• Subscribe
  • Log In
  • Home
  • Daily Diary
  • Asset Class
    • U.S. Equity
    • Fixed Income
    • Global Equity
    • Commodities
    • Currencies
  • Sector
    • Basic Materials
    • Consumer Discretionary
    • Consumer Staples
    • Energy
    • Financial Services
    • Healthcare
    • Industrials
    • Real Estate
    • Technology
    • Telecom Services
    • Transportation
    • Utilities
  • Latest
    • Articles
    • Video
    • Columnist Conversations
    • Best Ideas
    • Stock of the Day
  • Street Notes
  • Authors
    • Doug Kass
    • Bruce Kamich
    • Jim Cramer
    • Jim "Rev Shark" DePorre
    • Helene Meisler
    • Jonathan Heller
    • - See All -
  • Options
  • RMPIA
  • Switch Product
    • Action Alerts PLUS
    • Quant Ratings
    • Real Money
    • Real Money Pro
    • Retirement
    • Stocks Under $10
    • TheStreet
    • Top Stocks
    • Trifecta Stocks
  1. Home
  2. / Investing
  3. / Stocks

Kraft Heinz Credit Outlook in Question as Buffett Signals Issue With 10-K

It's been no secret that Kraft Heinz is in credit trouble, but why don't we know the extent?
By KEVIN CURRAN May 04, 2019 | 10:09 AM EDT
Stocks quotes in this article: KHC, BRK.A, BRK.B

Kraft Heinz (KHC) was due to loom as a lingering question at Warren Buffett-run Berkshire Hathaway's   (BRK.A)   (BRK.B) annual shareholders meeting. We're finding out this morning that details are scarce.

The positive numbers in Berkshire's report release this morning do not reflect the performance of Kraft Heinz, as the stock that has been cut by nearly a third so far in 2019 has yet to file its quarterly results with the Securities and Exchange Commission and has not made its financial statements for the first quarter of 2019 available to Berkshire.

These statements were initially due on March 1, but this deadline was extended in mid-March.

"Under Nasdaq's listing rules, Kraft Heinz has 60 calendar days from the date of the notice to submit a plan to regain compliance," a March 15 SEC notice states. "If the plan is accepted by Nasdaq, Kraft Heinz can be granted up to 180 calendar days from the Form 10-K's due date."

So what is Buffett saying about the beleaguered company that is now encountering compliance issues?

"The auditor, which is Pricewaterhouse[Coopers] in this case, hasn't signed off on the 10-k," Buffett told a group of reporters on Saturday morning. "They have to explain why they haven't signed off, but they haven't signed off...There's something going on."

Compliance issues at Kraft Heinz are particularly prescient given the company's poor standing with creditors at the moment.


For the time being, ratings agencies are standing by with a stable outlook, but a lack of compliance with regulatory bodies could quickly shift this outlook.

"The declining trend in Kraft Heinz's operating performance is concerning, but does not affect Moody's view that the company's credit profile remains low investment grade," Moody's said in its most recent public announcement. "Moody's believes that the company will recover more of its cost inflation over the next year and that its recent commercial investments will support stronger sales growth. Moreover, Moody's expects that Kraft Heinz will sustain its leading position as one of the world's most profitable large package food companies."

It will be important for Buffett to build this thesis as more questions remain than answers at this point.

The annual meeting is currently kicking off. Tune in here.

Get an email alert each time I write an article for Real Money. Click the "+Follow" next to my byline to this article.

Employees of TheStreet are restricted from trading individual securities.

TAGS: Earnings | Investing | Markets | Stocks | Consumer | Consumer Staples | Conglomerates | U.S. Equity | Stock of the Day | Warren Buffett

More from Stocks

Every SPAC Deal Is Being Heavily Scrutinized but Here Are 2 I Like

Timothy Collins
Apr 12, 2021 11:30 AM EDT

Mudrick Capital and Ginkgo Bioworks are long-term buying opportunities.

Plug Power Is Still Unplugged

Bruce Kamich
Apr 12, 2021 11:21 AM EDT

The charts of PLUG are bearish and losing power.

I've Got Wine and Baseball Cards on My Mind

Jonathan Heller
Apr 12, 2021 11:00 AM EDT

Two new IPOs are on my radar.

Liquidity Dries Up and Small-Caps Are Slammed

James "Rev Shark" DePorre
Apr 12, 2021 10:55 AM EDT

There is some very ugly action under the surface.

Adaptable Uber Has Managed to Stay in the Game - Here's an Earnings Trade Idea

Stephen Guilfoyle
Apr 12, 2021 10:44 AM EDT

Uber has now said that demand for the ride hailing service is recovering faster than driver availability.

Real Money's message boards are strictly for the open exchange of investment ideas among registered users. Any discussions or subjects off that topic or that do not promote this goal will be removed at the discretion of the site's moderators. Abusive, insensitive or threatening comments will not be tolerated and will be deleted. Thank you for your cooperation. If you have questions, please contact us here.

Email

CANCEL
SUBMIT

Email sent

Thank you, your email to has been sent successfully.

DONE

Oops!

We're sorry. There was a problem trying to send your email to .
Please contact customer support to let us know.

DONE

Please Join or Log In to Email Our Authors.

Email Real Money's Wall Street Pros for further analysis and insight

Already a Subscriber? Login

Columnist Conversation

  • 04:44 PM EDT PAUL PRICE

    Pretty Incredible + Hard to Believe

  • 11:18 AM EDT JAMES "REV SHARK" DEPORRE

    This Weekend on Real Money

    The 5 Pillars of Exceptional Trading
  • 08:05 AM EDT BOB LANG

    Bitcoin vs. Gold: Which Should You Invest In Now?

    Read my article TheStreet here!
  • See More

COLUMNIST TWEETS

  • A Twitter List by realmoney
About Privacy Terms of Use

© 1996-2021 TheStreet, Inc., 225 Liberty Street, 27th Floor, New York, NY 10281

Need Help? Contact Customer Service

Except as otherwise indicated, quotes are delayed. Quotes delayed at least 20 minutes for all exchanges. Market Data & Company fundamental data provided by FactSet. Earnings and ratings provided by Zacks. Mutual fund data provided by Valueline. ETF data provided by Lipper. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions Group.

TheStreet Ratings updates stock ratings daily. However, if no rating change occurs, the data on this page does not update. The data does update after 90 days if no rating change occurs within that time period.

FactSet calculates the Market Cap for the basic symbol to include common shares only. Year-to-date mutual fund returns are calculated on a monthly basis by Value Line and posted mid-month.

Compare Brokers

Please Join or Log In to manage and receive alerts.

Follow Real Money's Wall Street Pros to receive real-time investing alerts

Already a Subscriber? Login