General Mills is forgoing profit growth to boost promotions and other short-term price cuts over the next six months in an effort to revive customer loyalty for the long haul.

The Golden Valley-based maker of Bisquick and Bugles is responding to consumer pressure over persistently high food prices, especially among national brands. After years of pandemic-era price hikes to offset higher costs and maintain profit margins, General Mills is now forced to give some ground on profits to sell more food.

"We've stepped up our investment to bring greater value to consumers, which results in a lower outlook on operating profit," CEO Jeff Harmening said in prepared remarks Wednesday. "Amidst a dynamic and uncertain macroeconomic backdrop for consumers, we believe this is the right choice to further strengthen the remarkability of our offerings, which will better position General Mills for sustainable growth in fiscal '26 and beyond."

Investors, rarely kind to diminished outlooks no matter the intention, responded by bringing the company's stock down 4% in pre-market trading Wednesday morning.

General Mills expects operating profits to drop 2% to 4% for the fiscal year that ends in May, down from a forecast range of down 2% to flat.

For the second fiscal quarter that ended in November, the company easily beat Wall Street expectations with a $795 million profit, or $1.42 per share. Analysts were looking for $1.22 a share.

Profits rose 34% while sales climbed 2% to $5.2 billion.

This story will be updated.