Pilgrim's Pride Corporation was founded in 1946 and produces, processes, and distributes fresh, frozen, and value-added chicken products to retailers, distributors, and food-service companies. It exports chicken products to about 120 countries, and operates a vertically integrated business model. This means that PPC controls almost all of its business operations, from raising livestock to distribution of final products. The company is broken down into three segments: 1) U.S., 2) U.K. and Europe, and 3) Mexico, with the U.S. segment being the largest in net sales. The company deals with poultry products in all segments, while it only deals with pork products in the U.K. Its two largest customers contributed just over an eighth of revenue. Across 14 U.S. states, the U.K., Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Europe, Pilgrim's operates 39 production facilities and 27 prepared foods facilities. Pilgrim's owns Moy Park, which is a poultry and prepared foods company in the U.K. and Europe, and Tulip Limited, a pork and prepared foods company in the U.K. Headquartered in Greeley, Colorado, the company has over 61,200 employees. Pilgrim's has a market cap of more than $10.7 billion.

The last trading week of August started with a mixed bag. On Monday (8/26/2024), the Nasdaq and the Nasdaq 100 were dragged down from the start due to a tough day for semiconductors. The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) fell 2.5% and was sitting on short-term support from its 10- and 21-day exponential moving averages. The SOXX has had a big recovery since the August 5 intraday low, so it's not surprising that some anxiety was building. Discretionary also fell due to weakness in Tesla. Energy led the 11 S&P 500 sectors, as crude oil (WTI) bounced for a third day. Crude was back up to $77/barrel from a low last week of $71.46. The oil chart is a mess, with prices chopping around from the low $60s to the mid-$90s since the summer of 2022. Other sector strength was seen from the defensive Staples and Utilities groups, with minor gains in Materials, Financials, and Communication Services. A fair amount of people in the financial world have said that the S&P 500's almost full recovery from the pullback in the second half of July into early August has been too fast. But quick recoveries and 'V' bottoms generally are quite bullish and often lead to additional all-time highs. On the weekly charts, we had quick recoveries in the latter part of 2023 and in April/May of this year. And let's not forget the recovery from the pandemic, the recovery in early 2019, the recovery in 2014, and the several recoveries in 2012.

Pilgrim’s Pride is the second-largest poultry producer in the US (58% of 2023 sales), the UK (30% including other European sales), and Mexico (12%). Its UK and European arm also includes pork operations from the 2019 acquisition of Tulip. Pilgrim's sells to chain restaurants, food processors, food distributors, and retail chains. Most of its US and Mexican sales come from fresh chicken, while prepared chicken and pork constitute most of its UK and European sales. JBS owns more than 80% of Pilgrim’s Pride's outstanding shares, though it failed to acquire the remaining stake in 2021 after a special board committee deemed JBS’ offer undervalued Pilgrim’s Pride.

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