Ask Matt: Is Campbell cooling off?

Q: Is Campbell cooling off?

A: Campbell Soup (CPB) has been a surprising winner in the stock market. But recent quarterly results are causing investors to wonder if they should cool it.

Shares of Campbell Soup have personified the surge in a number of consumers staples stocks. Stocks in this so-called defensive sector have become attractive due to their stability as investors worry the economy could slow. Even if that happens, consumers will still buy food.  The packaged foods maker’s shares have soared 37% the past year and hit a new all-time high this month. But the company’s results released this week for the April quarter are causing investors to question their bullishness. The company reported 2% lower adjusted quarterly profit of 65 cents a share based on year-ago numbers that were recast to reflect accounting changes. That beat expectations by about 2%, says S&P Global Market Intelligence. But the company’s lack of revenue growth is still the concern, highlighting the difficulty of the company winning over consumers who have developed more of a taste for fresh food. Revenue dropped during the quarter nearly 2% to $1.87 billion, which was 2% below expectations. Shares fell $4, or roughly 6%, to $59.86. Campbell says the company is still on track with improvement, as it boosted its earnings guidance for 2016 by 1.7%.

Paste BN markets reporter Matt Krantz answers a different reader question every weekday. To submit a question, e-mail Matt at mkrantz@usatoday.com or on Twitter @mattkrantz.