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what it is
Dole grows, sources, ships, and sells fresh fruit and vegetables across 85 countries under the DOLE brand and other labels.
how it gets paid
Last year Dole made $9.2B in revenue. Fresh Fruit was the main engine at $4.2B, or 46% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 8.2% last year. Latest quarter revenue rose 10% vs. prior year to $2.3B.
what just happened
Revenue held up at $2.3B, but EPS fell to $0.05 and showed how fast thin margins can crack.
At a glance
n/a balance sheet
16.0x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
2.4% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
8.8% return on capital — nothing to write home about
$1.62 fy2024 eps est
xvary composite: 53/100 — below average
What they do
Dole grows, sources, ships, and sells fresh fruit and vegetables across 85 countries under the DOLE brand and other labels.
Dole wins on scale. It sources from more than 100 countries, operates in 30, and sells into over 85 countries, which means your grocery store gets stocked even when one region has a bad season. Scale moat (global supply chain reach → it can move product across regions → so what: that reach is hard to copy in a low-margin business).
How they make money
$9.2B
annual revenue · their business grew +8.2% last year
Fresh Fruit
$4.2B
Diversified Fresh Produce - EMEA
$2.1B
Diversified Fresh Produce - Americas & ROW
$2.2B
Fresh Vegetables
$0.7B
The products that matter
banana and pineapple distribution
Fresh Fruit
$4.6B · about 50% of revenue
It is the core business at roughly $4.6B in annual revenue. If supply, pricing, or freight moves against Dole here, half the company feels it.
center of gravity
european produce and packaged offerings
Diversified EMEA
$2.3B · +5.7% growth
This $2.3B segment posted 5.7% growth in the latest quarter. It matters because it adds regional balance to a business that cannot rely on one crop or one market.
geographic balance
americas produce operations
Diversified Americas & ROW
$2.3B · +5.0% growth
Another $2.3B sits here, with 5.0% growth in the latest quarter. It broadens the revenue base, but the margin story still depends on execution across the whole chain.
execution test
Key numbers
2.4%
operating margin
Operating margin → what is left after running the business → so what: Dole has very little room for bad weather, freight spikes, or pricing mistakes.
$866M
long-term debt
Long-term debt → money owed over years → so what: debt equals 39% of capital, which matters in a low-margin business.
8.8%
return on capital
Return on capital → profit from the money invested in the business → so what: this is decent, but not high enough to hide weak margins.
2.4%
dividend yield
Dividend yield → cash paid to you each year as a percent of the stock price → so what: you get some income while you wait.
Financial health
n/a
strength
- balance sheet grade n/a
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 70 / 100
- long-term debt $866M (39% of capital)
n/a — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for DOLE right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
missed estimates
Revenue held up at $2.3B, but EPS fell to $0.05 and showed how fast thin margins can crack.
Latest quarter revenue rose 10% vs. prior year to $2.3B, based on EDGAR-backed data. EPS fell 67% vs. prior year to $0.05, while gross margin was just 6.8%, so higher costs took the wheel.
$2.3B
revenue
$0.05
eps
6.8%
gross margin
the number that mattered
Gross margin at 6.8% matters most because margin → money left after direct costs → so what: one bad freight or sourcing quarter can crush profit.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
The #1 risk is margin compression in global produce logistics. When you only keep 0.6% of revenue, a small cost shock is a real earnings event.
med
Margin compression in Fresh Fruit
Fresh Fruit is roughly $4.6B of revenue, or about half the company. If sourcing, freight, or pricing moves the wrong way, the largest segment does the damage fast.
Impact: with a 0.6% company-wide net margin, there is very little buffer before earnings disappear.
med
Post-divestiture execution miss
Management sold the fresh vegetables division for $140M and is guiding to at least $400M of adjusted EBITDA in 2026. If the simpler portfolio does not produce better profit conversion, the restructuring story weakens fast.
Impact: adjusted EBITDA slipping back below $395M would tell you simplification changed the shape of the business more than the economics.
med
Debt gets heavier when earnings stay thin
Long-term debt is $866M, or 39% of capital. That is serviceable in a stable year. It becomes less comfortable if margin stays under 1%.
Impact: thin earnings plus meaningful debt narrows management's room to absorb a bad quarter.
A $9.2B revenue business with a 0.6% net margin and $866M of long-term debt does not need a disaster to disappoint you. It just needs costs to rise faster than pricing.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
earnings
Q1 2026 earnings report
Expected around May 11, 2026. You want to see whether the $400M+ adjusted EBITDA target still looks realistic after the portfolio change.
metric
Adjusted EBITDA above $400M
2025 landed at $395M. The next step is not dramatic growth. It is proving the business can clear management's new floor.
risk
Net margin staying under 1%
This is the number that can break the thesis. Scale is not enough if Dole still keeps less than 1 cent of each revenue dollar.
trend
Disclosure quality after the filing switch
Forms 10-K and 10-Q should make the story easier to track. Better visibility will not fix margins, but it will make misses harder to hide in the footnotes.
Analyst rankings
coverage
thin
in human-speak, there is not enough clean ranking data here to lean on consensus.
valuation read
mid-teens
The stock looks inexpensive on earnings at roughly 16x, but cheap stocks with 0.6% margins usually stay cheap until profit conversion improves.
risk read
3
Risk rank 3 puts DOLE around the middle. You are not buying a crisis, but you are not buying a fortress either.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for DOLE is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$15
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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