Smithfield Foods Makes Its Market Debut with Shares Priced at $20: What Investors Need to Know!

Smithfield Foods kicked off its public stock offering on January 28, launching 26 million shares at $20 each. This price is lower than the estimated range of $23 to $27 shared just a week before. It also sold fewer shares than anticipated. Despite this, the company and its Chinese parent, WH Group, raised $261 million.

The offering included 13,043,479 shares from Smithfield and another 13,043,479 from WH Group. The underwriters also have the option to buy up to 3,913,042 additional shares within 30 days. As a result, Smithfield’s market value is now over $8 billion, according to Reuters.

Smithfield has confirmed that all its U.S. facilities will remain operational, even with WH Group retaining about 90% ownership. On the big day, officials from both Smithfield and WH Group celebrated by ringing the opening bell at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York, where Smithfield trades under the symbol SFD.

It’s been over ten years since Smithfield was last publicly traded. Since being acquired by WH Group in 2013, Smithfield made its Hong Kong public debut in 2014.

As the largest pork producer in the U.S., Smithfield reported sales of $14.175 billion in 2023 and employs around 34,000 people across the country. Recently, WH Group reorganized its European operations, creating a subsidiary named Morliny Foods as part of a streamlining effort ahead of this public offering.