INCOME TAXES |
6 Months Ended |
|---|---|
Apr. 26, 2026 | |
| Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract] | |
| INCOME TAXES | NOTE O - INCOME TAXES The Company’s tax provision is determined using an estimated annual effective tax rate and adjusted for discrete taxable events that may occur during the quarter. The effects of tax legislation are recognized in the period in which the law is enacted. The deferred tax assets and liabilities are remeasured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years the related temporary differences are anticipated to reverse. The Company’s effective tax rate was 23.6% and 22.0% for the quarter ended April 26, 2026, and April 27, 2025, respectively. The Company’s effective tax rate was 23.0% and 21.9% for the six months ended April 26, 2026, and April 27, 2025, respectively. The increase in the effective tax rate in fiscal 2026 was primarily due to the impact of the whole-bird turkey transaction in the quarter ended April 26, 2026. Unrecognized tax benefits, if recognized as of April 26, 2026, would impact the Company’s effective tax rate by $17.4 million compared to $16.4 million as of April 27, 2025. The Company includes accrued interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions in Provision for Income Taxes, with immaterial expenses included during the quarters ended April 26, 2026, and April 27, 2025. The amount of accrued interest and penalties associated with unrecognized tax benefits was $3.2 million at April 26, 2026, and $2.8 million at April 27, 2025. Tax Examinations: The Company is regularly audited by federal, state, and foreign taxing authorities. The Company has elected to participate in the IRS Compliance Assurance Process (CAP) through fiscal 2027. The objective of CAP is to contemporaneously work with the IRS to achieve federal tax compliance and resolve all or most of the issues prior to filing of the tax return. The Company may elect to continue participating in CAP for future tax years; the Company may withdraw from the program at any time. Current fiscal years under IRS CAP examination are 2025 and 2026. The Company is in various stages of audit by several state taxing authorities on a variety of fiscal years, as far back as 2019. While it is reasonably possible that one or more of these audits may be completed within the next 12 months and the related unrecognized tax benefits may change based on the status of the examinations, as of April 26, 2026, it was not possible to reasonably estimate the effect of any amount of such change to previously recorded uncertain tax positions. The Company is subject to various examinations by foreign tax authorities. With limited exceptions, the Company is no longer subject to foreign tax examinations for fiscal years prior to 2018. See Note M - Commitments and Contingencies for additional information. Tax Legislation: On July 4, 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) was signed into law. OBBBA includes income tax provisions such as a permanent extension of certain provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, elective deductions for domestic research and development, reinstatement of 100% first-year bonus depreciation, and modifications to the international tax framework. The Company assessed the provisions of OBBBA and determined the changes were not material to the Company's tax provision, and does not expect the provisions to have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements in future reporting periods. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development published a framework for Pillar Two of the Global Anti-Base Erosion Rules, which is designed to coordinate participating jurisdictions in updating the international tax system to ensure that large multinational companies pay a minimum tax of 15%. Many countries have enacted, or begun the process of enacting, laws based on the Pillar Two framework. The Company considered the applicable tax laws in relevant jurisdictions and concluded the impact of Pillar Two was not material to the Company's tax provision for the six months ended April 26, 2026. The Company will continue to evaluate the impact of such legislative changes but does not expect the new tax laws to have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements in future reporting periods.
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