Grupo Herdez S.A.B. de C.V

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What it is

Grupo Herdez is Mexico’s longest-standing food enterprise, founded in 1914, with a portfolio of over 1,500 products spanning canned tuna, guacamole, mayonnaise, mole sauces, pasta, ketchup, and organic items. It trades on the Mexican Stock Exchange under the ticker HERDEZ and operates through three segments: Momentum (health-oriented and newer products), Canned Food, and Exports.

The company holds leading positions in sauces, canned chiles, tomato purée, canned tuna, and moles inside Mexican households. Internationally, it reaches the United States primarily through its stake in MegaMex, a joint venture with Hormel Foods whose brands include Wholly Guacamole and La Victoria.

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Who owns it

The Hernández-Pons family controls Grupo Herdez through concentrated shareholdings held in the He-Pon Trust. The founding family owns roughly 73% of the company, and crucially holds the exact same class of shares as minority investors — no super-voting structures.

The EODHD data shows insiders at 71.8% and institutions at 7.7%, consistent with a tightly held but publicly listed vehicle. Grupo Herdez is formally a subsidiary of Hechos Con Amor S.A. de C.V., the family holding entity above it.

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Who runs it

Héctor Hernández-Pons Torres serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Grupo Herdez. His elder brother holds the Deputy CEO and Vice-Chair position, making this a second-generation sibling team at the helm.

Alongside the two brothers, Enrique Hernández-Pons Torres serves as Vice-President of the Board and Deputy Chief Executive. Guillermo Pérez Tinoco handles investor relations, and Andrea Amozurrutia Casillas serves as Deputy Finance Director.

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The money, in plain words

Sales have grown at a steady 3–3.5% a year for three years running, reaching MXN 38.6 bn (US$2.2 bn) (~$2.22 bn) in FY 2025 (our calculation). Net profit more than doubled between 2024 and 2025 — from MXN 1.36 bn (US$78 mn) to MXN 1.79 bn (US$103 mn) (~$103 m) — as margins recovered (our calculation).

The company keeps about 4.6 pesos of net profit from every 100 pesos of sales — a net margin of 4.6% — modest by global packaged-food standards but rising fast (our calculation). For every peso owners put in, it earns about 16.5 back per year — a return on equity of 16.5%, healthy for this sector.

At a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.7×, the stock is priced cheaply relative to global food peers, though the complexity of its joint-venture structure (partners own chunks of the most profitable businesses) partly explains the discount. The company holds MXN 2.45 bn (US$141 mn) (~$141 m) in cash with no net debt figure separately disclosed (our calculation).

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What it is doing now

Two large partnership moves have restructured the portfolio in the past year. In August 2025, McCormick agreed to acquire an additional 25% of the McCormick de México joint venture for $750 million, lifting its stake to 75%.

Herdez received that $750 million and retains a 25% stake, for which McCormick established a minimum price of $750 million.

In April 2026, Herdez announced a 50/50 partnership with Froneri for its Mexico ice-cream operations. The ice-cream business, run under an exclusive Nestlé licence since 2015, carries brands including Helados Nestlé, Häagen-Dazs, Mega, and Carlos V.

Grupo Herdez will hand full operational control to Froneri; the deal brings no immediate cash to Herdez but is structured as a long-term value play.

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What to watch

• JV earnings contribution: With McCormick de México now minority-owned (25%) and the ice-cream unit being repositioned, the net earnings Herdez actually consolidates will shift — watch how the $750 m cash is deployed.
• Export segment pressure: The export segment contracted 25.9% in a recent quarter, as the US and Hispanic consumer market showed weakness. A sustained recovery matters for the top line.
• Antitrust clearance: The Froneri ice-cream deal requires approval from Mexico’s National Antitrust Commission (CNA) and is expected to close later in 2026.
• Succession: Third-generation family members are being placed into leadership roles within Nutrisa and Cielito Querido Café, signalling deliberate generational transition.

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This is news, not investment advice.