General Mills Bets on Q4 Turnaround and €1.7B Bond Issue to Steady the Ship as Shares Plunge to 15-Year Lows

General Mills stock hits 2010 low with 7.4% dividend yield after Q3 miss; company issues €1.7B debt, names first COO, expects Q4 recovery.

General Mills investors are staring into the abyss of a stock that has not traded this low since 2010 — and a dividend yield that has rocketed past 7% as the market prices in potential trouble. The packaged-food giant is trying to counter the gloom with a hefty euro-denominated debt placement, a new chief operating officer, and the promise of a sharp fourth-quarter recovery.

The numbers from the third quarter of the fiscal year 2026 laid bare the strain. Revenue slid to $4.4 billion, an 8% drop from a year earlier. Operating income cratered 41% to $525 million, while adjusted earnings per share of $0.64 missed the consensus estimate of $0.73 by a wide margin. A messy combination of supply chain disruptions, unfavorable shipping dates, lingering inflation costs, the sale of the yogurt business, and weakness in the snack portfolio all weighed on margins.

The share price has been merciless. Over the past twelve months General Mills has lost roughly 36% of its value. Over the past three months alone the decline is more than 31%. Mid-May saw a fresh all-time low for this cycle at $33.36, pushing the effective dividend yield for new buyers to as high as 7.4% — a level that has rarely been seen in the company’s 127-year history of uninterrupted payouts. The market is effectively debating whether that yield reflects an entry opportunity or a harbinger of a cut.

To strengthen its balance sheet while navigating a tough operating environment, General Mills tapped the European capital market. It placed €1.7 billion of long-term notes in two tranches: a €1 billion series A with a coupon of 4.75% and a €700 million series B with a coupon of 5.25%. Both tranches mature in 2056. The move locks in relatively cheap funding for decades and refinances existing obligations at a time when the entire food industry wrestles with shifting consumer habits and elevated input costs.

Despite the dismal third-quarter print, CEO Jeff Harmening stood by the full-year guidance for fiscal 2026, pinning hopes on a much stronger final quarter. The company expects a tailwind of roughly 200 basis points from trade inventory restocking in the retail channel, a favorable comparison base, and an extra 53rd calendar week. Analysts currently anticipate fourth-quarter EPS of $0.83, representing roughly 12% year-over-year growth.

Alongside the financial maneuvers, General Mills is reshaping its leadership. Dana McNabb, previously head of the North American retail and pet business, will become the company’s first ever chief operating officer on June 1, 2026. Her base salary is $1 million. She will report directly to Harmening and join the board. In her new role McNabb will oversee all operational segments — international, foodservice, supply chain, and technology — giving Harmening more bandwidth to focus on long-term strategy.

The management shake-up dovetails with a cost-control drive aimed at protecting investment in core brands. Volume growth in North American retail has become the key battleground; if McNabb can demonstrate rising sales quantities there, the high dividend payout may rest on more solid ground.

Amid the financial headwinds, General Mills also published its 56th sustainability report. More than 800,000 acres are now enrolled in regenerative agriculture programs, passing the three-quarter mark toward the 2030 target. 95% of packaging by weight is recyclable. Greenhouse gas emissions across the value chain have fallen 14%.

Whether the fourth quarter can deliver the promised turnaround will determine if the stock can crawl back from 15-year lows. If management is right, both the dividend yield and the new COO may eventually look like bargains. If not, the €1.7 billion bond issue might be just a bigger cushion for a longer slide.