Campbell's just did something it hasn't done in decades: cut its dividend. The soup-and-snacks giant slashed its quarterly payout 36% on Thursday after posting a fourth-quarter sales miss and a full-year profit slide, sending shares tumbling and dragging down rival packaged-food stocks with it.

The Camden, New Jersey-based company reported fourth-quarter net sales of $2.137 billion, down 8% year over year and short of the roughly $2.15 billion Wall Street expected. Adjusted earnings per share fell 37% to $0.39, while the company posted a GAAP loss of $0.23 a share. For the full fiscal year, net sales dropped 5% to $9.744 billion, adjusted operating profit fell 21% to $1.181 billion, and adjusted earnings per share slid 27% to $2.17.

Dividend streak snapped

The headline-grabbing move was the dividend: Campbell's cut its quarterly payout from $0.39 a share to $0.25, a 36% reduction that breaks a streak of steadily maintained payouts stretching back decades. The new rate takes effect with the payment due November 2. Alongside the cut, the company announced a new $500 million cost-savings program running through fiscal 2030 — built on top of an existing $375 million savings target the company says it's already about 60% of the way toward — that will include plant closures and workforce reductions.

CEO Mick Beekhuizen didn't sugarcoat it in the company's official earnings release: "Fourth quarter and fiscal 2026 results reflect top-line softness and inflation-driven margin headwinds. Our performance is not where it needs to be, and we are taking decisive action to improve it." Full financial details, including the complete SEC-filed results, show the pain was concentrated in the Snacks division, which posted $950 million in net sales against continued pressure, while Meals & Beverages fared better at $1.187 billion with cited volume growth.

"OUR PERFORMANCE IS NOT WHERE IT NEEDS TO BE" — CEO Mick Beekhuizen

Guidance for fiscal 2027 landed below what analysts were modeling: net sales are expected to decline 2% to 4%, versus a consensus forecast of roughly -0.8%, with adjusted earnings per share seen falling to a range of $1.65 to $1.80, well under the $1.86 Wall Street had penciled in. Investors didn't wait around — shares fell roughly 7% to 9% on the day, on trading volume more than triple the stock's three-month average, according to market data compiled by The Motley Fool. The stock is now down roughly 20% for the year. Analysts at Jefferies cut their price target on Campbell's to $20 from $22 while keeping a Hold rating, citing pressure in the snacks business and shrinking margins.

The selloff wasn't contained to one stock. Rivals Kraft Heinz and General Mills both dropped in sympathy — Kraft Heinz around 3%, General Mills between 3% and 4% — as investors reassessed the broader packaged-food sector's pricing power against inflation-weary shoppers.

What's next: the new dividend rate pays out for the first time on November 2, while the cost-cutting program — plant closures and job reductions included — rolls out gradually through fiscal 2030. Analysts say they'll be watching execution closely before betting on a turnaround story.