Mission Produce reports Q2 earnings
A few days after announcing it had closed its acquisition of Calavo Growers, Mission Produce released its results for the first quarter of 2026, highlighting declining revenue amid “historically low” avocado pricing.
Based in Oxnard, Mission Produce is a leading source, producer and distributor of fresh Hass avocados.
For the quarter ended April 30, the company announced that revenue decreased 24% compared with a year earlier, falling to $290.9 million. The decrease was primarily driven by a 36% decrease in per unit avocado sales prices, partially offset by a 15% increase in avocado volume sold.
Volume and price movements in the marketing and distribution segment were driven by a robust Mexican avocado supply due to higher yields in the current year, the company said in a statement.
Due to declining sales, Mission also suffered a net loss of $7.2 million, or 10 cents per share, in the second quarter of 2026, compared to income of $3.1 million, or 4 cents per diluted share, for the same period last year.
When adjusted for one-time losses, Mission’s net income was just $800,000, which excludes the impact of transaction advisory costs of $6.4 million on a pretax basis or 7 cents on a per-share after-tax basis, as compared to $8.7 million, or 12 cents per diluted share, for the same period last year.
Additionally, adjusted EBITDA was just $7.1 million for the quarter, reflecting lower per unit margins primarily driven by historically low prices and a temporary mismatch in supply and demand for core fruit sizes, the company said in a press release.
Despite the decline in revenue, Mission beat analysts’ expectations of $256.3 million but came in well below adjusted earnings expectations of 5 cents per share.
As a result, shares of Mission Produce declined about 51 cents, or 5.1%, in after-hours trading on June 8 after finishing the day at $10.11. Shares are down 12.6% since the start of the year.
Mission’s president and CEO, John Pawlowski, said the company was managing the low-price environment well until “the Mexican supply of core fruit sizes fell out of line with customer demand in the final weeks.”
He noted that delays in California and Peru harvests led to increased sourcing costs to fill the gaps and pressured margins.
“Supply of fruit and the sizing curves are now normalized and per unit margins are recovering. Our relationships with customers are solid and we expect to deliver strong performance for the remainder of the year,” he said during the company’s earnings call on June 8.
Pawlowski added that he sees avocados as a continually growing industry. During the call, he said avocado consumption reached new highs during the quarter and that more than 1.6 million new households entered the category.
“To us, that reinforces that avocados remain a category with substantial runway,” he said.
We believe this is one of the more durable growth categories in the grocery store, benefiting from steady penetration gains, broader everyday consumption and consumer preferences that continue to favor fresh, nutrient-dense foods.”
“There is still meaningful opportunity to grow here in the US, as well as markets like Europe and Asia, where the category is still in much earlier stages,” he said.
Pawlowski also discussed how “we have recently entered a new chapter for Mission,” after the company successfully completed both its CEO succession plans and “consummated the acquisition of Calavo.”
Former CEO and co-Founder of Mission, Steve Barnard, announced he would transition to executive chair in April 2026, with Pawlowski, former COO, succeeding him.
Pawlowski joined Mission Produce in April 2024. Prior to joining, Pawlowski served as president and COO of Lipari Foods, a leading independent distributor.
Then, on May 28, the company announced it had closed its acquisition of Santa Paula-based Calavo Growers for about $430 million.
Synergies from the Calavo acquisition are expected to start to materialize in the fourth fiscal quarter, with the deal expected to add $25 million of annualized cost synergies, with meaningful upside potential.
John Lindeman, former president and CEO of Calavo, will continue to lead the Calavo business during a transition period and will report to Pawlowski. The combined headquarters will be in Oxnard.
In connection with the deal, Mission also appointed Kathleen Holmgren to its board of directors, with Barnard continuing as executive chair. Holmgren is an experienced senior executive and former chair of the board of Calavo.
Under the terms of the agreement, Calavo stockholders also received $26.05 per share, comprised of $14.85 in cash and 0.9790 shares of Mission common stock for each share of Calavo (based on the closing price of Mission’s common stock of $11.44 on May 27).
Shares of Calavo’s common stock were formally delisted on the Nasdaq on June 8.
For 2026, total capital expenditures are now expected to be approximately $45 million, including planned expenditures related to the legacy Calavo business.
“The successful completion of this transaction reflects our commitment to building a stronger, more diversified company –– one that is well positioned to meet the growing demand for fresh, healthy and convenient foods,” said Pawlowski.
Mission closed the quarter with cash and cash equivalents worth $33 million.
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