General Mills · Risk factors

The human and pet food categories in which we participate are very competitive. Our principal competitors in these categories are manufacturers, as well as retailers with their own branded and private label products. Competitors market and sell their products through brick-and-mortar stores and e-commerce. All of our principal competitors have substantial financial, marketing, and other resources. In most product categories, we compete not only with other widely advertised branded products, but also with regional brands and with generic and private label products that are generally sold at lower prices. Competition in our product categories is based on product innovation, product quality, price, brand recognition and loyalty, effectiveness of marketing, promotional activity, convenient ordering and delivery to the consumer, and the ability to identify and satisfy consumer preferences.

If our large competitors were to seek an advantage through pricing or promotional changes, we could choose to do the same, which could adversely affect our margins and profitability. If we did not do the same, our revenues and market share could be adversely affected. Our market share and revenue growth could also be adversely impacted if we are not successful in introducing innovative products in response to changing consumer demands or by new product introductions of our competitors. If we are unable to build and sustain brand equity by offering recognizably superior product quality, we may be unable to maintain premium pricing over generic and private label products.

There has been significant consolidation in the grocery industry, resulting in customers with increased purchasing power. In addition, large retail customers may seek to use their position to improve their profitability through improved efficiency, lower pricing, increased reliance on their own brand name products, increased emphasis on generic and other economy brands, and increased promotional programs. If we are unable to use our scale, marketing expertise, product innovation, knowledge of consumers’ needs, and category leadership positions to respond to these demands, our profitability and volume growth could be negatively impacted. In addition, the loss of any large customer could adversely affect our sales and profits. In fiscal 2026, Walmart accounted for 22 percent of our consolidated net sales and 31 percent of net sales of our North America Retail segment. For more information on significant customers, please see Note 8 to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of this report.

The principal raw materials that we use are commodities that experience price volatility caused by external conditions such as weather, climate change, product scarcity, limited sources of supply, commodity market fluctuations, currency fluctuations, trade tariffs (including recent tariffs imposed or threatened to be imposed by the United States on other countries and any retaliatory actions taken by such countries), pandemics, war (including sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine), and changes in governmental agricultural and energy policies and regulations. Commodity prices have become, and may continue to be, more volatile. Commodity price changes may result in unexpected increases in raw material, packaging, energy, and transportation costs. If we are unable to increase productivity to offset these increased costs or increase our prices, we may experience reduced margins and profitability. We do not fully hedge against changes in commodity prices, and the risk management procedures that we do use may not always work as we intend.

We could be adversely affected if consumers in our principal markets lose confidence in the safety and quality of certain of our products or ingredients. Adverse publicity about these types of concerns, whether or not valid, may discourage consumers from buying our products or cause production and delivery disruptions.

Our success depends in part on our ability to anticipate the tastes, eating habits (including the impact of weight loss drugs), and purchasing behaviors of consumers and to offer products that appeal to their preferences in channels where they shop. Consumer preferences and category-level consumption may change from time to time and can be affected by a number of different trends and other factors. If we fail to anticipate, identify or react to these changes and trends, such as adapting to emerging e-commerce channels, or to introduce new and improved products on a timely basis, we may experience reduced demand for our products, which would in turn cause our revenues and profitability to suffer.

Similarly, demand for our products could be affected by consumer concerns regarding the health effects of ingredients such as sodium, genetically modified organisms, sugar and sugar alternatives, color additives, preservatives, processed wheat and other ingredients, grain-free or legume-rich pet food, or other product ingredients or attributes.

The food industry’s growth potential is constrained by population growth. Our success depends in part on our ability to grow our business faster than populations are growing in the markets that we serve. One way to achieve that growth is to enhance our portfolio by adding innovative new products in faster growing and more profitable categories. Our future results will also depend on our ability to increase market share in our existing product categories. If we do not succeed in developing innovative products for new and existing categories, our growth and profitability could be adversely affected.

Maintaining and continually enhancing the value of our many iconic brands is critical to the success of our business. The value of our brands is based in large part on the degree to which consumers react and respond positively to these brands. Brand value could diminish significantly due to a number of factors, including consumer perception that we have acted in an irresponsible manner, adverse publicity about our products, our failure to maintain the quality of our products, concerns or perceptions about the nutrition profile and health effects of ingredients or substances (including the processing thereof) in our products or packaging, the failure of our products to deliver consistently positive consumer experiences, concerns about food safety, or our products becoming unavailable to consumers. Consumer demand for our products may also be impacted by changes in the level of advertising or promotional support.

The use of social and digital media by consumers, us, and third parties increases the speed and extent that information or misinformation and opinions can be shared. Negative posts or comments about us, our brands, or our products on social or digital media could seriously damage our brands and reputation. If we do not maintain the favorable perception of our brands, our business results could be negatively impacted.

Our future success and earnings growth depend in part on our ability to be efficient in the production and manufacture of our products in highly competitive markets. Gaining additional efficiencies may become more difficult over time. Our failure to reduce costs through productivity gains or by eliminating redundant costs resulting from acquisitions or divestitures could adversely affect our profitability and weaken our competitive position. Many productivity initiatives involve complex reorganization of manufacturing facilities and production lines. Such manufacturing realignment may result in the interruption of production, which may negatively impact product volume and margins. We periodically engage in restructuring, transformation, and cost savings initiatives designed to increase our efficiency and reduce expenses. If we are unable to execute those initiatives as planned, we may not realize all or any of the anticipated benefits, which could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Our ability to make, move, and sell products is critical to our success. Damage or disruption to raw material supplies or our manufacturing or distribution capabilities due to weather, climate change, natural disaster, fire, terrorism, cyber-attack, pandemics, war, governmental restrictions or mandates, labor shortages, strikes, import/export restrictions, or other factors could impair our ability to manufacture or sell our products. Many of our product lines are manufactured at a single location or sourced from a single supplier.

The failure of third parties on which we rely, including those third parties who supply our ingredients, packaging, capital equipment and other necessary operating materials, contract manufacturers, commercial transport, distributors, contractors, and external business partners, to meet their obligations to us, or significant disruptions in their ability to do so, may negatively impact our operations. Our suppliers’ policies and practices can damage our reputation and the quality and safety of our products. Disputes with significant suppliers, including disputes regarding pricing or performance, could adversely affect our ability to supply products to our customers and could materially and adversely affect our sales, financial condition, and results of operations. Failure to take adequate steps to mitigate the likelihood or potential impact of such events, or to effectively manage such events if they occur, particularly when a product is sourced from a single location or supplier, could adversely affect our business and results of operations, as well as require additional resources to restore our supply chain.

Short term or sustained increases in consumer demand at our retail customers may exceed our production capacity or otherwise strain our supply chain. Our failure to meet the demand for our products could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

In fiscal 2026, 20 percent of our consolidated net sales were generated outside of the United States. We are accordingly subject to a number of risks relating to doing business internationally, any of which could significantly harm our business. These risks include:

•political and economic instability;

•exchange controls and currency exchange rates;

•T6tariffs on products and ingredients that we import and export (including recent tariffs imposed or threatened to be imposed by the United States on other countries and any retaliatory actions taken by such countries);

•political sentiment impacting global trade, including the willingness of consumers outside the United States to purchase from United States corporations or to purchase products manufactured outside the country of sale;

•nationalization or government control of operations;

•compliance with anti-corruption regulations;

•foreign tax treaties and policies; and •restriction on the transfer of funds to and from foreign countries, including potentially negative tax consequences.

Our financial performance on a U.S. dollar denominated basis is subject to fluctuations in currency exchange rates. These fluctuations could cause material variations in our results of operations. Our principal exposures are to the Australian dollar, Brazilian real, British pound sterling, Canadian dollar, Chinese renminbi, euro, Japanese yen, Mexican peso, and Swiss franc. From time to time, we enter into agreements that are intended to reduce the effects of our exposure to currency fluctuations, but these agreements may not be effective in significantly reducing our exposure.

A strengthening in the U.S. dollar relative to other currencies in the countries in which we operate would negatively affect our reported results of operations and financial results due to currency translation losses and currency transaction losses.

Information technology serves an important role in the efficient and effective operation of our business. We rely on information technology networks and systems, including the internet, to process, transmit, and store electronic information to manage a variety of business processes and to comply with regulatory, legal, and tax requirements. Our information technology systems (which includes artificial intelligence) and infrastructure are critical to effectively manage our key business processes including digital marketing, order entry and fulfillment, supply chain management, finance, administration, and other business processes. These technologies enable internal and external communication among our locations, employees, suppliers, customers, and others and include the receipt and storage of personal information about our employees, consumers, and proprietary business information.

Our information technology systems, some of which are dependent on services provided by third parties, may be vulnerable to damage, interruption, or shutdown due to any number of causes such as catastrophic events, natural disasters, fires, power outages, systems failures, telecommunications failures, security breaches, computer viruses, hackers, employee error or malfeasance, and other causes. Increased cyber-security threats pose a potential risk to the security and viability of our information technology systems, as well as the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the data stored on those systems. T7Emerging artificial intelligence-related threats may increase the frequency and severity of these risks, and may also introduce new threats, both of which could be difficult to defend against.

The failure of our information technology systems to perform as we anticipate could disrupt our business and result in transaction errors, processing inefficiencies, data loss, legal claims or proceedings, regulatory penalties, and the loss of sales and customers. Any interruption of our information technology systems could have operational, reputational, legal, and financial impacts that may have a material adverse effect on our business.

From time to time, we evaluate potential acquisitions or joint ventures that would further our strategic objectives. Our success depends, in part, upon our ability to integrate acquired and existing operations. If we are unable to successfully integrate acquisitions, our financial results could suffer. Additional potential risks associated with acquisitions include additional debt leverage, the loss of key employees and customers of the acquired business, the assumption of unknown liabilities, the inherent risk associated with entering a geographic area or line of business in which we have no or limited prior experience, failure to achieve anticipated synergies, and the impairment of goodwill or other acquisition-related intangible assets.

We may need to recall some of our products if they become adulterated, misbranded, or mislabeled. A widespread product recall could result in significant losses due to the costs of a recall, the destruction of product inventory, and lost sales due to the unavailability of product for a period of time. We could also suffer losses from a significant product liability judgment against us. A significant product recall or product liability case could also result in adverse publicity, damage to our reputation, and a loss of consumer confidence in our products, which could have an adverse effect on our business results and the value of our brands.

Our facilities and products are subject to many laws and regulations administered by the United States Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and other federal, state, local, and foreign governmental agencies relating to the production, packaging, labeling, storage, distribution, quality, and safety of food products and the health and safety of our employees. Our failure to comply with such laws and regulations could subject us to lawsuits, administrative penalties, and civil remedies, including fines, injunctions, and recalls of our products. We advertise our products and could be the target of claims relating to alleged false or deceptive advertising under federal, state, and foreign laws and regulations.

We may also be subject to new laws or regulations restricting the marketing or sale of our products because of ingredients or substances (including the processing thereof) in our products or product packaging. These limitations may require that we highlight perceived concerns about a product or product packaging, warn consumers to avoid consumption of certain ingredients or substances present in our products, restrict the audience to whom products are marketed or sold, limit the locations in which our products may be available, or discontinue the use of certain ingredients or packaging. Changes in laws or regulations that impose additional regulatory requirements on us could increase our cost of doing business, restrict our actions, and reduce consumption of our products, causing our results of operations to be adversely affected.

We are subject to various federal, state, local, and foreign environmental laws and regulations. Our failure to comply with environmental laws and regulations could subject us to lawsuits, administrative penalties, and civil remedies. We are currently party to a variety of environmental remediation obligations. Due to regulatory complexities, uncertainties inherent in litigation, and the risk of unidentified contaminants on current and former properties of ours, the potential exists for remediation, liability, indemnification, and compliance costs to differ from our estimates. We cannot guarantee that our costs in relation to these matters, or compliance with environmental laws in general, will not exceed our established liabilities or otherwise have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

There is growing concern that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere may have an adverse impact on global temperatures, weather patterns, and the frequency and severity of extreme weather and natural disasters. If such climate change has a negative effect on agricultural productivity, we may experience decreased availability and higher pricing for certain commodities that are necessary for our products. Increased frequency or severity of extreme weather could also impair our production capabilities, disrupt our supply chain, impact demand for our products, and increase our insurance and other operating costs. Increasing concern over climate change or other sustainability issues also may adversely impact demand for our products due to changes in consumer preferences or negative consumer reaction to our commitments and actions to address these issues.

We may also become subject to additional legal and regulatory requirements relating to climate change or other sustainability issues, including greenhouse gas emission regulations (e.g., carbon taxes), energy policies, sustainability initiatives (e.g., single-use plastic limits), and disclosure obligations. If additional legal and regulatory requirements are enacted and are more aggressive than the sustainability measures that we are currently undertaking to reduce our emissions and improve our energy efficiency and other sustainability goals, or if we chose to take actions to achieve more aggressive goals, we may experience significant increases in our costs of operations.

We have announced goals and commitments to reduce our carbon footprint. If we fail to achieve or improperly report on our progress toward achieving our carbon emissions reduction goals and commitments, then the resulting negative publicity could harm our reputation and adversely affect demand for our products.

We utilize derivatives to manage price risk for some of our principal ingredient and energy costs, including grains (oats, wheat, and corn), oils (principally soybean), dairy products, natural gas, and diesel fuel. Changes in the values of these derivatives are recorded in earnings, which may result in volatility in both gross margin and net earnings. These gains and losses are reported in cost of sales in our Consolidated Statements of (Loss) Earnings and in unallocated corporate items outside our segment operating results until we utilize the underlying input in our manufacturing process, at which time the gains and losses are reclassified to segment operating profit. We also record our grain inventories at net realizable value. We may experience volatile earnings as a result of these accounting treatments.

The willingness of consumers to purchase our products depends in part on local economic conditions. In periods of economic uncertainty, consumers may purchase more generic, private label, and other economy brands and may forego certain purchases altogether. In those circumstances, we could experience a reduction in sales of higher margin products or a shift in our product mix to lower margin offerings. In addition, as a result of economic conditions or competitive actions, we may be unable to raise our prices sufficiently to protect margins. Consumers may also reduce the amount of food that they consume away from home at customers that purchase products from our North America Foodservice segment. Any of these events could have an adverse effect on our results of operations.

As of May 31, 2026, we had total debt and noncontrolling interests of $13.6 billion. The agreements under which we have issued indebtedness do not prevent us from incurring additional unsecured indebtedness in the future. Our level of indebtedness may limit our:

•ability to obtain additional financing for working capital, capital expenditures, or general corporate purposes, particularly if the ratings assigned to our debt securities by rating organizations were revised downward; and •flexibility to adjust to changing business and market conditions and may make us more vulnerable to a downturn in general economic conditions.

There are various financial covenants and other restrictions in our debt instruments. If we fail to comply with any of these requirements, the related indebtedness, and other unrelated indebtedness, could become due and payable prior to its stated maturity and our ability to obtain additional or alternative financing may also be adversely affected.

Our ability to make scheduled payments on or to refinance our debt and other obligations will depend on our operating and financial performance, which in turn is subject to prevailing economic conditions and to financial, business, and other factors beyond our control.

We depend on stable, liquid and well-functioning capital and credit markets to fund our operations. Our financial performance, our credit ratings, interest rates, the stability of financial institutions with which we partner, and the liquidity of the overall global capital markets could affect our access to, and the availability, terms and conditions, and cost of capital.

We sponsor a number of defined benefit plans for employees in the United States, Canada, and various foreign locations, including defined benefit pension, retiree health and welfare, severance, and other postemployment plans. Our major defined benefit pension plans are funded with trust assets invested in a globally diversified portfolio of securities and other investments. Changes in interest rates, mortality rates, health care costs, early retirement rates, investment returns, and the market value of plan assets can affect the funded status of our defined benefit plans and cause volatility in the net periodic benefit cost and future funding requirements of the plans. A significant increase in our obligations or future funding requirements could have a negative impact on our results of operations and cash flows from operations.

As of May 31, 2026, we had $20.6 billion of goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets. Goodwill for each of our reporting units is tested for impairment annually and whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that impairment may have occurred. We compare the carrying value of the reporting unit, including goodwill, to the fair value of the reporting unit. If the fair value of the reporting unit is less than the carrying value of the reporting unit, including goodwill, impairment has occurred. Our estimates of fair value are determined based on a discounted cash flow model. Growth rates for sales and profits are determined using inputs from our long-range planning process.

We also make estimates of discount rates, perpetuity growth assumptions, market comparables, and other factors. If current expectations for growth rates for sales and profits are not met, or other market factors and macroeconomic conditions were to change, then our reporting units could become significantly impaired. While we currently believe that our remaining goodwill is not impaired, different assumptions regarding the future performance of our businesses could result in significant impairment losses.

We evaluate the useful lives of our intangible assets, primarily intangible assets associated with the Blue Buffalo, Pillsbury, Totino’s, Old El Paso, Tiki Pets, Progresso, Annie’s, Edgard & Cooper, and Häagen-Dazs brands, to determine if they are finite or indefinite-lived. Reaching a determination on useful life requires significant judgments and assumptions regarding the future effects of obsolescence, demand, competition, other economic factors (such as the stability of the industry, known technological advances, legislative action that results in an uncertain or changing regulatory environment, and expected changes in distribution channels), the level of required maintenance expenditures, and the expected lives of other related groups of assets.

Our indefinite-lived intangible assets are also tested for impairment annually and whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that impairment may have occurred. Our estimate of the fair value of the brands is based on a discounted cash flow model using inputs including projected revenues from our long-range plan, assumed royalty rates which could be payable if we did not own the brands, and a discount rate. If current expectations for growth rates for sales and margins are not met, or other market factors and macroeconomic conditions were to change, then our indefinite-lived intangible assets could become significantly impaired. Our Blue Buffalo and Progresso brands had risk of decreasing coverage and we continue to monitor these businesses.

For further information on goodwill and intangible assets, please refer to Note 6 to the Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of this report.