General Mills, Inc. (GIS) posted its second quarter earnings on Wednesday, December 17. The company’s stock rose about 2% after reporting better-than-expected sales for the quarter.  

Net sales totaled $4.86 billion for the quarter, down 7% from $5.24 billion a year ago. Quarterly revenue beat analysts’ estimates of $4.77 billion.

“Our team continued to execute exceptionally well in a volatile operating environment, delivering results ahead of our expectations in the second quarter,” said General Mills CEO, Jeff Harmening. “Our investments in remarkability are working, helping restore organic volume growth in North America Retail this quarter and driving strong competitiveness across each of our segments. With improved momentum in the first half and confidence in our plans to drive further improvement in the rest of the year, we are reaffirming our full-year fiscal 2026 outlook.”

The company reported net income of $413.0 million or $0.78 per adjusted share for the quarter. This was down from $795.7 million or $1.42 per adjusted share during the same quarter last year.

General Mills reported that operating profit decreased by 32% to $728 million for the quarter. In the second quarter, General Mills reported $2.9 billion in net sales for its North America Retail segment, which was down 13% from the prior year. The North America Pet segment increased 11% to $660 million during the quarter. The company’s International segment increased 6% to $729 million in net sales. The company reaffirmed its full-year fiscal 2026 outlook and continues to expect organic sales to be between 1% down and 1% up year-over-year.

General Mills, Inc. (GIS) shares ended the week at $47.86, up 2% for the week.

Darden Restaurants Serves Up Earnings

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (DRI) posted its second quarter earnings report on Thursday, December 18. The parent company of restaurants such as Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse and The Capital Grille saw its stock rise nearly 3% following the report’s release.

Revenue was $3.10 billion for the second quarter. This was up more than 7% from $2.89 billion recorded during the same quarter last year and beat expectations of $3.07 billion.

"The second quarter exceeded our top-line expectations as every segment delivered positive same-restaurant sales," said Darden CEO, Rick Cardenas. "Our restaurant teams did a great job of being brilliant with the basics, driving record, or near-record, guest satisfaction scores across all our brands. Despite facing significant commodity headwinds, we leveraged our four competitive advantages to provide strong value for our guests and we made appropriate investments in the business to ensure long-term success."

The company reported net income of $237.4 million or $2.03 per adjusted share. Last year at this time, Darden posted net income of $215.7 million or $1.82 per adjusted share.

Darden’s same-restaurant sales rose across its brands in the quarter. Olive Garden saw a rise in same-restaurant sales of 4.7%. Darden’s Fine Dining segment saw same-restaurant sales increase of 0.8%. LongHorn Steakhouse, a strong breadwinner for Darden, experienced a 5.9% increase in same-restaurant sales. Darden declared a dividend of $1.50 per share of common stock, payable on February 2, 2026, to the stockholders of record on January 9, 2026.

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (DRI) shares ended the week at $189.87, up 4% for the week.

CarMax Releases Earnings Report

CarMax, Inc. (KMX) released its third quarter earnings report on Thursday, December 18. The automobile retailer’s stock dipped about 7% after the company reported a decrease in revenue for the quarter.

CarMax reported net sales of $5.79 billion during the quarter, down nearly 7% from $6.22 billion in net sales at this time last year and above the expected quarterly revenue of $5.61 billion.

“I am honored to serve as Interim President and CEO at this important juncture for CarMax,” said CarMax CEO, David McCreight. “Our unmatched physical and digital infrastructure, beloved national brand, and award-winning culture provide us with incredible advantages. Despite these advantages, based on recent results, it is clear CarMax needs change. Tom and I are committed to positioning CarMax for success while the Board identifies the right permanent CEO to lead CarMax.”

The company reported quarterly net income of $62.22 million or $0.43 per adjusted share. This was down from $125.44 million or $0.81 per adjusted share one year ago.

CarMax sold 169,557 retail vehicles in the quarter, a decrease of 8% from the same time last year. CarMax’s wholesale vehicle sales decreased by 6.2% to 127,603 vehicles, attributed to a steep market depreciation. CarMax’s Auto Finance segment reported income grew by 9.3% for the quarter to reach $174.7 million. The company opened two additional stores during the quarter, increasing the total number of CarMax locations to 255.

CarMax, Inc. (KMX) shares ended the week at $38.47, down 8% for the week.

The Dow started the holiday week of 12/15 at 48,594 and closed at 48,135 on 12/19. The S&P 500 started the week at 6,860 and closed at 6,835. The NASDAQ started the week at 23,330 and closed at 23,308.

U.S. Treasury yields edged lower as investors waited for the latest November consumer price index and digested the latest job report which showed a mixed picture of the U.S economy. Yields continued declining towards the end of the week despite jobless claims coming in lower than expected.

On Thursday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the consumer price index (CPI), which measures the cost of dozens of everyday consumer goods, increased 2.7% in November. This fell below analysts’ expectations of a 3.1% gain. The core CPI, which does not account for food and energy prices, rose to 2.6% year-over-year, lower than analysts’ expectations of a 3.0% increase.

“It is possible that this does reflect a genuine drop off in inflationary pressures,” said chief North America economist at Capital Economics, Paul Ashworth. “But such a sudden stop, particularly in the more-persistent services components like rent of shelter is very unusual, at least outside of a recession.”

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield opened the week of December 15 at 4.18% and traded as low as 4.11% on Thursday. The 30-year Treasury bond opened the week at 4.84% and traded as low as 4.78% on Thursday.

On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that initial claims for unemployment decreased by 13,000 to 224,000 for the week ending December 13. This was higher than economists’ estimates of 200,000. Continuing unemployment claims fell by 67,000 to 1.90 million. On Tuesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its monthly jobs report for November which indicated the unemployment rate rose to 4.6% in November, an increase from 4.4% in September. The report noted an increase of 64,000 jobs in November. Partial data for October, which was limited by the government shutdown, showed a decrease of 105,000 jobs for the month.

“There is little doubt the labor market is cooling, even after accounting for these nuances in the October and November data,” said senior economist at NerdWallet, Elizabeth Renter. “Federal workers on administrative leave through the deferred resignation program may have had several months to find new work, and they very well may have needed that time. The current job market is not very welcoming to job seekers, with new jobs and overall hiring subdued.”

The 10-year Treasury note yield ended the week of 12/15 at 4.14%, while the 30-year Treasury note yield finished the week at 4.82%.

Freddie Mac released its latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey on Thursday, December 18. The survey showed little movement in mortgage rates.

This week, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 6.21%, down from last week’s average of 6.22%. Last year at this time, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 6.72%.

The 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 5.47% this week, down from last week’s 5.54%. During the same week last year, the 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 5.92%.

“The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has remained within a narrow 10-basis point range over the last two months,” said Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist, Sam Khater. “With rates down half a percent over last year, purchase applications are 10% above the same time one year ago.”

Based on published national averages, the savings rate was 0.39% as of 12/15. The one-year CD averaged 1.63%.

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