Jeff Harmening, General Mills CEO, joins 'Money Movers' to discuss consumer demand challenges, economic uncertainty and earnings.

General Mills CEO Jeff Harmening reports that while consumers are still spending, they are doing so with increased caution due to ongoing economic uncertainty, tariffs, and global conflicts. This environment has led to a shift in consumer behavior, with more people eating at home and seeking value in their purchases.

To address these changes, General Mills has invested in enhancing the value of its brands and has seen positive results in recent quarters, including increased market share in several categories. The company is also responding to trends such as higher demand for protein-rich products and nostalgic favorites, introducing new offerings like protein cereals and larger cookies to meet evolving consumer preferences.

General Mills CEO: The consumer is still spending but uncertain

Meantime, another big mover today, look at shares of General Mills, reporting an earnings beat, but revenue coming in just under expectations with a quote, challenging consumer backdrop weighing on the company's outlook. Joining us now in a CNBC exclusive is General Mills CEO, Jeff Harman. And Jeff, it's good to have you back on. What are you seeing right now from the consumer? Sarah, it's good to see you as well. And you know, what we're seeing from the consumer really isn't surprising, you know, for the last few months or so, the consumer really has faced a lot of uncertainty and in a whole variety of ways, whether that's economic uncertainty or uncertainty with tariffs or global conflict. I mean, we all know the list. And when consumers feel a little bit uncertain, you know, they tend to pull back on their spending a little bit. And so we see that. I mean, it's one of the reasons why food at home consumption remains pretty robust. About 87 percent of food consumption is at home, and they're eating out a little bit less. But it also means that we have to have our value right. So the consumer is still spending money, but they're certainly uncertain. And that makes for a pretty volatile environment. So where does the business go? Does it go to private label? Is that where you lose to in that kind of uncertain environment? Well, one of the things we found over this last year is that the consumers became a lot more value conscious. And so we've reacted to that. And over the last six months, have made significant investments in the value of our brands. And we're actually seeing really good results. I'm encouraged by the last quarter of our results where we saw pound volumes shares increase and more than 60 percent of our categories in our U.S. retail business. We held share in our pet food business and grew share in food service and international. And so we see consumers looking for value. But when consumers look for food, they also look for other things. We really see them looking for bold flavors, nostalgia. When consumers get stressed, they really look for something that they know and trust. And then obviously health when it comes to protein. Yes. I mean, I was asking because, you know, Kroger just had really good results and the grocery sales haven't haven't been that week. So I'm wondering why, you know, a packaged food company wouldn't be doing better in this environment. Is it do you see any impact of GLP ones or the Maha movement or anything like that? Yeah. So our categories are growing. And for the first half of our last fiscal year, we trailed the growth of those categories. But as I said, we've turned that around, especially over the last three months behind investments and growth, particularly to get the value right. But also as we look ahead and and kind of giving consumers what they want. I talked about protein. They want more protein. And certainly about 12 percent of adults are currently using GLP ones. We have protein news in most of our categories. We now have a hundred million dollar business in cereal and protein, things like Cheerios protein and Nature Valley protein. We have the biggest protein bar in the bars category in Nature Valley protein. And we have a new soup coming out called Pitmaster, which kind of combines really bold flavor with with 20 grams of protein that's coming out from Progresso. And so we are seeing we are seeing consumers look for more protein. We're giving them that. But they're also looking for things that really taste good. I mean, we're coming out with bigger cookies on on Pillsbury. People love the Doughboy. As I said, when when people get stressed, they look for nostalgia. So bringing back the Doughboy or bigger marshmallows and things like Lucky Charms. And so we we are really innovating our way back to growth. Value is important, but also some of these other trends that I just talked about.

The U.S. Department of Justice issued subpoenas in its investigation into New York Attorney General Letitia James. CBS News' Jake Rosen reports.

New York

Trump's DOJ subpoenas New York AG Letitia James

Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will meet in the coming days, the Kremlin said on Thursday (August 7), as the U.S. president seeks a breakthrough to end the Ukraine war after voicing mounting frustration with his Russian counterpart and threatening him with new sanctions.

Moscow

Ukraine Invasion

Kremlin says Trump, Putin to meet soon; Ukraine seeks role for Europe

U.S. President Donald Trump's rushed deadline for Russia to strike a ceasefire deal or face more sanctions has arrived without much movement from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Washington

Trump deadline for Russia to reach ceasefire arrives

Protesters in Israel are voicing their concerns about a plan approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Security Cabinet to take over Gaza City. CBS News' Debora Patta has more.

Jerusalem

Middle East Conflict

Israel's security cabinet approves plan to take over Gaza City

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel intends to take full military control of Gaza and push a new offensive, despite mounting international criticism over the war’s human toll and growing hunger crisis.

Israel intends to take full control of Gaza, Netanyahu says

U.S. President Donald Trump said that there is a good chance he'll meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin soon over Russia's war with Ukraine.

Trump says 'good chance' he'll meet with Putin soon

U.S. President Donal Trump officially began levying higher import taxes on dozens of countries on Thursday (August 7), just as the economic fallout of his months-long tariff threats was beginning to create visible damage to the U.S. economy.

Global Tariffs

Higher U.S. tariffs officially take effect

The man accused of killing two Israeli Embassy staffers in Washington, D.C., earlier this year has been charged with federal hate crime charges. CBS News Justice reporter Jake Rosen has more.

Hate crime charges filed in killings of Israeli Embassy staffers

As Sean "Diddy" Combs awaits his sentencing, his lead attorney Marc Agnifilo says he has not talked to anyone at the White House about a possible pardon.

Sean "Diddy" Combs' attorney says he hasn't had talks about a pardon

Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, blamed Hamas when asked about starvation in Gaza, saying, "Hamas has not allowed the food to get to the people who are hungry." Huckabee also addressed questions over the controversial aid sites.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel faces questions over starvation in Gaza

On "T-Day," the US began enforcing Trump's new tariffs, raising average rates from 2% to 15% after a 90-day pause allowed some countries to negotiate reduced deals while others, like India and Brazil, faced hikes. These tariffs have generated over $150 billion in revenue by July, impacting various sectors and aiming to address trade imbalances.

U.S. begins collecting Trump's new global tariffs

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva says he plans to call the leaders of China and India, to discuss a joint response to new US tariffs. The announcement came as Brazil and India were hit with 50 percent levies - the highest imposed by President Donald Trump.

State of Rio de Janeiro

Brazil halts U.S. trade talks as Lula condemns new tariffs

U.S. President Donald Trump imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, citing New Delhi's continued imports of Russian oil in a move that sharply escalated tensions between the two nations after trade talks reached a deadlock.

Trump imposes extra 25% tariff on India over Russian oil imports

President Trump has been briefed about the shooting at Fort Stewart in Georgia, the White House press secretary says. At least five soldiers were shot before a suspect was apprehended, officials say.

Fort Stewart

Five soldiers shot at Fort Stewart in Georgia; suspect apprehended

A Russian official said President Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, had a "useful and constructive" conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday.

Witkoff, Putin had 'useful and constructive conversation'

The U.S. aims to deploy nuclear power reactors on the Moon and Mars, targeting the first launch by decade’s end. A new NASA directive, revealed by Politico and AFP, calls for appointing a nuclear power czar to choose two commercial proposals within six months, aiming to outpace a Chinese-Russian collaboration.

NASA races to put nuclear reactors on Moon and Mars

Japan held a memorial service and ceremony for victims and the remaining survivors of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima, marking its 80th anniversary and renewing pledges of working towards a world without nuclear weapons.

Hiroshima

Hiroshima marks 80th anniversary since U.S. atomic bombing

The U.S. is warning travelers as cases of chikungunya, a mosquito-borne illness, spreads in China. Health officials in China have ordered mass disinfection measures. The region near Hong Kong reported more than 7,000 cases in recent weeks.

Beijing

U.S. warns travelers as cases of chikungunya increase in China

Japan has commemorated the 80th anniversary of the Hiroshima atomic bombing during World War II. Ceremonies at Peace Memorial Park honoured the victims of the 1945 nuclear attack by US forces.

Japan’s Hiroshima marks 80 years since U.S. atomic bombing

Multiple media outlets in Israel have reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants a complete military takeover of Gaza, while almost 600 former Israeli military and security officials are petitioning Washington to stop the fighting.

Netanyahu reportedly wants complete Gaza takeover

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that he had a productive talk with President Trump focused on ending the war with Russia. CBS News national security contributor Samantha Vinograd has more.

Kyiv

Zelenskyy holds 'productive talks' with Trump about war

Family members of two of the victims from the 2023 implosion are demanding tougher regulations following the damning report released on Tuesday. Five people died when the submersible imploded off the coast of Newfoundland.

Deadly Titan submersible disaster was preventable, Coast Guard says

The House Oversight Committee has subpoenaed multiple people over the Jeffrey Epstein files, including former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. CBS News' Jake Rosen has more details.

House committee subpoenas Clintons, others over Epstein files

U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents have been directed through a federal court order to stop deportations under President Trump's asylum ban, sources say. CBS News' Camilo Montoya-Galvez has more details.

Court blocks deportations under Trump's asylum ban, sources say

A man suspected of murdering four family members in Tennessee has been captured after a four-day manhunt, authorities said. CBS News' Nicole Valdes has more.

Jackson

Suspect arrested in murders of 4 Tennessee family members

The ruling comes a month after Brazil’s top court ordered the former president to wear an ankle monitor, submit to a curfew and abide by limitations on his activity as legal proceedings investigating an alleged coup plot continue.

Brazil's Supreme Court orders house arrest of Bolsonaro

The US and Lebanon have been holding talks on a roadmap to fully disarm Hezbollah. Lebanon's new leadership has pledged to extend its authority across all its territory but has so far avoided acting against Hezbollah.

Beirut

Lebanon faces renewed pressure to disarm Hezbollah

CBC News had exclusive access to a Canadian Armed Forces plane that dropped about 10,000 kilograms of humanitarian aid into Gaza, the first time Canada joined the airdrop operations. Several countries airdropped food on Monday, but aid organizations agree they are more symbolic than effective.

Breakdown