REGULATION AND CONTINGENCIES	6 Months Ended
Jun. 28, 2026
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
REGULATION AND CONTINGENCIES	REGULATION AND CONTINGENCIES Like other participants in our industry, we are subject to various laws and regulations administered by federal, state and other government entities, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and corresponding state agencies, as well as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Commodity and Futures Trading Commission and similar agencies in foreign countries. We, from time-to-time, receive notices and inquiries from regulatory authorities and others asserting that we are not in compliance with such laws and regulations. In some instances, litigation ensues. In addition, individuals may initiate litigation against us. As of June 28, 2026 and December 28, 2025, we had contingent liabilities totaling $148 million and $149 million, respectively, classified in accrued expenses and other current liabilities on the condensed consolidated balance sheets related to litigation matters, including those described below. We did not record any significant charges for litigation matters in the first half of 2026. In the second quarter of 2025, we recorded charges totaling $80 million for litigation matters, including those described below, in SG&A in the condensed consolidated statements of income. These matters will not affect our profits or losses in future periods unless our accruals prove to be insufficient or excessive. It is reasonably possible that a change in our estimates may occur in the near term and that our accruals could be insufficient. We are unable to estimate the amount of possible loss in excess of our accruals, which could be material. Additionally, legal expenses incurred in our and our subsidiaries’ defense of these claims and any payments made to plaintiffs through unfavorable verdicts or otherwise could negatively impact our cash flows and our liquidity position. Antitrust Price-Fixing Litigation The Company has been named as one of 16 defendants in a series of class actions filed in 2018 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota alleging antitrust violations in the pork industry. The class cases were filed by three different groups of plaintiffs. In all of these cases, the plaintiffs alleged that starting in 2009 and continuing through at least June of 2018, the defendant pork producers agreed to reduce the supply of hogs in the U.S. in order to raise the price of hogs and all pork products. The plaintiffs in all of these cases also challenged the defendant pork producers’ use of benchmarking reports from defendant Agri Stats, Inc., alleging that the reports allowed the pork producers to share proprietary information and monitor each producer’s compliance with the supposed agreement to reduce supply. We made payments of $75 million, $42 million and $77 million in fiscal years 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively, to settle all class claims. In addition to the class actions, the Company has been named as a defendant in similar antitrust lawsuits and related claims brought by a number of individual parties who opted out of the classes. The plaintiffs in the non-class cases assert the same or similar antitrust claims as the plaintiffs in the class actions. The Company has entered into negotiations with many of these claimants and has settled certain of these cases. Currently, 14 of these cases are pending against the Company. The Attorneys General for the states of New Mexico and Alaska and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico have filed similar complaints on behalf of their respective states, territories, agencies and citizens. The Company has settled all of these cases. In July 2025, the Company received a civil investigative demand from the Attorney General for the state of Washington seeking information related to this antitrust litigation. The Company intends to vigorously defend against the remaining claims. Antitrust Wage-Fixing Litigation On November 11, 2022, Smithfield Foods, Inc. and our wholly-owned subsidiary, Smithfield Packaged Meats Corp., were named as two of the numerous defendants in a purported class action complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado alleging wage-fixing violations in the red meat industry. The plaintiffs allege that the defendants, most of whom operate beef or pork processing plants, conspired to suppress wages paid to plant workers in the U.S. in violation of the antitrust laws. The plaintiffs sought damages on behalf of all employees of defendants and their subsidiaries from January 1, 2014, to the present. The plaintiffs also sought treble damages and attorneys’ fees. The defendants filed motions to dismiss the complaint, which were largely denied by the court on September 27, 2023. The plaintiffs subsequently amended their complaint adding additional defendants, including our wholly-owned subsidiary, Murphy-Brown of Missouri, LLC (which has been dismissed voluntarily), and expanding the class period back to 2000. On April 5, 2024, the non-settled defendants moved to dismiss the amended complaint. On March 26, 2025, the court granted in part defendants’ motion to dismiss the amended complaint and held that certain of plaintiffs’ new allegations are barred by the statute of limitations. We filed our answers to the amended complaint on May 9, 2025. The parties have commenced discovery and all defendants other than the Smithfield defendants have now settled. We intend to vigorously defend against these claims. Insurance Claims We maintain comprehensive general liability and property insurance, including business interruption insurance, with loss limits that we believe provide substantial and broad coverage for potential losses. In the first quarter of 2025, we settled an insurance claim and received proceeds of $6 million in connection with a fire that occurred at our Tar Heel, North Carolina rendering facility in 2021. We classified $4 million of the proceeds in investing activities in the condensed consolidated statement of cash flows with the remainder in operating activities. The $6 million gain was recognized in operating gains in the condensed consolidated statement of income in the first quarter of 2025. In the second quarter of 2025, we settled a claim against an insurance carrier and received $29 million in proceeds for the recovery of losses we incurred in connection with past litigation. As a result, we recognized a $29 million gain on the insurance recovery in the second quarter of 2025. The gain was recognized in operating gains in the condensed consolidated statement of income and we classified the proceeds in operating activities in the condensed consolidated statement of cash flows in the second quarter of 2025.

Like other participants in our industry, we are subject to various laws and regulations administered by federal, state and other government entities, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and corresponding state agencies, as well as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Commodity and Futures Trading Commission and similar agencies in foreign countries.

We, from time-to-time, receive notices and inquiries from regulatory authorities and others asserting that we are not in compliance with such laws and regulations. In some instances, litigation ensues. In addition, individuals may initiate litigation against us.

As of June 28, 2026 and December 28, 2025, we had contingent liabilities totaling $148 million and $149 million, respectively, classified in accrued expenses and other current liabilities on the condensed consolidated balance sheets related to litigation matters, including those described below. We did not record any significant charges for litigation matters in the first half of 2026. In the second quarter of 2025, we recorded charges totaling $80 million for litigation matters, including those described below, in SG&A in the condensed consolidated statements of income. These matters will not affect our profits or losses in future periods unless our accruals prove to be insufficient or excessive. It is reasonably possible that a change in our estimates may occur in the near term and that our accruals could be insufficient. We are unable to estimate the amount of possible loss in excess of our accruals, which could be material. Additionally, legal expenses incurred in our and our subsidiaries’ defense of these claims and any payments made to plaintiffs through unfavorable verdicts or otherwise could negatively impact our cash flows and our liquidity position.

The Company has been named as one of 16 defendants in a series of class actions filed in 2018 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota alleging antitrust violations in the pork industry. The class cases were filed by three different groups of plaintiffs. In all of these cases, the plaintiffs alleged that starting in 2009 and continuing through at least June of 2018, the defendant pork producers agreed to reduce the supply of hogs in the U.S. in order to raise the price of hogs and all pork products. The plaintiffs in all of these cases also challenged the defendant pork producers’ use of benchmarking reports from defendant Agri Stats, Inc., alleging that the reports allowed the pork producers to share proprietary information and monitor each producer’s compliance with the supposed agreement to reduce supply. We made payments of $75 million, $42 million and $77 million in fiscal years 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively, to settle all class claims.

In addition to the class actions, the Company has been named as a defendant in similar antitrust lawsuits and related claims brought by a number of individual parties who opted out of the classes. The plaintiffs in the non-class cases assert the same or similar antitrust claims as the plaintiffs in the class actions. The Company has entered into negotiations with many of these claimants and has settled certain of these cases. Currently, 14 of these cases are pending against the Company.

The Attorneys General for the states of New Mexico and Alaska and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico have filed similar complaints on behalf of their respective states, territories, agencies and citizens. The Company has settled all of these cases. In July 2025, the Company received a civil investigative demand from the Attorney General for the state of Washington seeking information related to this antitrust litigation. The Company intends to vigorously defend against the remaining claims.

On November 11, 2022, Smithfield Foods, Inc. and our wholly-owned subsidiary, Smithfield Packaged Meats Corp., were named as two of the numerous defendants in a purported class action complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado alleging wage-fixing violations in the red meat industry. The plaintiffs allege that the defendants, most of whom operate beef or pork processing plants, conspired to suppress wages paid to plant workers in the U.S. in violation of the antitrust laws. The plaintiffs sought damages on behalf of all employees of defendants and their subsidiaries from January 1, 2014, to the present. The plaintiffs also sought treble damages and attorneys’ fees. The defendants filed motions to dismiss the complaint, which were largely denied by the court on September 27, 2023. The plaintiffs subsequently amended their complaint adding additional defendants, including our wholly-owned subsidiary, Murphy-Brown of Missouri, LLC (which has been dismissed voluntarily), and expanding the class period back to 2000.

On April 5, 2024, the non-settled defendants moved to dismiss the amended complaint. On March 26, 2025, the court granted in part defendants’ motion to dismiss the amended complaint and held that certain of plaintiffs’ new allegations are barred by the statute of limitations. We filed our answers to the amended complaint on May 9, 2025. The parties have commenced discovery and all defendants other than the Smithfield defendants have now settled. We intend to vigorously defend against these claims.

In the first quarter of 2025, we settled an insurance claim and received proceeds of $6 million in connection with a fire that occurred at our Tar Heel, North Carolina rendering facility in 2021. We classified $4 million of the proceeds in investing activities in the condensed consolidated statement of cash flows with the remainder in operating activities. The $6 million gain was recognized in operating gains in the condensed consolidated statement of income in the first quarter of 2025.

In the second quarter of 2025, we settled a claim against an insurance carrier and received $29 million in proceeds for the recovery of losses we incurred in connection with past litigation. As a result, we recognized a $29 million gain on the insurance recovery in the second quarter of 2025. The gain was recognized in operating gains in the condensed consolidated statement of income and we classified the proceeds in operating activities in the condensed consolidated statement of cash flows in the second quarter of 2025.