Why Lamb Weston Stock Jumped 13.5% at the Open Today
Shares of food maker Lamb Weston (NYSE: LW) took off at the start of trading on Thursday, swiftly rising by 13.5% or so. The big news was the company's fiscal second-quarter 2022 earnings report, which it released before the market opened. On the surface, the news wasn't that good, but when you look past the actual earnings figure, things start to look a lot better.
Potato-based foods comprise Lamb Weston's biggest product line, and while that isn't a particularly exciting segment, it's one that is a major staple for restaurants. The coronavirus has been a material headwind on that front, given that restaurants were largely shut down at one point early in the pandemic and, while most are open now, people's ongoing efforts to avoid exposure to COVID-19 continue to impact customer traffic. Add in the impact of the recent surge in inflation, and it's hardly shocking that Lamb Weston's adjusted earnings were down 24% year over year to $0.50 per share.
One might expect that bad news like that would lead to a stock price decline, but, as noted, shares of Lamb Weston rose in early trading, and were still up by 9.6% as of 11:41 a.m. ET.
Source Fool.com