POST vs PPC vs SFD Stock Comparison

Post Holdings, Pilgrims Pride and Smithfield Foods Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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POST Post Holdings, Inc.
$79.37 +8.5% 1M -26.8% 1Y
Market cap
$3.49B
P/E
12.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.41B
Div. yield
–
Packaged Foods Consumer Staples
3 wins
PPC Pilgrims Pride Corp
$27.09 -2.6% 1M -28.5% 1Y
Market cap
$6.45B
P/E
11.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$18.44B
Div. yield
–
Meat and Poultry Consumer Staples
2 wins
SFD Smithfield Foods Inc
$18.33 -3.7% 1M -15.0% 1Y
Market cap
$7.22B
P/E
8.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$15.16B
Div. yield
6.44%
Meat and Poultry Consumer Staples
6 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Smithfield Foods leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Smithfield Foods 6, Post Holdings 3, Pilgrims Pride 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionPOSTPPCSFDLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.49B $6.45B $7.22B SFD
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 12.2x 11.8x 8.0x SFD
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 10.7x 12.7x 8.8x SFD
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.2% +1.4% -0.6% POST
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 3.5% 3.0% — POST
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.6% 9.5% — PPC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.3x 1.8x — PPC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 0.00% 6.44% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -26.8% -28.5% -15.0% SFD
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +3.5%/yr -0.8%/yr — POST
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 32.0% 35.3% 26.0% SFD
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 71/100 70/100 74/100 SFD

Percentile Scorecard

POSTPPCSFD

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisPOSTPPCSFD
Valuation 79 #10 of 44 76 #9 of 34 64 #13 of 34
Growth 77 #10 of 40 67 #11 of 31 47 #17 of 31
Profitability 68 #13 of 38 79 #7 of 29 89 #4 of 29
Financial Health 33 #31 of 46 60 #15 of 36 –
Shareholder Returns 100 #1 of 30 – 96 #2 of 25
Overall 71 70 74
  • POST ranked among 47 companies in Branded Foods
  • PPC ranked among 38 companies in Agribusiness
  • SFD ranked among 38 companies in Agribusiness

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodPOSTPPCSFDSPY
1 month +8.5%-2.6%-3.7% -0.2%
3 months -15.9%-9.1%-32.4% +3.9%
6 months -23.0%-17.6%-31.8% +8.2%
Year to date -19.9%-30.5%-17.9% +12.9%
1 year -26.8%-28.5%-15.0% +12.3%
3 years -1.6%+10.4%— +87.4%
3 years, per year -0.5%+3.4%— +23.3%
5 years +18.9%-3.9%— +67.9%
5 years, per year +3.5%-0.8%— +10.9%
10 years +59.5%+28.6%— +261.1%
10 years, per year +4.8%+2.6%— +13.7%

Risk

MeasurePOSTPPCSFDSPY
Volatility, 1Y 32.0%35.3%26.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 33.2%36.0%27.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.12-0.08-0.16 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.84-0.81-0.58 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -39.9%-55.2%-38.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -30.7%-38.1%-38.1% -1.2%
52-week high $114.61$43.76$29.59 $779.14
52-week low $72.50$25.20$18.22 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultiplePOSTPPCSFD
P/E now vs peer median 12.2xmedian 22.3x 11.8xmedian 14.8x 8.0xmedian 14.8x
P/S now vs peer median 0.4xmedian 0.7x 0.3xmedian 0.5x 0.5xmedian 0.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 7.9xmedian 12.3x 6.3xmedian 9.1x —median 9.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 6.3xmedian 13.8x 23.9xmedian 15.0x 9.3xmedian 15.0x
P/B now vs peer median 1.1xmedian 1.5x 1.7xmedian 1.1x 1.0xmedian 1.1x
PEG now vs peer median 1.75median 0.57 0.25median 1.28 —median 1.28

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsPOSTPPCSFD
Revenue $8.41B $18.44B $15.16B
Gross profit $2.42B $1.77B $1.90B
Operating income $808.00M $925.22M $1.15B
Net income $293.10M $545.82M –
Free cash flow $553.10M $270.19M –
EPS (diluted) $5.71 $2.28 $2.27
Cash & equivalents $265.60M $388.84M $1.18B
Total debt $7.63B $2.86B –
Shares (diluted) 51.30M 238.84M 395.77M
Enterprise value $2.51B $4.28B $7.22B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricPOSTPPCSFD
P/E 12.2x 11.8x 8.0x
P/FCF 6.3x 23.9x 9.3x
P/Operating cash flow 3.5x 5.3x –
P/S 0.4x 0.3x 0.5x
P/B 1.1x 1.7x 1.0x
P/Tangible book 11.6x 2.2x 1.3x
EV/EBITDA 7.9x 6.3x –
EV/EBIT 13.4x 9.6x –
EV/Revenue 1.3x 0.5x 0.5x
EV/FCF 19.6x 33.0x –
EV/Operating cash flow 10.9x 7.3x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.75 0.25 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricPOSTPPCSFD
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.2% 1.4% -0.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 8.3% 2.6% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 4.8% -29.3% -5.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 12.1% 19.3% –
Operating income growth (1Y) -1.7% -46.6% -6.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 11.8% 33.0% –
Net income growth (1Y) -20.0% -55.9% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) -2.8% 47.4% –
EPS growth (1Y) -2.7% -56.0% 3.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 7.0% 47.5% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 6.5% -24.7% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 15.5% 53.5% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 27.8% -35.0% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 15.9% -6.8% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricPOSTPPCSFD
Gross margin 28.8% 9.6% –
EBITDA margin 16.4% 7.6% –
Operating margin 9.6% 5.0% –
Pretax margin 4.7% 4.3% –
Net margin 3.5% 3.0% –
FCF margin 6.6% 1.5% –
Operating cash flow margin 11.8% 6.6% –
Return on equity 9.3% 14.6% 13.0%
Return on assets 2.3% 5.4% 7.5%
Return on invested capital 5.6% 9.5% –
Return on capital employed 6.8% 12.6% –
Asset turnover 0.7x 1.8x 1.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 3.4x 2.2x –
Stock comp / revenue 1.0% 0.1% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricPOSTPPCSFD
Debt / assets 59.4% 28.5% –
Debt / equity 2.5x 0.8x –
Net debt / EBITDA 5.3x 1.8x –
Debt / FCF 13.8x 10.6x –
Liabilities / assets 76.0% 62.5% –
Equity / assets 24.0% 37.5% 57.7%
Interest coverage 1.9x 5.6x –
Current ratio 1.9x 1.4x 2.4x
Quick ratio 0.9x 0.5x –
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.1x –
Altman Z-score 1.42 3.21 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricPOSTPPCSFD
Dividend yield – – 6.4%
Net buyback yield 34.1% – –
Shareholder yield 34.1% 0.0% 6.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusPOSTPPCSFD
Forward P/E 10.7xFY2026 12.7xFY2026 8.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $7.40FY2026 $2.14FY2026 $2.08FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +2.4%FY2026 -58.6%FY2026 -18.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -6.6% +20.1% +6.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $7.73BFY2026 $17.77BFY2026 $14.87BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -5.2%FY2026 -3.9%FY2026 -4.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.9% +10.5% +8.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersPOSTPPCSFD
Held by institutions 100.0% 20.6% 13.6%
Institutions holding 418 339 281
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.3% +9.8% +14.1%
Institutions buying 177 201 188
Institutions selling 178 106 70
Buyers to sellers 0.99 1.90 2.69

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

POSTPPCSFD
POST 1.00 0.17 0.19
PPC 0.17 1.00 0.43
SFD 0.19 0.43 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, POST, PPC and SFD?

Smithfield Foods (SFD) is the largest by market capitalisation: Post Holdings (POST) $3.49B, Pilgrims Pride (PPC) $6.45B, Smithfield Foods (SFD) $7.22B.

Which stock is cheaper, POST, PPC and SFD?

Smithfield Foods (SFD) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Post Holdings (POST) 12.2x, Pilgrims Pride (PPC) 11.8x, Smithfield Foods (SFD) 8.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Smithfield Foods (SFD) is cheapest (Post Holdings (POST) 10.7x, Pilgrims Pride (PPC) 12.7x, Smithfield Foods (SFD) 8.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Post Holdings (POST) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Post Holdings (POST) +6.2%, Pilgrims Pride (PPC) +1.4%, Smithfield Foods (SFD) -0.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Post Holdings (POST) has the highest net margin (Post Holdings (POST) 3.5%, Pilgrims Pride (PPC) 3.0%). On return on invested capital, Pilgrims Pride (PPC) leads (Post Holdings (POST) 5.6%, Pilgrims Pride (PPC) 9.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Smithfield Foods (SFD) returned the most: Post Holdings (POST) -26.8%, Pilgrims Pride (PPC) -28.5%, Smithfield Foods (SFD) -15.0%. Over five years, Post Holdings (POST) compounded fastest (Post Holdings (POST) +3.5%/yr, Pilgrims Pride (PPC) -0.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Pilgrims Pride (PPC) 0.00%, Smithfield Foods (SFD) 6.44%. Post Holdings (POST) and Pilgrims Pride (PPC) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Smithfield Foods (SFD) has been the steadiest (Post Holdings (POST) 32.0%, Pilgrims Pride (PPC) 35.3%, Smithfield Foods (SFD) 26.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, POST, PPC and SFD?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Smithfield Foods (SFD) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.