McCormick & Company, Incorporated (MKC)

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In its 135-plus-year history, McCormick has become the leading global manufacturer of spices, herbs, extracts, seasonings, and other flavorings. Beyond its namesake brand, the firm's portfolio includes Old Bay, Zatarain's, Thai Kitchen, Frank's RedHot, French's, and Cholula. This mix is slated to be complemented by the pending addition of Unilever's food brands, primarily Knorr cooking aids and Hellmann's mayonnaise. After the deal closes, the combined business stands to generate 70% of sales from consumers and 30% from restaurants and other packaged food and beverage manufacturers. Around 40% of sales should be derived from faster-growing emerging markets, with Europe (around one-quarter) and North America (about one-third) accounting for the remainder.

This week is the calm before the storm of earnings season. There are a few big reports this week, but the floodgates really open next week. Last week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were flat. Year to date, the Dow is up 7%, the S&P 500 is up 13%, and the Nasdaq is up 17%. On the economic calendar, the minutes from the September Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting will be released. These notes will be scoured by those looking to gauge if the Fed is likely to move on rates again at the next FOMC meeting, or stand pat. After Friday's weaker-than-expected jobs data, the odds are at 78% for no change in rates. On the earnings calendar, headliners this week include PepsiCo, Delta Air Lines, Constellation Brands, Levi Strauss, and Applied Digital. The broader earnings season starts up on October 13, when the big banks begin to release results. Turning to other economic data, gas prices fell last week by two cents, to an average of $4.46 per gallon for regular gas. Elsewhere, the Atlanta Fed GDPNow forecast calls for 3Q GDP growth of 3.7%, down from 5.1% last week. The Cleveland Fed Inflation Nowcast is at 3.6% for both September and October. Mortgage rates popped up another 25 basis points last week, with the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage now at 7.28%, according to FreddieMac. Taking a deeper dive into performance in 2026, a leading industrialized global stock market index, the ETF EFA, is up 8% year to date, while the leading emerging market ETF (EEM) is up 23%. U.S. growth stocks are up 7% when looking at ETF IWF, while value stocks (IWD) are up 14%. Crude oil prices continue to be volatile. On Friday, oil was at about $91 per barrel, up 57% for the year. In other asset classes for the year to date, AGG bonds are down 6%, gold is down 5%, and Bitcoin is down 4%. The U.S. dollar is up 4%, tracking DXY. The VIX Volatility Index was at about 15 on Friday, below its historical average of 20. Turning to sector performance, the list from first to worst so far in 2026 is Energy (+40%), Information Technology (+37%), Industrials (+9%), Materials (+7%), Healthcare (+7%), Consumer Staples (+3%), Real Estate (+1%), Financials (-2%), Communication Services (-7%), Utilities (-7%), and Consumer Discretionary (-9%).

McCormick & Co. Inc. manufactures and markets spices, seasonings, mixes, and condiments for the consumer, industrial, and food service markets. The company has a market cap of about $12 billion.