Hormel Foods (HRL) risk factors, FY2024 10-K

Hormel Foods's FY2024 10-K, filed Dec 05, 2024, lists 9 risk factors in 3 groups. There is no earlier 10-K to compare against, so the most company-specific risks are listed below.

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Risk factors listed
93 groups
Section length
5k wordsItem 1A

Hormel Foods's biggest risks in the FY2024 10-K

  • Hormel Foods faces significant operational risks from supply chain animal diseases like African Swine Fever and HPAI.
  • Product contamination, notably the Listeria recall for Planters, threatens brand reputation and sales.
  • IT updates and legacy technology reliance are central operational concerns.

The risks most specific to Hormel Foods

  • Business and Operational Risks

    The Company relies on its customers to sell its products to ultimate consumers. Disruptions related to significant customers or sales channels could result in a reduction in sales or a change in the mix of products sold

    Disruptions from key customers, sales channels, or third-party service providers handling payroll, IT, and cloud computing could reduce sales and operations.

  • Business and Operational Risks

    If the Company experiences a loss or significant disruption in its operations due to a cybersecurity event or other IT interruption, the Company may suffer reputational, competitive, and business harm and may be exposed to legal liability, which may adversely affect the Company’s results of operations

    Cybersecurity events or the failure to timely replace legacy technologies while investing significant funds could harm operations and expose the company to liability.

  • Industry Risks

    If one or more of these risks were to materialize, the Company could incur significant costs, loss of sales, regulatory action, or litigation as well as negative impacts to its brand and business reputation

    The company experienced costs and business impacts from voluntarily recalling Planters products due to Listeria monocytogenes contamination in fiscal 2024.

  • Industry Risks

    In recent years, outbreaks of ASF have impacted hog herds in China, Asia, Europe, and the Caribbean. If an outbreak of ASF were to occur in the U.S., the Company’s supply of hogs and pork could be materially impacted

    African Swine Fever in hog herds or HPAI in turkey supply chains during fiscal 2024 and 2025 reduced production volume and threaten supply.

  • Industry Risks

    The Company has developed business continuity plans for various disease scenarios and will continue to update these plans, as necessary. There can be no assurance given, however, that these plans will be effective in eliminating the negative effects of any such diseases on the Company’s operating results

    Earnings depend on fluctuating commodity prices and the cost and supply of pork, poultry, beef, feed grains, nuts, and energy.

  • Industry Risks

    International trade barriers and other restrictions or disruptions could result in decreased foreign demand and increased domestic supply of proteins, thereby potentially lowering prices. The Company occasionally utilizes in-country production to limit this exposure

    International trade barriers could decrease foreign demand and lower domestic protein prices, while private label and alternative meats create intense competition.

  • Legal and Regulatory Risks

    The Company’s manufacturing facilities and products are also subject to ongoing inspection by federal, state, and local authorities. The loss of the availability of government inspectors due to a government furlough could cause disruption to the Company’s manufacturing facilities

    Manufacturing facilities could face disruptions if government inspectors become unavailable due to a government furlough.

  • Legal and Regulatory Risks

    Additionally, the Company is subject to new or modified laws, regulations, and accounting standards. The Company’s failure or inability to comply with such requirements could subject the Company to civil remedies, including fines, injunctions, recalls or seizures, as well as potential criminal sanctions

    Stringent environmental regulations, potential litigation, and new laws or accounting standards subject the company to civil remedies and criminal sanctions.

All 9 risk factors

Headings as the filing states them, in filing order.

Business and Operational Risks

  1. 01Any of these risks could impact the Company’s financial results and business reputation
  2. 02The Company relies on its customers to sell its products to ultimate consumers. Disruptions related to significant customers or sales channels could result in a reduction in sales or a change in the mix of products sold
  3. 03If the Company experiences a loss or significant disruption in its operations due to a cybersecurity event or other IT interruption, the Company may suffer reputational, competitive, and business harm and may be exposed to legal liability, which may adversely affect the Company’s results of operations

Industry Risks

  1. 04If one or more of these risks were to materialize, the Company could incur significant costs, loss of sales, regulatory action, or litigation as well as negative impacts to its brand and business reputation
  2. 05In recent years, outbreaks of ASF have impacted hog herds in China, Asia, Europe, and the Caribbean. If an outbreak of ASF were to occur in the U.S., the Company’s supply of hogs and pork could be materially impacted
  3. 06The Company has developed business continuity plans for various disease scenarios and will continue to update these plans, as necessary. There can be no assurance given, however, that these plans will be effective in eliminating the negative effects of any such diseases on the Company’s operating results
  4. 07International trade barriers and other restrictions or disruptions could result in decreased foreign demand and increased domestic supply of proteins, thereby potentially lowering prices. The Company occasionally utilizes in-country production to limit this exposure

Legal and Regulatory Risks

  1. 08The Company’s manufacturing facilities and products are also subject to ongoing inspection by federal, state, and local authorities. The loss of the availability of government inspectors due to a government furlough could cause disruption to the Company’s manufacturing facilities
  2. 09Additionally, the Company is subject to new or modified laws, regulations, and accounting standards. The Company’s failure or inability to comply with such requirements could subject the Company to civil remedies, including fines, injunctions, recalls or seizures, as well as potential criminal sanctions

Other Hormel Foods 10-Ks

  • FY2025 10-K risk factors
    21 risks5 new4 dropped14 reworded

    Cyber risks are separated into attacks and broader IT outages, including legacy systems and third-party dependencies.

    Filed Dec 05, 2025

About this page

The headings are the filing's own. The one-line readings and the overview are automated and can be wrong: read Item 1A of the 10-K for the exact wording.