Flowers Foods (FLO) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Executive Vice President of Finance and Investor Relations J.T. Rieck welcomed attendees to Flowers Foods' Second Quarter 2026 Results Conference Call. He encouraged participants to review the earnings release, prepared remarks, and slide presentation on the Investor Relations website. Rieck noted that during the Q&A session, the company may provide forward-looking statements subject to risks and uncertainties.

Chairman and CEO Ryals McMullian, along with CFO Anthony Scaglione, addressed the call. McMullian acknowledged that the company's second quarter results did not meet expectations, citing challenges in the fresh packaged bread category due to pressure on household budgets, shifting consumer preferences, and sustained competitive activity.

To address these challenges, the company is accelerating initiatives to better align resources and value proposition with market trends, such as advancing innovation in smaller formats, sourdough, and protein, improving in-store execution, pursuing new business opportunities, and continuing investments behind leading brands.

McMullian highlighted three primary factors driving the company's expectations for improvement in the back half of the year: significant new business wins, additional cost savings measures, and innovation initiatives. He emphasized that these factors are expected to support greater stability and improved performance as the Nature's Own relaunch, new business wins, and innovation initiatives build momentum.