Sifting through countless of stocks in the Food Products industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Smithfield Foods, Inc. or Hormel Foods Corporation because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Smithfield Foods, Inc. and Hormel Foods Corporation compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Smithfield Foods, Inc. and Hormel Foods Corporation

Smithfield Foods, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, produces various packaged meats and fresh pork products in the United States and internationally. It operates through Packaged Meats, Fresh Pork, Hog Production, and Other segments. The Packaged Meats segment processes fresh meat into various packaged meats products, including bacon, sausage, hot dogs, deli and lunch meats, dry sausage products, ham products, ready-to-eat products, and prepared foods to retail and foodservice customers. This segment markets its packaged meat products under the Smithfield, Eckrich, Nathan’s Famous, Farmland, Armour, Farmer John, Kretschmar, Krakus, John Morrell, Cook’s, Gwaltney, Carando, Margherita, Curly’s and Smithfield Culinary, as well as under private labels. The Fresh Pork segment processes live hogs into a variety of primal, sub-primal, and offal products, such as bellies, butts, hams, loins, trimmings, picnics, and ribs. This segment sells its fresh pork products to retail, foodservice and industrial customers, as well as to export markets, including China, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, and Canada. The Hog Production segment produces and raises its hogs on various company-owned farms and farms that are owned and operated by contract farmers. This segment also sells livestock feed and grains; and provides transportation and other ancillary services. The Other segment engages in the bioscience operations uses raw materials from hogs that process to manufacture heparin products, including an active pharmaceutical ingredient that mitigates the risk of blood clots; and produces fresh pork products in Mexico. The company was founded in 1936 and is headquartered in Smithfield, Virginia. Smithfield Foods, Inc. is a subsidiary of SFDS UK Holdings Limited.

Hormel Foods Corporation develops, processes, and distributes various meat, nuts, and other food products to foodservice, convenience store, and commercial customers in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Retail, Foodservice, and International segments. The company provides various perishable products, including resh meats, frozen items, refrigerated meal solutions, bacon, sausages, hams, guacamole, and other items that require refrigeration; and shelf-stable products, such as canned luncheon meats, nut butters, snack nuts, chili, shelf-stable microwaveable meals, hash, stews, tortillas, salsas, tortilla chips, and other items that do not require refrigeration. It sells its products under the HORMEL, ALWAYS TENDER, APPLEGATE, AUSTIN BLUES, BACON 1, BLACK LABEL, BREAD READY, BURKE, CAFÉ H, CERATTI, CHI-CHI’S, COLUMBUS, COMPLEATS, CORN NUTS, CURE 81, DAN’S PRIZE, DI LUSSO, DINTY MOORE, DON MIGUEL, DOÑA MARIA, EMBASA, FAST ‘N EASY, FIRE BRAISED, FONTANINI, HERDEZ, HORMEL GATHERINGS, HOUSE OF TSANG, JENNIE-O, JUSTIN’S, LA VICTORIA, LAYOUT, LLOYD’S, MARY KITCHEN, MR. PEANUT, NATURAL CHOICE, NUT-RITION, OLD SMOKEHOUSE, OVEN READY, PILLOW PACK, PLANTERS, ROSA GRANDE, SADLER’S SMOKEHOUSE, SKIPPY, SPAM, SQUARE TABLE, SPECIAL RECIPE, VALLEY FRESH, and WHOLLY brands through sales personnel, independent brokers, and distributors. The company was formerly known as Geo. A. Hormel & Company and changed its name to Hormel Foods Corporation in January 1995. Hormel Foods Corporation was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Austin, Minnesota.

Latest Food Products and Smithfield Foods, Inc., Hormel Foods Corporation Stock News

As of May 5, 2026, Smithfield Foods, Inc. had a $10.4 billion market capitalization, compared to the Food Products median of $1.8 million. Smithfield Foods, Inc.’s stock is up 18.1% in 2026, down 0.2% in the previous five trading days and up 15.19% in the past year.

Currently, Smithfield Foods, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 10.3. Smithfield Foods, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $15.6 billion with a 6.5% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 0.8%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.686 per share for the current fiscal year. Smithfield Foods, Inc. currently has a 4.7% dividend yield.

As of May 5, 2026, Hormel Foods Corporation had a $11.5 billion market cap, putting it in the 80th percentile of all stocks. Hormel Foods Corporation’s stock is down 13% in 2026, down 1.2% in the previous five trading days and down 28.59% in the past year.

Currently, Hormel Foods Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 23.5. Hormel Foods Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $12.1 billion with a 4.0% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 1.3%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $1.470 per share for the current fiscal year. Hormel Foods Corporation currently has a 5.6% dividend yield.

How We Compare Smithfield Foods, Inc. and Hormel Foods Corporation Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Smithfield Foods, Inc. and Hormel Foods Corporation’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Smithfield Foods, Inc. and Hormel Foods Corporation Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Smithfield Foods, Inc.	SFD	C
Hormel Foods Corporation	HRL	C

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a Growth Score of 57, which is Average. Hormel Foods Corporation has a Growth Score of 57, which is Average.

The Growth Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Smithfield Foods, Inc. or Hormel Foods Corporation has a high enough Growth Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Smithfield Foods, Inc. or Hormel Foods Corporation is the better investment when it comes to sustainable growth.

Smithfield Foods, Inc. and Hormel Foods Corporation’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Smithfield Foods, Inc.	SFD	C
Hormel Foods Corporation	HRL	B

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a Quality Score of 60, which is Average. Hormel Foods Corporation has a Quality Score of 69, which is Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: Hormel Foods Corporation

As you can clearly see from the Quality Grade breakdown above, Hormel Foods Corporation has a better overall quality grade than Smithfield Foods, Inc.. For investors who are looking for companies with higher quality than others in the same industry, Hormel Foods Corporation could be a good stock to add to their portfolios. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Smithfield Foods, Inc. and Hormel Foods Corporation’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
Smithfield Foods, Inc.	SFD	B
Hormel Foods Corporation	HRL	B

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 74, which is Positive. Hormel Foods Corporation has a Earnings Estimate Score of 62, which is Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, both Smithfield Foods, Inc. and Hormel Foods Corporation have a grade of B. For those focusing solely on a company’s estimate revisions, other financial metrics will need to be evaluated to determine whether Smithfield Foods, Inc. or Hormel Foods Corporation is a better fit.

Other Smithfield Foods, Inc. and Hormel Foods Corporation Grades

In addition to Quality, Estimate Revisions and Growth, A+ Investor also provides grades for Value and Momentum.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection. Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Smithfield Foods, Inc. and Hormel Foods Corporation pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Smithfield Foods, Inc. or Hormel Foods Corporation Stock?

Overall, Smithfield Foods, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 57, Estimate Revisions Score of 74 and Quality Score of 60.

Hormel Foods Corporation stock has a Growth Score of 57, Estimate Revisions Score of 62 and Quality Score of 69.

Comparing Smithfield Foods, Inc. and Hormel Foods Corporation’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.