International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. IFF reported adjusted earnings of $1.54 per share in second-quarter 2022, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.42. The bottom line increased 2.7% from the year-ago quarter’s levels.Including one-time items, the company reported earnings per share (EPS) of 43 cents compared with the prior-year quarter’s 11 cents.International Flavors’ net sales came in at $3,307 million in the June-end quarter, up 7% year over year. The top line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3,256 million. During the April-June quarter, currency-neutral sales were up 11%, aided by double-digit growth in Nourish and Pharma Solutions.Operational HighlightsDuring the reported quarter, International Flavors’ adjusted cost of goods sold was up 9% year over year to $2,170 million. Adjusted gross profit moved up 3% year over year to $1,137 million. Adjusted gross margin came in at 34% compared with 36% in the year-ago quarter.Research and development expenses declined 4% year over year to $158 million. Adjusted selling and administrative expenses were up 3% year on year to $396 million during the second quarter. Adjusted operating EBITDA came in at $700 million, up 3% from the prior-year quarter’s $679 million. Adjusted operating EBITDA margin was 21% compared with the year-ago quarter’s 22%.International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. Quote Segmental PerformancesRevenues in the Nourish segment climbed 9% year over year to $1,818 million during the June-end quarter. Adjusted operating EBITDA was $365 million, up 13% year over year.Revenues generated in the Health & Bioscience segment came in at $665 million compared with the year-earlier quarter’s $639 million. Adjusted operating EBITDA was $184 million in the quarter compared with $190 million in the prior-year quarter.Scent segment’s revenues came in at $580 million compared with the year-ago quarter’s $5509 million. Adjusted operating EBITDA declined 21% year over year to $93 million.Revenues in Pharma Solutions were $244 million in the second quarter, up 5% year over year. Adjusted operating EBITDA increased 21% year over year to $58 million.Financial PositionInternational Flavors had cash and cash equivalents of $573 million at the end of the second quarter, down from the $715 million witnessed at the end of 2021. Long-term debt was $10.4 billion at the second quarter’s end compared with $10.8 billion at the 2021-end.International Flavors utilized $100 million cash in operating activities in the first half of 2022 against cash generation of $698 million in the prior-year period. Capital invested in purchasing property, plant and equipment totaled $236 million in the quarter compared with $165 million in the year-ago quarter. Dividends paid summed at $402 million in the second quarter.2022 GuidanceInternational Flavors reaffirms current year guidance. It continues to expect sales to be around $12.6 billion to $13 billion in 2022. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between $2.5 billion and $2.6 billion. The adjusted EBITDA margin is projected to grow 4-8% on a currency-neutral basis. Currency-neutral sales growth for the year is expected to be around 9% to 12%.However, foreign currency translation will likely affect sales growth by 5 percentage points (PP) and adjusted operating EBITDA growth by 6 PP.Price PerformanceIn the past year, International Flavors’ shares have lost 18.4% compared with the industry’s decline of 32%.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchZacks Rank & Key PicksInternational Flavors currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).Some better-ranked stocks in the Consumer Staples sector include The Chef's Warehouse CHEF, United Natural Foods UNFI and General Mills, Inc. GIS. While CHEF sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), UNFI & GIS carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Chef's Warehouse has an estimated earnings growth rate of 2,820% for the current year. In the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has been revised upward by 74%.Chef's Warehouse pulled off a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 355.8%, on average. CHEF’s shares have risen 14.7% in the past year.United Natural Foods pulled off a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 29.9%, on average. UNFI’s shares have risen 30.9% in the past year.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for United Natural Foods’ current financial year sales suggests 7.6% growth from the year-ago period’s reported figures.General Mills has an estimated earnings growth rate of 1.52% for fiscal 2023. In the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2023 earnings has been revised upward by 9%.General Mills pulled off a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 6.5%, on average. GIS’s shares have risen 30.6% in the past year. Want to Know the #1 Semiconductor Stock for 2022? Few people know how promising the semiconductor market is. Over the last couple of years, disruptions to the supply chain have caused shortages in several industries. The absence of one single semiconductor can stop all operations in certain industries. This year, companies that create and produce this essential material will have incredible pricing power. For a limited time, Zacks is revealing the top semiconductor stock for 2022. You'll find it in our new Special Report, One Semiconductor Stock Stands to Gain the Most. Today, it's yours free with no obligation.>>Give me access to my free special report.Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report General Mills, Inc. (GIS): Free Stock Analysis Report International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (IFF): Free Stock Analysis Report United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI): Free Stock Analysis Report The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. (CHEF): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research