Why The J.M. Smucker Company Stock Just Jumped 10%

Shares of packaged-foods and pet-food manufacturer J.M. Smucker (NYSE: SJM) stock jumped nearly 10% Thursday, rising as high as 9.8% as of 11:45 a.m. EST, after the company reported an earnings beat earlier in the day. Smucker's sales of $1.92 billion for its fiscal second quarter 2018 topped analyst estimates for $1.9 billion. Similarly, the company reported "adjusted" earnings of $2.02 per share, $0.13 ahead of Wall Street's pro forma estimates.

So much for the expectations game. Now here's how Smucker performed, objectively. Smucker's net sales increased only 1% year over year. Although Smucker's $1.71 per share in GAAP profits didn't quite measure up to its self-calculated adjusted earnings, it did grow 13% year over year.

Free cash flow declined 32% to $69.9 million in the quarter, hurt by capital spending levels that nearly doubled in comparison to Q2 2016. Nevertheless, thanks to a strong performance in Q1, Smucker's free cash flow for the first half of this fiscal year now stands at $305 million, up 5% from last year's $291 million.

Source: Fool.com