10/12/2026
TYSON CUT ITS OUTLOOK FOR THE SECOND TIME IN A MONTH. ITS BEEF BUSINESS NOW EXPECTS TO LOSE UP TO $775 MILLION.
On September 3, Tyson Foods lowered its full-year forecast again, less than a month after the last cut.
The damage is in beef. Tyson now expects its beef segment to post an adjusted operating loss of $625 million to $775 million for fiscal 2026. The previous forecast was a loss of $500 million to $650 million.
The company's explanation, in its own release: margins squeezed by volatile cattle prices, one of the most severe cattle shortages in U.S. history, and the expected hit from lower cattle prices on the value of the live cattle Tyson owns. CEO Donnie King blamed industrywide cattle-cycle dynamics.
Tyson is already shrinking. In August it announced it would close its Joslin, Illinois, beef plant and its Eagle Mountain, Utah, case-ready facility, and try to sell its Pasco, Washington, plant. The Illinois plant employs about 2,500 people and the Utah site 723, and both are expected to close in October. Tyson is rebuilding its beef business around three plants in the central U.S.
Chicken is carrying the company. Tyson raised its chicken outlook to $1.85 billion to $1.95 billion in operating income for the year.
Why it matters on the ranch: the biggest beef packer in the country is losing money on beef because there aren't enough cattle, and it's cutting plants to match. Fewer plants means fewer bids in some regions. And Tyson's own statement points to lower cattle prices ahead for the cattle it holds.
Have plant closures changed where or how you sell your cattle? 👇
Sources: Tyson Foods fiscal 2026 outlook update (Sept. 3, 2026), via Feedstuffs · Reuters, via WTVB (Sept. 3, 2026) · Transport Topics (Sept. 3, 2026) · Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Sept. 3, 2026) · Quartz (Sept. 3, 2026)
