Tyson Foods, Inc. ( TSN ) shares are volatile after reporting third-quarter results.

Quarterly adjusted earnings per share of 87 cents (+480%) beat the street view of 65 cents. Sales of $13.353 billion (+1.6%) beat the analyst consensus of $13.236 billion.

Beef volume rose 4.4%, the Pork segment rose 1.2%, while volume in the Chicken segment fell 0.4%.

“In Q3, we delivered the highest adjusted operating income in the last seven quarters while also generating strong free cash flow,” stated Donnie King, President & CEO of Tyson Foods ( TSN ).

Adjusted operating margin in the quarter under review expanded to 3.7% from 1.4% in the year-ago period.

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Tyson Foods ( TSN ) exited the quarter with cash and equivalents worth $2.569 billion. The company’s inventories as of third-quarter-end totaled $5.033 billion.

Quarterly free cash flow (non-GAAP) was $1.089 billion, up $1.224 billion from the prior year.

Tyson Foods’ long-term debt stands at $9.701 billion as of June 29, 2024.

Outlook: Tyson Foods ( TSN ) continues to expect sales to be relatively flat in fiscal 2024 as compared to fiscal 2023.

The company sees total liquidity, which was $4.8 billion as of June 29, 2024, to remain above the minimum liquidity target of $1.0 billion.

“We anticipate using existing liquidity to retire the $1.25 billion senior notes due August 2024,” Tyson Foods ( TSN ) said.

For fiscal 2024, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) indicates domestic protein production (beef, pork, chicken and turkey) should increase slightly compared to fiscal 2023 levels, Tyson Foods ( TSN ) said. 

For the Beef segment, the company currently sees an adjusted operating loss between ($400) million and ($300) million in fiscal 2024.

For the Pork segment, the firm anticipates an adjusted operating income of $100 million to $200 million in fiscal 2024.

For the chicken segment, the company anticipates an adjusted operating income of $850 million to $950 million for fiscal 2024.

For Prepared Foods, the firm anticipates adjusted operating income of $850 million to $950 million in fiscal 2024.

Price Action: TSN shares are trading lower by 2.01% to $60.00 premarket at last check Monday.

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