Hormel’s Canned SPAM… The Real Stuff… Is Ascendant

(See famous recipe below)

Sautéed, fried, grilled, chopped, or added to stir fry, no matter how you slice it COVID-19 has ignited sales of the nation’s unofficial canned meat – SPAM.

The “versatile” product is made by Hormel Foods (HRL).

The company’s CEO, Jim Snee, noted that sales of Spam have not only been strong during the coronavirus pandemic, but the 80-year-old brand is on a record-setting sales pace.

“We were already off to a great start with Spam. This would be our sixth consecutive year of record sales. I think the significant uptick we are seeing through this crisis puts us well on our way,” told Yahoo Finance.

“But even before this uptick, our Spam business has been really, really strong. It’s connecting with consumers, it’s on trend and more relevant than it has ever been.”

Investment bank Goldman Sachs has taken notice, too. It upgraded Hormel to “hold” from “sell” on April 9.

Goldman’s optimism is driven by sales of pantry item amid the coronavirus. Hormel owns other leading shelf stable food brands such as Skippy and Applegate.

The bank’s analysts, Adam Samuelson, said he expects HRL to be a net beneficiary of COVID-19, with raw material trends across pork/hog markets becoming more favorable…

“while HRL’s under-levered balance sheet and secure dividend are more appealing amidst recent market volatility,” he said.

Samuelson points to some pretty bullish sales data from food industry tracker Nielsen.

“HRL’s sales growth accelerated to 13.1% in the week ending March 7 from 4.3% in the four-weeks ending Feb. 29, with gains in both shelf-stable (peanut butter, canned meat/chili) and refrigerated offerings (notably Hormel Compleats and Refrigerated Entrees).”

He set a $45 price target on Hormel, estimating about 7% upside from current levels.

SPAM is still available on Amazon.com

Here is a recipe for one SPAM’s most famous recipes… SPAM Fried Rice.

  • 1 cup white rice medium or long grain
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 12 ounces Spam diced
  • 1/2 cup diced onion
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon minced ginger
  • 3/4 cup peas frozen or canned
  • 3/4 cup diced carrots frozen or canned
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce divided
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tablespoons chopped scallions
  • 1 tablespoon sriracha

Instructions

  1. Bring water to a boil in a medium sauce pan. Add the rice, stir once, and return to a boil. Cover and cook on low for 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
  2. Spread rice out on a large baking sheet and set aside. Let cool for 20 minutes before moving on to the next step.
  3. While rice is cooling, heat the oil in a large deep skillet or wok over medium high heat.
  4. Add the Spam to the skillet and cook, stirring often, until browned, about 5 minutes.
  5. Add the onions and cook for 2 more minutes.
  6. Add the garlic and ginger and continue cooking for 30 seconds.
  7. Add the peas and carrots to the skillet and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes.
  8. Add rice to the skillet, sprinkle with 1 1/2 tablespoons of soy sauce, and cook for 3 minutes, stirring often.
  9. Push everything in the pan off to the side and crack the eggs into the empty space of the pan. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce and stir to break up the eggs. When eggs are cooked through, stir them into the rice mixture.

Remove from the heat and top with scallions. Add a drizzle of sriracha, if desired.