Tyson
Public Statements Risk
Tyson has its fair share of controversies and angry consumers due to its treatment of animals. In September 2023, Senator Josh Hawley (R) called out Tyson for their unsafe and illegal child labor practices. Executives also turned down a proposal for more sustainable packaging. In response to animal rights groups, Tyson has altered their social media posts to include animal welfare content. They've also posted for Pride Month, indicating an attempt to improve the brand's standing with the left. Lastly, it's been alleged that the company used migrant child labor, which generated press coverage.
Political Contributions Risk
Tyson contributes with a large Republican skew with half of its donations coming from senior executives, but its partisanship is consistent with the sector. Donation magnitude is very high, but when benchmarked to the Consumer Staples sector, it is consistent with industry competitors like Kraft Heinz and JM Smucker. That said, all are among the highest contributors in both sector and industry.
Political Dichotomy Risk
Tyson products are found throughout the United States and tend to be the more cost efficient option for a lot of consumers, which results in a wide variety of consumers who are distrubuted across the political spectrum. While Tyson tends not to release any politically polarized marketing campaigns, they do mention in their 10K the risk of 'Consumer Trends and Perception'. This risk recognizes the impact of changing consumer trends and preferences within the food industry. Tyson works with a lot of animal products, so a changing consumer perception could result in more strict regulations around their treatment of animals. This increases political dichotomy risk. Unless consumers are tired of the bad press or immune to thinking worse of the company, it has the greatest risk in its sector.
Associational Risk
There are several risky figures tied to the company. Governor Sarah Sanders of Arkansas has appointed Tyson's Mike Rogers as the Chief Workforce Officer for her Workforce Cabinet. Sanders has recently been involved in controversy due to her office's suspicious spending. Additionally, the company is associated with former President Trump, who signed an executive order regarding the meatpacking industry which was drafted by Tyson. Further, the company's CFO, John R. Tyson, was arrested in 2022 for sleeping in a stranger's bed while intoxicated. He later pled guilty. Tyson also contributes to notable figures Lindsey Graham and Joe Biden, which raises their risk slightly.
Brand Visibility Risk
As a company with a very tarnished brand and reputation, most of their products are not very visibly branded, and they are often a business to business seller. As such, they are somewhat insulated from controversy, despite their negative reputation.
