Hormel vs. General Mills: Don’t Let the Bigger Dividend Check Fool You
Hormel and General Mills both cut big dividend checks and carry identical payout ratios, yet one of these grocery giants has a streak the other can never match. Knowing which metric to prioritize could change which stock belongs in your…
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Two of the most reliable dividend names in packaged food just wrote fresh checks to shareholders, and the scorecards look nothing alike. Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL | HRL Price Prediction) closed out its 60-year run of annual increases with a quarterly payout that management called its 392nd consecutive quarterly payout. General Mills (NYSE:GIS) delivered a fatter check backed by a 127-year streak of uninterrupted payments, but a fresh round of impairments has investors questioning what comes next.
Here is how the two dividend kings of the grocery aisle stack up right now.
Latest Payments on the Board
General Mills paid shareholders $0.61 per share on August 3, 2026, the fifth consecutive quarter at that level after the company nudged the rate up from $0.60 in mid-2025. That works out to an annualized $2.44 per share, or roughly a 5.9% yield on the current $41.26 share price.
Hormel’s most recent quarterly declaration of $0.2925 per share carries an ex-date of July 13, 2026 and a payment date of August 17, 2026. That annualizes to $1.17, or roughly a 5.2% yield on a stock that has been pummeled: shares are down 12.08% in the past month and 40.16% over five years.
Streak vs. Growth: A Real Distinction
Both companies market themselves as dividend royalty, but the fine print differs. Hormel has actually raised its dividend for 60 consecutive years, cementing its Dividend King status. The quarterly rate moved from $0.29 to $0.2925 late last year, a modest bump but a bump nonetheless.
General Mills has paid a dividend without interruption for 127 years, but that streak measures continuity, not consecutive annual hikes. The rate sat at $0.49 from 2018 through 2020 before resuming growth. It is a subtle scorecard difference that matters for dividend-growth investors screening on annual increase streaks.
Coverage and Cash Flow
Hormel’s payout ratio looks stretched but manageable. FY26 adjusted EPS guidance of $1.45 to $1.51 against a $1.17 payout implies a payout ratio near 79%. Management said the company generated $241 million of operating cash flow in Q3, ended the quarter with $840 million in cash, and returned $161 million through the dividend. Incoming CEO John Ghingo told analysts, “Certainly the dividend continues to be very important to us and so you know that will continue to remain a priority for us going forward.”
General Mills is a bigger cash machine but a shakier one. FY26 operating cash flow of $2.17 billion covered $1.32 billion in dividend payments comfortably, yet reported net income swung to a $85.3 million loss on $2.8 billion in non-cash charges. FY27 adjusted EPS guidance of $3.00 to $3.20 implies a forward payout ratio near 79%, roughly matching Hormel. CFO Kofi Bruce said the company can “comfortably cover” its reinvestment, and CEO Jeff Harmening pledged to “stay disciplined on capital allocation.”
Scorecard at a Glance
| Metric | HRL | GIS |
|---|---|---|
| Forward yield | ~5.2% | ~5.9% |
| Annual increase streak | 60 years | Uninterrupted, not consecutive |
| Forward payout ratio | ~79% | ~79% |
| 1-year total return backdrop | -9.05% | -11.59% |
| Grade | A- | B |
Which One Scores Higher
General Mills wins on current yield and check size. Hormel wins on the metric dividend-growth investors actually screen for: 60 years of uninterrupted annual raises, a cleaner GAAP earnings picture (no $1.75 billion goodwill impairment in the way), and a management team that just reaffirmed the payout as a top capital-allocation priority. Jim Cramer flagged both names as reliable but under pressure, saying General Mills at these levels is “one of the most reliable stocks here in the entire market” while calling Hormel “just plain unfathomable.”
For investors screening for durability of the raise, Hormel scores higher. For investors screening for cash yield today, General Mills gets the nod. What to watch next: whether Hormel’s incoming CEO extends the 60-year raise streak with a fall declaration, and whether General Mills’ FY27 EPS floor of $3.00 holds if inflation pressure builds.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics. Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications. A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.
