Cal-Maine Foods’ profits surge 718% amid US egg shortage

Cal-Maine Foods, the nation’s largest producer of eggs, reported this week that its revenues doubled and its profit surged by 718% in the last quarter as a nationwide egg shortage has sent prices soaring.

Shares of Cal-Maine Foods, the Jackson, Miss.-based company and the only egg producer that is publicly traded, were up more than 3.4% as of 10:46 a.m. on Thursday.

The firm reported net sales of $997.5 million for its fiscal quarter ending in February, up 109% year over year.

That beat the $888.2 million average estimate of three analysts, according to Refinitiv.

Cal-Maine, which controls about 20% of the national egg market, reported a net income of $323.2 million, a seven-fold rise from the same quarter last year.

The company has said that its egg production facilities have been spared the wrath of avian flu, the contagion that has forced farms to cull more than 58 million chickens and turkeys since the outbreak spread in early of last year.

The bird flu pandemic has led to a tightening of supply of eggs and other poultry products, causing a spike in prices.

The average price of a dozen eggs in the United States stood at $4.11 in February, up from about $2 in February 2022, according to the St. Louis Federal Reserve.

Last month, two US lawmakers — Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) sent letters to the country’s top egg companies, questioning whether the soaring cost of eggs is “a legitimate response to reduced supply or out-of-control corporate greed.”

The Post has sought comment from Cal-Maine.

The latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that egg prices fell 6.7% last month compared to January.

But the cost of eggs is still some 55% higher compared to the same time last year, according to federal data.

The US Department of Agriculture predicted last month that egg prices will fall dramatically this year — barring a rebound in the number of cases of bird flu.

With Post Wires