Dee-Ann Durbin, Associated Press
Stocks of Cal-Maine Foods, the largest egg producer in the United States, fell after trading since Tuesday after admitting it was being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice’s anti-trust division.
Ridgeland, based in Cal-Maine, Mississippi, said it received notification last month for an investigation into an egg price increase. Cal-Maine said it was helping out the investigation.
The company’s shares fell by more than 4% in after-hours trading.
Egg prices have hit record highs in recent months. This is mainly due to the bird flu epidemic, which forced farmers to massacre more than 166 million birds, mostly chickens, for sale by eggs.
The cost of a dozen Grade A eggs averaged $5.90 in US cities in February, up 10.4% from a year ago. It overturned the record high price of $4.95 in January.
With the rise in egg prices, Cal-Maine will provide about 20% of the country’s eggs, under an increase in surveys.
On Tuesday, Cal-Maine nearly doubled sales in the third quarter, which ended March 1st, to $1.42 billion. The company primarily said it averaged $4.06 during the quarter, up from $2.25 per capita the previous year.
Cal-Maine’s sales have not reached Wall Street’s $1.43 billion forecast, according to analysts voted by Factset.
Cal-Maine said it sold a record 331.4 million dozen eggs in the third quarter, up 10% from the same period last year.
Cal-Maine said it has made progress by alleviating the effects of avian influenza. This includes increasing numbers and recovery in hatched populations and chick numbers from influenza-related closures at facilities in Texas and Kansas. The company said feed costs also fell during the quarter.
Cal-Maine said its third quarter net income increased more than tripled to $508.5 million compared to the same period last year. The $10.38 per share was also not analysts’ forecast for a $10.72 per share profit.
Original issue: April 8, 2025, 7:33pm EDT
