Shares of Kraft Heinz Co. KHC shot up 3.2% toward a 3 1/2-month high in premarket trading Wednesday, after the food and beverage company reported first-quarter profit and sales that rose above expectations and lifted its full-year outlook. Net income rose to $836 million, or 68 cents a share, from $776 million, or 63 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share of 68 cents beat the FactSet consensus of 60 cents. Sales grew 7.3% to $6.49 billion, above the FactSet consensus $6.39 billion, as a 14.7 percentage point increase in prices helped offset a 5.3 percentage point drop in volume and mix. North America sales rose 6.2% to $4.89 billion and international sales increased 11.1% to $1.60 billion. For 2023, the company raised its adjusted EPS guidance range to $2.83 to $2.91 from $2.67 to $2.75. The stock has lost 3.1% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 SPX has gained 7.3%.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.