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Hormel Foods vs McCormick & Company: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

McCormick mpany holds the cleaner structural position, with growth as the main driver and profitability adding further support. Hormel Foods still leads on profitability and stability, which keeps the comparison from looking entirely one-sided. Both sides have seen trend damage — neither carries a clear market edge right now. With both trends damaged, the structural comparison carries most of the weight here.

The comparison is based on similar long-term financial trajectories, not sector labels. Both peer scores are relative to the S&P 500 universe, making them directly comparable.

Updated 2026-05-17

The comparison is mainly decided in growth, with the rest of the profile carrying less weight. The overall score gap is 8 points in favour of McCormick & Company, Incorporated.

INDUSTRY COMPARISON

Both operate in: Packaged Foods

This comparison is based on industry proximity, not on functional trajectory similarity. HRL and MKC share the same industry classification.

For a similarity-based comparison, see how Hormel Foods and McCormick mpany each position within their functional peer groups in AssetNext.

Peer-Relative Score
HRL
Hormel Foods Corporation
46
Peer-Score
Signal qualityLow
Peer basis: S&P 500
vs
MKC
McCormick & Company, Incorporated
54
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: S&P 500

Scores reflect position relative to comparable companies with similar long-term financial trajectories.

The clearest separation appears in growth.

Dimension spread: HRL vs MKC Profitability 49 11 Stability 40 28 Valuation 66 86 Growth 19 100 HRL MKC
Gap Ranking
#1 Growth +81
#2 Profitability +38
#3 Valuation +20
#4 Stability +12
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for HRL and MKC Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer HRLMKC Relative valuation Structural strength

McCormick & Company, Incorporated looks stronger on relative valuation, while the broader price setup remains mixed.

Valuation position uses peer-relative PE percentile (idx_pct_pe) where available.

Entry today — historical context

Where HRL and MKC each sit in their own 5-year price and valuation history.

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY HRL Lower · above norm 0th 50th 100th 0 pct gap MKC Lower · below norm 0th 50th 100th 1st 1st
HRL (1st percentile) and MKC (1st percentile) both sit in the lower portion of their own 5-year ranges. The historical entry context is broadly similar for both. This reflects entry timing, not which company is structurally stronger.

Describes historical entry positioning only. Descriptive — not investment advice.

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Growth
McCormick & Company, Incorporated ranks near the top of the group on growth; Hormel Foods Corporation sits in the weaker half.
Profitability
Hormel Foods Corporation sits higher in the group on profitability, adding to the overall structural advantage.
Growth — Dominant Gap
HRL
19
MKC
100
Gap+81in favour of MKC

One company is still expanding while the other is contracting, which creates a very wide growth split.

What keeps the gap from being one-sided

Profitability still leans toward Hormel Foods Corporation, so the lead is real without reading as one-way.

What this means for the comparison

Growth settles the main question, even though profitability still keeps the broader picture from looking fully clean.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

Break down the HRL vs MKC comparison across all dimensions with the full interactive tool.

Explore full breakdown →
Other comparisons with conflicting dimension signals

Explore how HRL and MKC each compare against other companies in their peer groups.

Rule-based, descriptive analysis only. Derived from peer percentile dimensions. Not investment advice. Peer groups are determined algorithmically based on structural similarity — not by sector classification alone.

How AssetNext Peer Scores Work

AssetNext scores reflect each company's structural position within its functional peer group — not a ranking against all stocks simultaneously. Peers are identified by similarity across eight financial dimensions, including revenue growth trajectory, margin structure, capital intensity, and earnings stability. A score of 75 means the company ranks in the top quartile within its own peer group, not the entire market.

Four dimension scores drive the overall peer score: Growth (revenue trajectory and expansion dynamics), Quality (margin structure and capital efficiency), Valuation (peer-relative pricing on standard multiples), and Stability (earnings consistency and financial predictability). Each dimension is scored 0–100 relative to the peer group, then combined into an overall peer score using equal weighting.

Because scores are peer-relative, the same company can have slightly different scores in different index universes. On comparison pages, both companies are shown within their shared peer universe wherever possible — so the scores are directly comparable. The peer basis is stated on each score card.

Scores are recalculated periodically as underlying financial data is updated. All analysis is descriptive and rule-based — AssetNext describes structural realities and never issues buy, sell or hold recommendations.