TOP STORIES 



  Tyson Says Pandemic-Related Costs Drag on 3Q Results 


  Tyson Foods Inc. said costs related to the Covid-19 pandemic hit results for its latest quarter, reflecting the immense challenges the meat-processing company faces in safely producing protein as the coronavirus spreads. 


  Tyson on Monday said it spent about $340 million during its fiscal-third quarter in additional costs tied to the pandemic, including for protective equipment, facility sanitation, testing and bonuses for workers. 


  Tyson Foods Picks Former Tech Executive Dean Banks as New CEO 


  Tyson Foods Inc. said it would promote company president Dean Banks to chief executive, elevating a former Silicon Valley tech executive as the biggest U.S. meat company grapples with fallout from Covid-19. 


  Arkansas-based Tyson announced Mr. Banks's new role on Monday as it reported a 22% decline in quarterly profits, weighed down by $340 million in costs related to safety equipment, pay increases for workers, plant shutdowns and other pandemic-related expenses. 


  Covid-19 Stranded Livestock By the Millions -- Market Talk 


  10:00 ET - Coronavirus-related meatpacking plant shutdowns stranded around 3M hogs and 1M cattle on US farms and ranches over the past few months, Tyson Foods executives estimate. That's been a burden for farmers, struggling to slow animals' weight gain as they await processing, and keeping barns from overcrowding in the meantime. For processors like Tyson, it means strong supplies of cattle and hogs for the coming quarters. "Over the course of months that will work itself out," says Tyson CEO Noel White. (jacob.bunge@wsj.com ; @jacobbunge) 


  STORIES OF INTEREST 


  Covid-19 Pushes More Meat Sales Online, Tyson Says -- Market Talk 


  09:42 ET - Tyson Foods for years has been testing meat sales via e-commerce platforms like Amazon, and executives say Covid-19 accelerated the effort this spring. Company president, and incoming CEO, Dean Banks says on Tyson's quarterly conference call that Tyson adjusted some packaging and sizing to accommodate more online sales, and the company expects the trend to continue beyond the pandemic. Despite the bump, Tyson says overall demand remains down in the pandemic, and business won't return to normal until consumers resume more normal eating out habits. (jacob.bunge@wsj.com; @jacobbunge) 


  Beyond Meat Is Heading To Sam's Club And BJ's Wholesale -- MarketWatch 


  Beyond Meat Inc. (BYND) said Monday that its Beyond Burgers will be sold at Walmart Inc.'s (WMT) warehouse chain Sam's Club, and at BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings Inc. (BJ). Beyond Meat began selling at Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) last summer. The news comes just days after rival plant-based burger maker Impossible Foods Inc. began rolling out its Impossible Burgers at nearly 2,100 Walmart Supercenters and Neighborhood Markets nationwide. Walmart is also selling Impossible Burgers on its website. Beyond Meat stock is up 2.5% in Monday premarket trading, and has soared 66.5% for the year to date. The S&P 500 index  is up 1.3% for 2020 so far. 


  FUTURES MARKETS 


  Cattle Futures Close Trading Higher -- Market Talk 


  16:46 ET - Cattle futures on the CME rise 0.4% to $1.08275 a pound, making it fifth consecutive session higher as well as the highest it's has traded at since early March, before the coronavirus pandemic hit. "Fundamentally there is no reason for the rally with plenty of heavy cattle that still remain backlogged throughout the 5-regions," Jeff French of Top Third Ag Marketing says. Meanwhile, lean-hog futures fall 2.5% to 48.4c. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais) 


   CASH MARKETS 

 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Aug 3 
 
Source: USDA, based on Wall Street Journal calculations 
All figures are on a per-head basis. 
 
Date     Standard Margin       Estimated margin 
         Operating Index         at vertically - 
                             integrated operations 
 
Aug  3       +$ 51.77            +$  9.40 
Jul 31       +$ 46.42            +$  6.31 
Jul 30       +$ 50.70            +$ 11.68 
 
* Based on Iowa State University's latest estimated cost of production. 
A positive number indicates a processing margin above the cost of 
production of the animals. 
 
Beef-O-Meter 
This report compares the USDA's latest beef carcass composite 
values as a percentage of their respective year-ago prices. 
 
                                 Beef 
         For Today              Choice   95.3 
     (Percent of Year-Ago)      Select   99.9 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports 


  Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Monday rose $1.40 per hundred pounds, to $204.66, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices rose 51 cents per hundred pounds, to $190.40. The total load count was 104. Wholesale pork prices rose $1.44, to $66.11 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.