A major egg producer saw big profits as egg prices skyrocketed, according to CNN.
In a quarterly earnings report released Tuesday, Cal-Maine Foods brought in over $320 million in net income for the quarter ending in late February 2023. That’s a 718% increase compared to the $39 million the company reported for the same quarter last year.
“Our results are reflective of a dynamic market environment with higher average selling prices and favorable demand. Elevated market pricing continues,” said Sherman Miller, president and CEO of Cal-Maine, in the release.
Egg prices tend to be volatile, but an avian flu outbreak in 2022 contributed to a spike in prices. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the average price for Grade A chicken eggs sold by the dozen went from about $1.34 in August 2020 to a peak of nearly $5 in January 2023.
Prices have started to ease down to $4.21 a dozen, per the same chart, and similar results emerged for wholesale prices.
Cal-Maine previously released a statement on high egg prices, saying that inflation and the avian flu greatly impacted the industry. It said it uses third-party trackers to negotiate prices with retailers and “does not sell eggs directly to consumers or set retail egg prices,” it wrote.
In a 2020 presentation for investors, Cal-Maine said it is the No. 1 producer of eggs in the U.S., with a 19% market share and a flock of about 51 million birds.
