Mondelez Stock Sinks After-Hours As Cocoa Costs Sour Outlook: Retail Traders Still Sniff Opportunity

• The candy and snacks company expects 4% organic revenue growth this year, down 1 percentage point from its previous forecast, and a larger-than-expected drop in adjusted profit.
• Mondelez cites high cocoa prices and input costs as key headwinds.
• Stocktwits sentiment rises as the company’s stock declines nearly 6%.

Mondelez International Inc.’s shares tumbled 5.9% in after-hours trading on Tuesday after the packaged food company tempered its full-year outlook, citing the impact of higher transportation and other input costs and cocoa prices.

That reduction overshadowed a top- and bottom-line beat in the last quarter, even as Stocktwits sentiment for the stock ticked higher.

Mondelez, known for Cadbury and Toblerone, said record-high cocoa cost inflation impacted results in the third quarter.

“Although we anticipate challenging conditions to continue in some markets, we are encouraged by recent moderation in cocoa prices, as well as promising signs for a strong cocoa crop this fall,” CEO Dirk Van de Put said in a statement.

Notably, Mondelez has raised the prices of its chocolates and snacks this year.

The Chicago-based company now expects organic revenue to rise 4% this year, down from the 5% it predicted in July. Adjusted earnings are expected to decline 15% on a constant currency basis, rather than 10% as previously projected.

On Stocktwits, the retail sentiment for MDLZ shifted to ‘extremely bullish’ as of late Tuesday, from ‘bearish’ the previous day, with 24-hour message volume rising 650%.

"$MDLZ opportunity again," said one bullish user who spotted that the stock had sunk to similar levels from late April.

However, others were skeptical about the company’s near-term prospects. “$MDLZ unhealthy snack...More drop ahead,” remarked one user.

In the third quarter, Mondelez’s revenue rose 5.9% to $9.74 billion, ahead of analyst estimates for $9.69 billion. Adjusted earnings were $0.73 per share, compared to the target of $0.71 per share.

As of the last close, MDLZ stock is up 0.8% year-to-date.

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