Packaged bakery food company Flowers Foods (NYSE: FLO) met Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q1 CY2026, with sales up 1.1% year on year to $1.57 billion. The company’s full-year revenue guidance of $5.22 billion at the midpoint came in 0.6% above analysts’ estimates. Its non-GAAP profit of $0.29 per share was 8.2% above analysts’ consensus estimates.
Is now the time to buy Flowers Foods? Find out by accessing our full research report, it’s free.
Flowers Foods (FLO) Q1 CY2026 Highlights:
- Revenue: $1.57 billion vs analyst estimates of $1.57 billion (1.1% year-on-year growth, in line)
- Adjusted EPS: $0.29 vs analyst estimates of $0.27 (8.2% beat)
- Adjusted EBITDA: $159 million vs analyst estimates of $148.5 million (10.1% margin, 7.1% beat)
- The company reconfirmed its revenue guidance for the full year of $5.22 billion at the midpoint
- Management reiterated its full-year Adjusted EPS guidance of $0.85 at the midpoint
- EBITDA guidance for the full year is $480 million at the midpoint, above analyst estimates of $475.2 million
- Operating Margin: 5.1%, down from 7.3% in the same quarter last year
- Free Cash Flow Margin: 5.6%, down from 7.1% in the same quarter last year
- Sales Volumes fell 3.3% year on year, in line with the same quarter last year
- Market Capitalization: $1.53 billion
Company Overview
With Wonder Bread as its premier brand, Flowers Foods (NYSE: FLO) is a packaged foods company that focuses on bakery products such as breads, buns, and cakes.
Revenue Growth
A company’s long-term performance is an indicator of its overall quality. Any business can have short-term success, but a top-tier one grows for years.
With $5.27 billion in revenue over the past 12 months, Flowers Foods carries some recognizable products but is a mid-sized consumer staples company. Its size could bring disadvantages compared to larger competitors benefiting from better brand awareness and economies of scale.
As you can see below, Flowers Foods’s sales grew at a sluggish 2.5% compounded annual growth rate over the last three years as consumers bought less of its products. We’ll explore what this means in the "Volume Growth" section.
This quarter, Flowers Foods grew its revenue by 1.1% year on year, and its $1.57 billion of revenue was in line with Wall Street’s estimates.
Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to decline by 1.8% over the next 12 months, a deceleration versus the last three years. This projection is underwhelming and implies its products will see some demand headwinds.
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Volume Growth
Revenue growth can be broken down into changes in price and volume (the number of units sold). While both are important, volume is the lifeblood of a successful staples business as there’s a ceiling to what consumers will pay for everyday goods; they can always trade down to non-branded products if the branded versions are too expensive.
Flowers Foods’s average quarterly sales volumes have shrunk by 2.2% over the last two years. This decrease isn’t ideal because the quantity demanded for consumer staples products is typically stable. 
In Flowers Foods’s Q1 2026, sales volumes dropped 3.3% year on year. This result represents a further deceleration from its historical levels, showing the business is struggling to move its products.
Key Takeaways from Flowers Foods’s Q1 Results
We enjoyed seeing Flowers Foods beat analysts’ EBITDA expectations this quarter. We were also happy its gross margin outperformed Wall Street’s estimates. On the other hand, its adjusted operating income missed. Zooming out, we think this was a mixed quarter. The stock traded up 3.6% to $7.26 immediately following the results.
So should you invest in Flowers Foods right now? What happened in the latest quarter matters, but not as much as longer-term business quality and valuation, when deciding whether to invest in this stock. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).
