market like today’s.

Long story short: General Mills is trading at around $75 per share and although they could see a small bump in sales over the next year, I don’t see their other food ventures making up for their cereal sales drop enough to really make that huge of a difference. All things considered, the cereal industry may be dying a slow death, but I will do my part and eat a couple bowls today. 

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Stocks.News holds a position in General Mills.