Tyson Foods, Inc.

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Tyson Foods fourth quarter 2024 earnings conference call. All participants will be in a listen-only mode. Should you need assistance, we can know a conference specialist by pressing the star key followed by zero. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To ask a question, you may press star and then one on your touch-tone phones. To draw your questions, you may press star and two. Please also note today's event is being recorded. At this time, I'd like to turn the floor over to Sean Cornett from the Investor Relations Team. Sir, please go ahead.

Good morning, and welcome to Tyson Foods' Fiscal First Quarter 2025 Earnings Conference Call. On today's call, Tyson's President and Chief Executive Officer, Donnie King, and Chief Financial Officer, Kurt Calloway, will provide prepared remarks, followed by Q&A. Additionally, joining us today are Brady Stewart, Group President, Beef, Port and Chief Supply Chain Officer, Kyle Niren, Group President, Prepared Foods, Wes Morris, Group President, Poultry, Devin Cole, President, International and Global McDonald's, and Melanie Bolden, Chief Growth Officer. We've also prepared a supplemental presentation, which may be referenced on today's call and is available on Tyson's Investor Relations website and via the link in our webcast. During today's call, we will make forward-looking statements regarding our expectations for the future. These forward-looking statements made during this call are provided pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include all comments reflecting our expectations, assumptions, or beliefs about future events or performance that do not relate solely to historical periods. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, which may cause actual results to differ materially from our current projections. Please refer to our forward-looking statement disclaimers on slide two, as well as our SEC filings for additional information concerning risk factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from our projections. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. Please note that references to earnings per share, operating income, and operating margin in our remarks are on an adjusted basis unless otherwise noted. For reconciliations of the non-GAAP measures to the corresponding GAAP measures, please refer to our earnings press release. Now, I'll turn the call over to Donnie.

Thanks, Sean. Fiscal 2025 is off to a solid start. The strong results in the first quarter increase our confidence in the year ahead, enabling us to raise our full year guidance. Our results this quarter were driven by another robust performance in chicken, highlighted by the best first quarter adjusted operating income for the segment. We delivered better than expected results in beef and significant improvement in profitability in international and other, while prepared foods continues to generate solid profits and margins. Our first quarter performance sets the tone for what we anticipate will be another year of growth for Tyson. This marks our third consecutive quarter of year-over-year increases across key metrics, including sales, adjusted operating income, and adjusted earnings per share. First quarter adjusted operating income increased by $248 million, a remarkable 60%, while our adjusted operating income margin expanded by 170 basis points versus last year. Adjusted earnings per share grew by an impressive 65%. We ended the quarter with our net leverage ratio at 2.3 times, a notable and deliberate accomplishment from 4.1 times at the end of 2023. In total, our first quarter delivered the best quarterly performance in more than two years while we have managed through ongoing challenges posed by the current cattle cycle. Protein remains at the forefront of consumer preferences based on both per capita consumption data and consumer surveys. While the consumer backdrop remains dynamic, one thing is clear to us. consumers remain focused on prioritizing protein in their diets, recognizing its nutritional benefits and its role in supporting a healthy lifestyle. A recent study by International Food Information Council revealed that 71% of U.S. consumers in 2024 thought to increase their protein consumption. This is up from 59% in 2022. Our diversified multi-protein portfolio delivered results, with chicken helping to offset the ongoing challenges in beef. Through disciplined execution and improved operational performance, we have demonstrated the power of sticking to the fundamentals, fortifying our foundation, and controlling what we can. Turning to cash flow and financial strength, our first quarter stood out once again. Our disciplined approach to capital expenditures and working capital management has enabled robust cash flow, which we are deploying prudently through investment in the business and dividends. When combined with improving profitability, we sequentially lowered our net leverage ratio and took another step towards our long-term target of less than two times. This strategy ensures we're building financial strength and reinforces our commitment to shareholders. Now let's take a closer look at segment performance. Prepared Foods is on track for fiscal 2025. We have built our full year improvement plan almost entirely by controlling what we can, such as optimizing our operations, expanding distribution, and launching winning innovation. Operationally, we made tremendous progress on our initiatives in the first quarter by outperforming our planned throughput and yield improvement. reducing the impact of distressed inventory and lowering overhead costs. We grew share quarter over quarter in our core nine categories driven by bacon, snacking, and smoked sausage. Growth from innovation continues to drive momentum as well. While the timing of input cost inflation put pressure on margins in the quarter, our market performance coupled with our improved operational execution gives us confidence going forward. Our outlook for the year is unchanged. In chicken, we achieved the best adjusted operating income of any quarter over the past eight years. Year-over-year growth in adjusted operating income was driven in part by ongoing improvements at live and plant operations, along with lower grain costs. One core component of our strong performance has been the evolution of our commercial relationships to build long-term win-win partnerships, allowing us to jointly grow the category and improve order fill rates for the second consecutive year, all while stabilizing our earnings. Our customer and consumer obsession will continue to be a cornerstone of our success as we work to exceed their expectations. We have also returned to volume growth in this segment. We grew volumes in food service where momentum continues to build. We feel good about our leading position in the marketplace and our ability to meet customer and consumer demand. With a healthy start to the year, we are raising our full year adjusted operating income outlook. Indeed, first quarter results were better than expected. We continue to align all aspects of our operations from procurement, to distribution with customer and consumer demand while managing spend, enhancing yield, and shifting our mix to more value-added products. Challenges from limited cattle supply remain, which, along with typical seasonality, are expected to impact the second quarter and the year. Therefore, our expectations for fiscal 2025 are unchanged for this segment. In pork, performance was in line with our expectations. Higher haul costs led to compressed spreads versus last year. However, our operational improvements around yield, mix, and spend continue to deliver results. As we continue through fiscal 2025, our priorities remain clear. First, we will continue our focus on cash flow and operational execution. This includes driving innovation and strengthening customer partnerships across all segments, while enhancing product mix, reducing inefficiencies, and expanding our market presence. Operational excellence is at the core of our strategy. We are scaling the enterprise, driving cost savings, and addressing inefficiencies boldly to deliver exceptional performance. And we will continue to deliver on taking more costs out in 2025 as the year progresses. Our iconic brands like Tyson, Jimmy Dean, and Hillshire Farms continue to resonate with consumers, even amidst high inflation and softer category consumption. In fact, nearly 75% of U.S. households purchased a Tyson product in the past year, and we see significant opportunities to grow our presence in under-penetrated segments as consumers seek to add more protein to their diets. Digital transformation is another key enabler. we continuously work to improve how consumers and customers discover our products by leveraging the power of generative AI. As an example, in our food service channel, we implemented a more intuitive browsing and search experience that delivers highly relevant content. This enhancement goes beyond influencing purchases. It offers Tyson Foods invaluable insight into the evolving needs of our customers. Michael Williams- Capital allocation remain discipline, with a focus on sustaining free cash flow through prudent management of capex and working capital. Michael Williams- Finally, our TEAM members are greatest asset fostering development and encouraging growth across the organization, we ensure that the right talent and skills are in place now and for the future. Michael Williams- Before handing things over to Kurt, let me say that we are confident in our fiscal 2025 outlook and our long term strategy. powered by the strength of our diversified multi-protein portfolio and iconic brand. Our first quarter is another indication of strong execution as we commit to controlling what is within our control as we seek to drive profitable growth over time. We continue to push ourselves to do more and to leave no stone unturned as we strive to be best-in-class operators. Through innovation, marketing, and operational excellence, We are well-positioned to generate shareholder value and continue our legacy as a leader in protein and a world-class food company. With that, I will turn the call over to Kurt to review our financials in more detail.