Cheerios maker General Mills cut its annual sales and profit forecasts, citing weak consumer sentiment and a shift toward healthier and lower-cost food options that are pressuring demand for packaged products.

“Weak consumer sentiment, heightened uncertainty, and significant volatility have weighed on category growth and impacted consumer purchase patterns, resulting in a slower pace and higher cost of volume recovery than initially expected,” the company said in a statement ahead of its presentation at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York (CAGNY) conference on Tuesday morning. 

The shifting consumer landscape, driven in part by the growing preference for healthier options and increased adoption of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, is adding further pressure to packaged food demand.

Packages of Cheerios, a brand owned by General Mills, are seen in a store in Manhattan. (Andrew Kelly/Reuters)

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General Mills CEO Jeff Harmening said during the company’s presentation at CAGNY that the growing competition for protein options is also a factor. General Mills has its own line of protein cereals.

“We expect GLP-1 and other anti-obesity medications to have a lasting influence in the food and nutrition landscape, nudging some consumers toward smaller portions and more nutrient-dense protein and fiber-forward foods,” Harmening said.

The chief executive also said the company recognizes that its lower- and middle-income consumers have increasingly focused on value as economic pressures continue to weigh on their budgets.

“Cost of living and housing pressures are reshaping spending patterns and value is a core expectation that is here to stay,” Harmening said.

Cheerios for sale at a grocery store on Dec. 22, 2025 in Durham, North Carolina. (Al Drago/Getty Images)

Earlier this month, PepsiCo cut prices on core brands such as Lay’s and Doritos by up to 15% following a consumer backlash against earlier price hikes.

Peer Conagra, maker of Slim Jim meat snacks, has maintained its annual sales and profit targets despite reporting a muted second quarter.

General Mills, which left its annual outlook unchanged in December, has been grappling with muted demand as Americans curb discretionary spending and shift to cheaper pantry staples.

A woman shops for Cheerios at a Price Chopper supermarket in South Burlington, Vermont, Nov. 6, 2017. (Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images)

General Mills now expects annual sales to decline 1.5% to 2%, compared with its prior range of down 1% to up 1%.

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The company also forecast annual adjusted operating profit and adjusted earnings per share will fall 16% to 20% in constant currency, versus its previous outlook for a 10% to 15% decline.

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Reuters contributed to this report.

Tesla will avoid a 30-day suspension of its dealer and manufacturer licenses in California after complying with a state order to stop using the term “autopilot” when marketing its vehicles, state regulators said Tuesday.

The decision comes after the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) found in December 2025 that Tesla violated state law by misleadingly marketing its electric vehicles with the terms “autopilot” and “full self-driving.”

The regulator said Tuesday that Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company took “corrective action” and had stopped using the term “autopilot,” and noted that Tesla already modified its use of the term “full self-driving” by clarifying that driver supervision is required.

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Tesla avoided a 30-day suspension of its California sales licenses after regulators said the company complied with an order to stop using the term “autopilot” in its marketing. (Yichuan Cao/NurPhoto / Getty Images)

“The DMV is committed to safety throughout all California’s roadways and communities,” California DMV Director Steve Gordon said in a statement. “The department is pleased that Tesla took the required action to remain in compliance with the State of California’s consumer protections.”

According to the DMV, Tesla’s Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) marketing materials beginning in 2021 used the terms “autopilot” and “full self-driving capability,” along with the phrase, “The system is designed to be able to conduct short and long-distance trips with no action required by the person in the driver’s seat.”

However, the DMV said the vehicles “could not at the time of those advertisements, and cannot now, operate as autonomous vehicles.”

The DMV filed accusations against Tesla’s manufacturer and dealer licenses in November 2023, and the automaker Tesla discontinued use of the term “full self-driving capability” after noting that the system required driver supervision.

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California regulators said Tesla took corrective action in its marketing of driver-assistance features, avoiding a temporary suspension of its sales licenses. (Eric Thayer/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Last year, the California Office of Administrative Hearings held a hearing before an administrative law judge, who issued a proposed decision in November finding that the term “autopilot” violated state law.

The DMV had given Tesla 60 days to take corrective action. By complying, Tesla avoided a temporary suspension in California — its largest U.S. market.

According to its website, Tesla’s “autopilot” feature allows vehicles to match the speed of traffic and assists with steering within a marked lane.

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Tesla, led by Elon Musk, complied with a state order to stop using the term “autopilot” in California advertising, regulators said. (Fabrice COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

The “full self-driving (supervision)” feature alerts drivers of stop signs and traffic lights, and can slow the vehicle to a stop while approaching the signal, all with driver supervision.

FOX Business reached out to Tesla for comment.

TFEX announced the “TFEX Best Award 2025” to recognize broker excellence. Awards went to MTSGF, PI, KGI, KKPS, YUANTA, CAF, and INVX for outstanding performance and market contributions.

KEY POINTS

• TFEX announced the “TFEX Best Award 2025”, recognizing member companies for excellence in the areas of investor base expansion, market maker performance and active trading.
• Seven awarded brokers were MTSGF, PI, KGI, KKPS, YUANTA, CAF, and INVX

BANGKOK, February 16, 2026 – Thailand Futures Exchange pcl (TFEX) announced the recipients of the TFEX Best Award 2025, an annual recognition program honoring member companies for their excellence and outstanding performance across key areas of the derivatives market. TFEX Managing Director Triwit Wangvorawudhi emphasized that the strong cooperation and continued support from all members have been instrumental in driving the development and growth of Thailand’s derivatives market.

The “TFEX Best Award of Honor 2025” was presented to brokers that have demonstrated exceptional and consistent excellence for at least three consecutive years. The following companies received this distinction:

• MTS Capital Co., Ltd. (MTSGF) – Market Maker Best Performance
• Pi Securities pcl (PI) – Active Agent
• KGI Securities (Thailand) pcl (KGI) – Most Active House and Active Prop-Trading

For the “Best of the Year Award 2025”, the following brokers were recognized for their outstanding achievements based on trading performance and investor base expansion in each category:

• Kiatnakin Phatra Securities pcl (KKPS) – Most Active House Award
• Yuanta Securities (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (YUANTA) – Active Agent Award
• Classic Ausiris Investment Advisory Securities Co., Ltd. (CAF) – Active Prop-Trading Award
• InnovestX Securities Co., Ltd. (INVX) – Popular Agent Award
• KGI Securities (Thailand) pcl (KGI) – Market Maker Best Performance Award

Source : Thailand Futures Exchange announces TFEX Best Award 2025 for outstanding derivatives brokers

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The company has been declared the L-1 bidder for a tender issued by the Narmada Water Resources, Water Supply & Kalpasar Department, Government of Gujarat. The project entails the construction of a flood protection embankment along the Narmada River in Bharuch district.

Execution will follow an EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) model, with a total project cost of Rs 702 crore, excluding GST. The project is expected to be completed over a 24-month period.

This initiative forms part of Gujarat’s broader efforts to enhance flood protection infrastructure. Being a domestic EPC contract, it is a standard engineering and construction project with no involvement of the company’s promoters or promoter group in the awarding authority, and no related-party transactions are associated with this order.

On Tuesday, Dilip Buildcon shares closed at Rs 434.95 on the NSE, registering a modest gain of 1.02% for the day.

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In terms of valuation, the stock price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 5.01, a price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 0.62, and the price-to-book (P/B) ratio of 1.34. These metrics suggest that the market is valuing the company at relatively low multiples compared to its earnings, sales, and book value.
From a technical perspective, the daily Relative Strength Index (RSI) stood at 39.7. Since an RSI below 30 generally indicates that a stock is oversold and above 70 signals overbought conditions, the current level points to a neutral-to-slightly-oversold territory. Additionally, the stock is trading below all eight of its simple moving averages (SMAs), suggesting short-term bearish momentum and caution for traders relying on trend-following strategies.Looking at recent financial performance, Dilip Buildcon reported a revenue of Rs 2,308 crore in the December 2025 quarter, which represents a 12.4% decline year-on-year. However, the company’s net profit saw a substantial increase of 619.9% YoY, reaching Rs 830 crore, highlighting strong profitability improvements despite the dip in top-line revenue.

The company’s strong order wins and robust profitability in the last quarter could keep investor interest high, despite some short-term technical weakness in stock movement.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)

PSU Banks Gain Ground
“Plenty happening within Indian markets. PSU banks are doing very well for themselves. In fact, the Nifty Bank has outperformed in the last couple of days,” Mehta said in an interview to ET Now. He highlighted that PSU banks are closing a multi-decade gap with private sector banks in both valuations and performance.

“There was a time when private sector banks were gaining market share. Their growth rates were far superior, anywhere from double the growth rates of the industry, and the PSU banks’ NPA levels were well below. But now many PSU banks are giving private sector banks a run for their money, and investors recognize that. Balance sheet qualities are far better, they are back into growth mode, and that is reflected in the stock prices. Still, there is a lot of gap between the two segments within the banking industry,” he added.

Mehta believes the rerating of PSU banks is likely to continue, but cautions that sustaining current NIMs in an increasingly competitive banking sector will be challenging.

Capital Goods Sector on an Upward Trajectory
On capital goods companies like BHEL, Mehta emphasized the significance of execution. “Execution is the biggest risk in capital goods manufacturing companies, and sometimes execution is not only at their end but also at the customer end because sometimes the customer is not ready to let the project go ahead.”

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Despite execution risks, Mehta sees strong potential due to robust order books and capex cycles. “We are in a nice upward cycle as far as capex is concerned, and across the board, capital goods, engineering, procurement, and construction companies are sitting on record order book positions, great earning visibility for the next two to three years, and reasonable valuations.” He also favors companies with overseas orders such as L&T and KEC International, which benefit from diversified revenue streams.
FMCG Leadership and Investment Caution
Mehta expressed caution on FMCG stocks like Dabur. “Frankly, Dabur has just gone off the grid, and so is the case with a lot of FMCG stocks. We just do not track them anymore because, for us, the benchmark to evaluate a company is at least it should grow more than the nominal GDP growth rate, which is 11% or thereabouts. If a business is not growing topline growth of more than 11%, it just kind of falls through our grid. I do not have any view on Dabur or FMCG for that matter, or rather I have a view, and that is negative. Investors who are there in this stock need to diversify out of FMCG.”Infrastructure and Engineering Opportunities
Mehta highlighted the enduring strength of companies with large and diversified order books. “You must have a large proportion of your portfolio in all these engineering, procurement, and construction companies, and the best bet still remains L&T. It is hitting an all-time high, and as I said earlier, we prefer companies which have a diversified order base. L&T has almost 40-50% revenues on order books from outside India, and those order books are at reasonable margins. Certain projects within India can only be executed by L&T, putting them in a different league altogether.”

Other firms of interest include VA Tech Wabag, focused on water projects, as well as various power equipment companies covering solar, wind, and electric distribution equipment.

Wires and Cable Sector
On the wires and cable space, Mehta noted strong quarterly performance despite rising copper prices. “The numbers coming from the cable industry certainly seem to surprise us quarter after quarter. Despite increases in copper prices, they have been able to pass on the price increases and improve their margins. A lot of these companies have built solid brands, which is difficult for new entrants to replicate. The industry is doing well because of investment in renewable energy, which requires more transmission and copper cables, and also due to industrialization and data centres, all of which improve demand for cables.”

However, he cautioned on valuations. “I would remain invested, only reason it is not a buy for us is because the valuations are very rich. They are trading anywhere from 40 to 60 times, which is expensive considering it is largely a B2B business and there is no real product differentiation over there.”