General Mills Taps New Europe Boss and Exits China Ice Cream Stores as Shares Plummet to Fresh Lows

General Mills faces margin squeeze as short interest climbs. New UK/Ireland chief appointed; Häagen-Dazs shops sold in China. Analysts remain bearish.

The pressure on General Mills shows no sign of letting up. With the stock trading within a whisker of its 52-week low and short interest climbing by more than 17% to 8.67% of the float, the food giant’s response has been twofold: shake up leadership in its most important EMEA market and walk away from a capital-intensive retail experiment in China.

Erasmo Nuzzi steps in immediately as managing director for the UK and Ireland, the division that drives the highest revenue in the region. Nuzzi, a company veteran since 2003, brings a track record of outperformance. He previously ran European distribution markets and, before that, led the Iberia region between 2015 and 2022, where General Mills grew ahead of competitors in Spain. The appointment comes as the broader management structure is also under the microscope: chief operating officer Dana McNabb is being tipped in industry circles as a potential future CEO of a Fortune 500 company.

Meanwhile, the company is exiting a business line that once promised a direct-to-consumer edge in Asia. General Mills has agreed to sell its Häagen-Dazs shop network on the Chinese mainland to an investor group anchored by Ningji, a well-known domestic tea brand. The deal includes an exclusive license to operate the shops and the brand’s gift business in the region. The network had shrunk dramatically from more than 550 locations in 2019 to just 171 by May 2026. General Mills will retain the supermarket and foodservice segments of the ice cream business in China — channels that offer higher profitability and require less capital.

The pullback from retail ice cream comes as General Mills battles a broader margin squeeze. In the third quarter of its current fiscal year, the company reported revenue of $4.44 billion and net income of $342.5 million. High raw-material costs and a tough operating environment have eroded profitability. Full-year fiscal 2025 sales came in at $19 billion, but analysts expect earnings per share to decline roughly 6% in fiscal 2026, with revenue also set to shrink.

Wall Street remains deeply skeptical. JPMorgan has cut its price target to $31 and reiterates an underweight rating, citing rising input costs and a challenging backdrop. Bernstein and UBS both maintain sell ratings, while Goldman Sachs keeps a neutral stance with a $36 target — still well above the stock’s current level. The bearish consensus reflects a market that sees few near-term catalysts.

The stock closed around €27.71, a stone’s throw from its 52-week trough of €27.35. That marks a decline of about 77% from an April high of €121.66. The relative strength index sits at 27.5, flashing oversold territory — a technical signal that has historically preceded bounces, but offers little comfort when the fundamental picture remains so cloudy.

General Mills will report its fourth-quarter and full-year results in July. The accompanying investor webcast will be the next major chance for management to show whether the leadership changes, the China retreat, and ongoing supply-chain optimization can reverse the direction of the stock. Until then, the sellers appear to have the upper hand.