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    Stephen Powers • Deutsche Bank

    Stephen Powers's questions to Primo Brands Corp (PRMB) leadership

    Stephen Powers's questions to Primo Brands Corp (PRMB) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Stephen Powers inquired about service levels and customer satisfaction during the integration process and asked for the expected cadence of the remaining synergy capture for the year.

    Answer

    CFO David Hass reported that key service metrics like last-mile OTIF rates and customer retention have improved slightly. On synergies, he noted the capture rate accelerated through Q1, with half of the quarter's $20 million realized in March. He expects a significant ramp in Q2, which will help the company achieve its full-year target of $200 million.

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    Stephen Powers's questions to Primo Brands Corp (PRMB) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    Stephen Powers asked for a comparison of service level metrics between the legacy companies and inquired about opportunities to leverage best practices for broader business benefits.

    Answer

    CEO Robbert Rietbroek stated that customer service is a core focus and that both legacy businesses had similar high performance on metrics like on-time, in-full delivery. He highlighted that best practices are being shared, such as implementing ReadyRefresh's customer retention strategies at Primo Water and expanding brand availability across networks. He noted retail on-time delivery is in the high 90s, and investments in digital platforms like water.com are improving conversion rates.

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    Stephen Powers's questions to Kenvue Inc (KVUE) leadership

    Stephen Powers's questions to Kenvue Inc (KVUE) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Stephen Powers asked about the hiring of new CFO Amit Banati, specifically what he is expected to bring to the team and whether his background signals a greater appetite for major corporate actions like separations or sales.

    Answer

    CEO Thibaut Mongon emphasized that Amit Banati was hired for his 30 years of global CPG experience and proven track record in driving profitable growth. He will oversee finance and strategy, focusing on operational initiatives like revenue growth management, resource allocation, and strengthening cash flow. The hiring decision was based on his operational expertise and leadership in consumer goods.

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    Stephen Powers's questions to Celsius Holdings Inc (CELH) leadership

    Stephen Powers's questions to Celsius Holdings Inc (CELH) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Stephen Powers asked for clarification on the gross margin outlook, questioning if any known headwinds could cause sequential moderation and how the Alani Nu business, with its different margin profile, will be layered in.

    Answer

    CFO Jarrod Langhans confirmed the 50% gross margin guidance was for the core Celsius business. He noted that for Alani Nu, there will be a Q2 purchase accounting impact from an inventory step-up. He reiterated a previous comment that Alani Nu's P&L profile is about 18-24 months behind Celsius, suggesting a gross margin in the low-to-mid 40s. He promised more detailed pro forma views on a future modeling call.

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    Stephen Powers's questions to Freshpet Inc (FRPT) leadership

    Stephen Powers's questions to Freshpet Inc (FRPT) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Stephen Powers of Deutsche Bank inquired about the direct-to-consumer (DTC) expansion, asking if the channel has held up better recently and how impactful the initiative will be for fiscal 2025.

    Answer

    President Scott Morris described the company's own DTC business as small but performing strongly with encouraging customer acquisition and retention metrics. He emphasized that the larger opportunity lies in broader e-commerce through retail partners, which leverages their extensive network of 37,000 fridges as 'micro fulfillment centers'. The DTC initiative itself is still in an early, albeit promising, stage.

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    Stephen Powers's questions to Estee Lauder Companies Inc (EL) leadership

    Stephen Powers's questions to Estee Lauder Companies Inc (EL) leadership • Q3 2025

    Question

    Stephen Powers from Deutsche Bank asked about the company's goal to align trade inventories with consumer takeaway by the end of fiscal 2025, inquiring about potential outliers by category or geography and the overall confidence level in achieving this alignment.

    Answer

    EVP and CFO Akhil Shrivastava stated that significant progress has been made, especially in Travel Retail, and the company is actively managing inventory as retailers tighten their stock. President and CEO Stephane de la Faverie added that sequential improvement in retail sales (excluding travel retail) is helping deplete inventory, expressing confidence in their ability to realign retail and net sales to resume growth next year.

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    Stephen Powers's questions to McCormick & Company Inc (MKC) leadership

    Stephen Powers's questions to McCormick & Company Inc (MKC) leadership • Q1 2025

    Question

    Stephen Powers asked for more color on the European market, where McCormick is seeing volume growth and taking price despite consumer weakness, and questioned the drivers of that pricing.

    Answer

    Chairman, President and CEO Brendan Foley explained that proprietary research shows European consumer sentiment is 'strikingly similar' to the U.S., with trends toward cooking from scratch and value-seeking. He clarified that the pricing actions in EMEA are not broad-based but are targeted to specific items to offset localized commodity inflation, such as in their French desserts business. The focus remains on maintaining the right price points on the shelf.

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    Stephen Powers's questions to McCormick & Company Inc (MKC) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    Stephen Powers asked for confirmation on the cadence of brand marketing spend for 2025 and whether the investment would follow existing strategies or shift focus.

    Answer

    CFO Marcos Gabriel confirmed the high-single-digit increase in brand marketing spend would be applied evenly across all quarters of 2025. CEO Brendan Foley added that while the spending vehicles remain consistent, the allocation is strategic, continuing to support high-return brands like Frank's RedHot while also flexing up investment on other brands to drive growth.

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    Stephen Powers's questions to PepsiCo Inc (PEP) leadership

    Stephen Powers's questions to PepsiCo Inc (PEP) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    Stephen Powers from Deutsche Bank pressed for more detail on Frito-Lay's pricing strategy, noting that pricing remains positive. He asked if management's comments signal a potential shift to negative pricing in 2025 and questioned the risks of not investing more aggressively in price to boost volume.

    Answer

    CEO Ramon Laguarta explicitly stated that negative pricing is not part of the strategy. Instead, he detailed a more 'surgical' approach using price-pack architecture to provide consumer options without diluting value. Examples include offering multipacks with various counts and introducing new sub-$2 single-serve options, leveraging the company's DSD system for targeted channel execution.

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    Stephen Powers's questions to Clorox Co (CLX) leadership

    Stephen Powers's questions to Clorox Co (CLX) leadership • Q2 2025

    Question

    Stephen Powers of Deutsche Bank inquired about the company's free cash flow generation, which was tracking below the annual target, and the cash impact of the ERP transition. He also asked about the expected cash cost to buy out P&G's interest in the Glad joint venture.

    Answer

    CFO Kevin Jacobsen stated that the base business is on track for the high end of the 11-13% free cash flow target range. However, a temporary $50-$100 million cash investment for the ERP transition in Q4 will likely bring the full-year result to the low end (~11%). He confirmed the previously disclosed fair value of P&G's interest (~$530M) is a good estimate for the buyout cost.

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    Stephen Powers's questions to Bellring Brands Inc (BRBR) leadership

    Stephen Powers's questions to Bellring Brands Inc (BRBR) leadership • Q4 2024

    Question

    Stephen Powers asked for a definition of 'production attainment fees' and whether they would recur. He also inquired about profitability thresholds for new innovation and how the company manages the associated complexity.

    Answer

    CFO Paul Rode explained that production attainment fees are one-time payments from co-manufacturers for failing to meet volume commitments and are not expected to recur. President and CEO Darcy Davenport added that the goal for all new innovation is to be margin-accretive over time and that the business's relative simplicity makes any added complexity manageable.

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    Stephen Powers's questions to Boston Beer Company Inc (SAM) leadership

    Stephen Powers's questions to Boston Beer Company Inc (SAM) leadership • Q3 2024

    Question

    Stephen Robert Powers of Deutsche Bank AG asked about the consumer appeal of higher ABV products like Twisted Tea Extreme and Truly Unruly, questioning if it's driven by value-seeking behavior.

    Answer

    Founder and Chairman C. Koch responded that the company is very pleased with the market performance of its higher ABV products. He indicated the positive consumer reaction is likely due to 'a little bit of everything' and that these offerings are viewed as an important component of future growth.

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    Stephen Powers's questions to Kellanova (K) leadership

    Stephen Powers's questions to Kellanova (K) leadership • Q2 2024

    Question

    Stephen Powers of Deutsche Bank sought clarification on the expected "good balance" of volume, price, and mix in North America for the second half, and asked if the company expects the same return on investment amidst rising competitive activity.

    Answer

    CEO Steven Cahillane reiterated that the environment remains rational, with activity returning to pre-pandemic norms, not exceeding them. He emphasized that brand strength and innovation are key drivers. CFO Amit Banati added that excluding Nigeria, Kellanova expects volume growth in all other regions in the second half. They see the market as rational and are confident in their investment returns.

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