Written by StockNews.com

Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) late Tuesday posted market-beating first quarter earnings results and backed its full-year outlook.

The Deerfield, IL-based packaged foods giant reported Q1:

• earnings per share (EPS) of $0.53, which was $0.03 better than the Wall Street consensus estimate of $0.50 [and that]
• revenues fell 0.6% from last year to $6.41 billion, but still beat analysts’ view for $6.37 billion.

Looking ahead, MDLZ said it:

• still expects 2017 revenues to rise 1% from year-ago levels, with adjusted operating margins in the “mid-16 percent range” [and] 
• double-digit EPS growth for the year, excluding currency effects.

Irene Rosenfeld, Chairman and CEO,  commented via press release:

“We had a solid start to the year despite challenging market conditions.

We delivered both top-line organic growth and strong margin expansion in the quarter, while also making critical investments for our future.

We remain confident in and committed to our balanced strategy for both top- and bottom-line growth, continuing to focus on what we can control to deliver long-term value creation for our shareholders.”

...Year-to-date, MDLZ had declined -1.19% prior to today’s report, versus a 7.18% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

MDLZ currently has a StockNews.com POWR Rating of A (Strong Buy), and is ranked #1 of 61 stocks in the Food Makers category.