Tyson Foods, Inc. (TSN) is a publicly traded company in the Consumer Defensive — Agricultural Farm Products industry listed on NYSE. This overview shows the latest price, key valuation ratios, profitability metrics and financial-health indicators used by fundamental investors.
Tyson Foods, Inc. operates as a prominent global food producer, encompassing a broad range of activities across four core divisions: Beef, Pork, Chicken, and Prepared Foods. Within its Beef and Pork segments, the company manages the entire process from live cattle and hogs to their transformation into various meat products. This includes fabricating whole carcasses into primary and secondary cuts, providing case-ready options, and producing fully cooked meats.
Is Tyson Foods, Inc. stock overvalued or undervalued in 2026?
Tyson Foods, Inc. (TSN) trades at 35.2× earnings (P/E), above the median of the 93 consumer staples companies over $2bn in Kaplio's universe. At the decade median (12.0×) $20 (-66 %); at its sector median (21.9×) $36 (-38 %).
Kaplio overview: Tyson Foods, Inc.
Market cap $20B · 52 weeks $50 – $69 (16 % below the high) · P/E 35.2× · 2027 est. P/E 14.5× · Dividend 3.6 % · ≥ 11 years rising · Next earnings November 16, 2026 · expected EPS $0.59 · Closing price, Nov 2 · accounts published Aug 3.
- Valuation: TTM P/E 35.2× (expensive).
- Business: ROIC 3 % (weak).
- Balance sheet: Net debt/EBITDA 2.9× (fragile).
- Earnings: 7 of 8 (uneven).
What would it be worth at its usual multiples?
At the decade median (12.0×) $20 (-66 %); at its sector median (21.9×) $36 (-38 %). Implied price from applying the reference multiples to today's earnings (or book value, or FFO) per share. Not a fair value: it is where the stock would trade at its usual multiples.
What matters in consumer staples: 2 of 8 pass
- Gross margin (stable 5y) 6.5 %, fails.
- Stable ROE / ROIC 3.2 %, fails.
- 10y EPS growth −7.6 %, fails.
- Payout Ratio 147.0 %, fails.
- Net debt / EBITDA 2.9×, fails.
- P/E vs own 10y history 35.2×, fails.
- FCF / Net Income 248.3 %, passes.
- 10y dividend growth 18.6 %, passes.
Against its peers (reference peers) — Tyson Foods, Inc.: P/E 35.2×; EV/EBITDA 10.5×; ROIC 3.0 %; $20.1B. Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (P/E 56.4×; EV/EBITDA 19.6×; ROIC 0.5 %; $3.1B), Hormel Foods Corporation (P/E 34.1×; EV/EBITDA 15.7×; ROIC 3.2 %; $11.8B), Smithfield Foods, Inc. (P/E 8.1×; EV/EBITDA 5.8×; ROIC 8.5 %; $7.3B).
Expensive or cheap against its last ten years?
P/E at each close: today 35.2× · median 12.0× · minimum 5.1× · maximum 42.2× · cheap below 10.4× · expensive above 15.2×. It has been cheaper than today 91% of the time over its last ten years.
Dividend
fragile · Yield 3.6 % ($2.00 per share in 2025) · Years raising it ≥ 11 · 5-year growth +4 % a year · Free cash flow coverage 1.2× · With $1,000 invested today you'd collect $35.70 a year ($2.98 a month).
Kaplio's reading: Tyson Foods, Inc.
Updated on October 2, 2026 · accounts published on August 3, 2026
Reading of October 2, 2026: A food business with squeezed margins and weak returns on capital that still funds its dividend
Tyson Foods trades at a P/E of 31.0 over the last 12 months, 157 % above its ten-year median of 12.0, while its operating margin sits at 2.5 %.
- Is Tyson Foods expensive or cheap? Its P/E of 31.0 is 157 % above its ten-year median, and the stock has traded lower in 90 % of the past decade.
- How is the business doing? Operating margin of 2.5 % over the last 12 months, less than half its 5.6 % average for fiscal 2014-2025.
- How strong is the balance sheet? Net debt of $23.13 per share in fiscal 2025 equals 46 % of the share price, and the dividend yields 4 %.
- Is it as stable as the sector promises? Tyson Foods fails 6 of 8 consumer staples checks; its fiscal 2025 gross margin of 6.5 % falls far short of the 35 % stability bar.
- What to expect from the next earnings? Analysts expect EPS of $0.78 for the results due November 16, 2026; the 2027 EPS consensus fell 2 % in 17 days.
Is Tyson Foods expensive or cheap?
Over the last 12 months Tyson Foods trades at a P/E of 31.0. Its ten-year median is 12.0, and the multiple has ranged from 5.1 to 42.0 over the decade. It also stands 52 % above its sector median of 20.3, measured across 126 companies. The multiple looks stretched mainly because profits are depressed. The stock is down 5 % over the last 12 months and sits 26 % below its 52-week high of $68.75. Measures based on cash and assets look calmer: EV/EBITDA of 9.7, P/B of 1.0 and a free cash flow yield of 8 % over the last 12 months.
How is the business doing?
Revenue grew 2 % over the last 12 months, but EPS fell 40 %, which points to margins rather than sales as the problem. The operating margin of 2.5 % compares with a 5.6 % average across fiscal 2014-2025. Fiscal 2025 closed at 2.6 %, so the squeeze has not eased yet. Returns on capital tell the same story. ROIC of 3.3 % over the last 12 months is 5.9 points below the sector median of 9.2 %. From 2016 to 2025, ROIC topped 10 % in only 3 of 10 years, and it fell as low as −1.2 % in 2023.
How strong is the balance sheet?
Over the last 12 months, debt to equity of 0.44 and a current ratio of 1.43 look comfortable. An Altman Z of 3.1 puts Tyson Foods in the safe zone. Leverage measured against earnings is tighter. Net debt reached 2.9× EBITDA in fiscal 2025, above the 2.5× considered healthy for defensive companies. The dividend has risen for 11 consecutive fiscal years and yields 4 % over the last 12 months. In fiscal 2025, though, the payout reached 147 % of earnings. For now free cash flow covers the gap: it equalled 248 % of net income in fiscal 2025.
Is it as stable as the sector promises?
Consumer staples are the steady businesses Buffett favoured, such as Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble and Walmart. Investors in this sector want stable margins, solid returns and a growing dividend, so gross margin, ROE and payout matter more than fast growth. Tyson Foods passes on cash conversion and on dividend growth of 19 % a year over fiscal 2015-2025, well above the 6 % healthy mark. It fails the other six checks. Its gross margin is 6.5 % against a 35 % threshold, ROE is 3.2 % against 15 %, EPS shrank 7.6 % a year and the payout of 147 % is well above the 75 % comfort ceiling.
What to expect from the next earnings?
Tyson Foods has beaten EPS estimates in 7 of the last 8 quarters. The latest report, on August 3, 2026, only matched them, at $0.99 per share. Estimates are drifting lower. Over the last 17 days the 2027 EPS consensus slipped from $4.28 to $4.19 across 7 analysts, and the 2027 revenue consensus dropped 1 %. Of the 30 analysts covering the company, 16 rate it a buy, 13 a hold and 1 a sell. When results arrive on November 16, 2026, watch for any recovery in the operating margin, which stands at 2.5 % over the last 12 months.
How this was prepared: the data comes from companies' official filings, collected by a professional provider, and from Kaplio's analysis engine (trailing-12-month ratios, 10 years of history and sector medians computed across US-listed companies). The text is written from that data alone, every figure is checked against it before publication, and it is reviewed when the company reports results. This is not investment advice.
Investor methods verdict
Would Peter Lynch approve Tyson Foods today?
The Lynch Method approves Tyson Foods today. Business quality: 100 out of 100 (price not included). Lynch classifies it as a turnaround. Kaplio assessment with data from the week of November 2, 2026; not investment advice.
Profitability
| Return on Equity | 3.18% |
| Return on Invested Capital | 3.01% |
| Return on Assets | 1.61% |
| Gross Margin | 6.14% |
| Operating Margin | 2.26% |
| Net Margin | 1.03% |
Financial Health
| Debt / Equity | 0.44 |
| Current Ratio | 1.43 |
| Piotroski F-Score | 6 |
| Altman Z-Score | 3.06 |
Price Performance
| 1 month | +10.00% |
| 3 months | -1.91% |
| Year-to-date | -2.63% |
| 1 year | +10.56% |
| 3 years | +21.29% |
| 5 years | -29.59% |
| 10 years | -15.03% |
Dividend History
Paid in the last 12 months: $2.04 per share in 4 payments.
| Date | Amount |
|---|---|
| December 1, 2026 | $0.51 |
| September 1, 2026 | $0.51 |
| June 1, 2026 | $0.51 |
| February 27, 2026 | $0.51 |
| December 1, 2025 | $0.51 |
| August 29, 2025 | $0.50 |
| May 30, 2025 | $0.50 |
| February 28, 2025 | $0.50 |
| November 29, 2024 | $0.50 |
| August 30, 2024 | $0.49 |
Amounts adjusted for stock splits.
Related companies: SFD · PPC · CALM · HRL
Explore sector: Consumer Defensive · Agricultural Farm Products
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