General Mills advertising spend, FY2026

General Mills (GIS) reported $874M of advertising expense for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2026. That is 4.7% of revenue of $18.4B. Up 3.1% from FY2025.

Ad spend, FY2026
$874M
year ended May 31, 2026
Change vs prior year
+3.1%
vs FY2025
Share of revenue
4.7%
of $18.4B revenue
Rank by ad spend
#77
of 336 companies

Key facts

  • Ad spend is 1.2x its FY2016 level ($754M).
  • The highest year on file is FY2012 at $914M; FY2026 is 4% below it.
  • Largest increase +24.1% in FY2010; largest cut -17.3% in FY2017.
  • Ad spend has risen 4 years in a row.
  • Ad spend is 4.7% of revenue, up from 4.1% in FY2021.
  • General Mills spends more on advertising than 77% of the 336 US-listed companies tracked. Its ad-to-revenue ratio is close to the median of 5.2%.

Ad spend by fiscal year

$0 $250M $500M $750M $1B FY2009 (ended 2009-05-31): $732M FY2010 (ended 2010-05-30): $909M FY2011 (ended 2011-05-29): $844M 2011 FY2012 (ended 2012-05-27): $914M FY2013 (ended 2013-05-26): $895M FY2014 (ended 2014-05-25): $870M 2014 FY2015 (ended 2015-05-31): $823M FY2016 (ended 2016-05-29): $754M FY2017 (ended 2017-05-28): $624M 2017 FY2018 (ended 2018-05-27): $576M FY2019 (ended 2019-05-26): $602M FY2020 (ended 2020-05-31): $692M 2020 FY2021 (ended 2021-05-30): $736M FY2022 (ended 2022-05-29): $690M FY2023 (ended 2023-05-28): $810M 2023 FY2024 (ended 2024-05-26): $825M FY2025 (ended 2025-05-25): $848M FY2026 (ended 2026-05-31): $874M 2026 $874M

Ad spend as % of revenue

0% 2% 4% 6% FY2009 (ended 2009-05-31): n/a FY2010 (ended 2010-05-30): n/a FY2011 (ended 2011-05-29): n/a 2011 FY2012 (ended 2012-05-27): n/a FY2013 (ended 2013-05-26): n/a FY2014 (ended 2014-05-25): n/a 2014 FY2015 (ended 2015-05-31): n/a FY2016 (ended 2016-05-29): n/a FY2017 (ended 2017-05-28): 4.0% 2017 FY2018 (ended 2018-05-27): 3.7% FY2019 (ended 2019-05-26): 3.6% FY2020 (ended 2020-05-31): 3.9% 2020 FY2021 (ended 2021-05-30): 4.1% FY2022 (ended 2022-05-29): 3.6% FY2023 (ended 2023-05-28): 4.0% 2023 FY2024 (ended 2024-05-26): 4.2% FY2025 (ended 2025-05-25): 4.3% FY2026 (ended 2026-05-31): 4.7% 2026 4.7%

History

Download CSV
Fiscal year Period end Ad spend YoY Revenue Ad / revenue Tag Filing
FY2026 May 31, 2026 $874M +3.1% $18.4B 4.7% MarketingAndAdvertisingExpense 10-K Jul 1, 2026
FY2025 May 25, 2025 $848M +2.8% $19.5B 4.3% MarketingAndAdvertisingExpense 10-K Jul 1, 2026
FY2024 May 26, 2024 $825M +1.8% $19.9B 4.2% MarketingAndAdvertisingExpense 10-K Jul 1, 2026
FY2023 May 28, 2023 $810M +17.4% $20.1B 4.0% MarketingAndAdvertisingExpense 10-K Jun 26, 2025
FY2022 May 29, 2022 $690M -6.3% $19B 3.6% MarketingAndAdvertisingExpense 10-K Jun 26, 2024
FY2021 May 30, 2021 $736M +6.4% $18.1B 4.1% MarketingAndAdvertisingExpense 10-K Jun 28, 2023
FY2020 May 31, 2020 $692M +15.0% $17.6B 3.9% MarketingAndAdvertisingExpense 10-K Jun 30, 2022
FY2019 May 26, 2019 $602M +4.5% $16.9B 3.6% MarketingAndAdvertisingExpense 10-K Jun 30, 2021
FY2018 May 27, 2018 $576M -7.7% $15.7B 3.7% MarketingAndAdvertisingExpense 10-K Jul 2, 2020
FY2017 May 28, 2017 $624M -17.3% $15.6B 4.0% MarketingAndAdvertisingExpense 10-K Jun 28, 2019
FY2016 May 29, 2016 $754M -8.3% n/a n/a MarketingAndAdvertisingExpense 10-K Jun 29, 2018
FY2015 May 31, 2015 $823M -5.3% n/a n/a MarketingAndAdvertisingExpense 10-K Jun 29, 2017
FY2014 May 25, 2014 $870M -2.8% n/a n/a MarketingAndAdvertisingExpense 10-K Jun 30, 2016
FY2013 May 26, 2013 $895M -2.0% n/a n/a MarketingAndAdvertisingExpense 10-K Jul 6, 2015
FY2012 May 27, 2012 $914M +8.3% n/a n/a MarketingAndAdvertisingExpense 10-K Jul 3, 2014
FY2011 May 29, 2011 $844M -7.1% n/a n/a MarketingAndAdvertisingExpense 10-K Jul 3, 2013
FY2010 May 30, 2010 $909M +24.1% n/a n/a MarketingAndAdvertisingExpense 10-K Jul 3, 2012
FY2009 May 31, 2009 $732M n/a n/a n/a MarketingAndAdvertisingExpense 10-K Jul 8, 2011

What the figure is

Marketing and advertising combined, as reported under the XBRL tag MarketingAndAdvertisingExpense.

Compared with similar spenders

The 6 companies closest to General Mills in latest-year ad spend.

Rank Company Ad spend Ad / revenue YoY Fiscal year
75 Fox Corp $895M 5.2% +29.0% FY2026
76 StubHub $892M 51.1% +13.4% FY2025
77 General Mills $874M 4.7% +3.1% FY2026
78 Starbucks $870M 2.3% +45.6% FY2025
79 Constellation Brands $867M 8.9% -6.9% FY2026
80 PayPal $867M 2.6% +51.0% FY2025
81 Best Buy $861M 2.1% +1.8% FY2026

Full ranking of 336 companies · Biggest increases #204

Questions

How much does General Mills spend on advertising?

General Mills spent $874M on advertising in fiscal 2026, the year ended May 31, 2026, according to its 10-K filed Jul 1, 2026.

What percentage of revenue does General Mills spend on advertising?

4.7% of revenue in fiscal 2026 ($874M of $18.4B). The median across the 336 companies tracked is 5.2%.

Is General Mills spending more on advertising?

Yes. Ad spend rose 3.1% in fiscal 2026 from fiscal 2025. It has risen 4 years in a row.

How does General Mills rank by advertising spend?

#77 of 336 US-listed companies with $100M or more in ad spend, ranked on each company's latest fiscal year.

What does General Mills's advertising figure include?

Marketing and advertising combined, as reported under the XBRL tag MarketingAndAdvertisingExpense.

Source

Filing
10-K for FY2026, filed Jul 1, 2026
Accession number
0001628280-26-046466
Company
GENERAL MILLS INC, CIK 40704, SIC 2040 (Grain Mill Products)
Data
SEC EDGAR XBRL company facts, retrieved Nov 4, 2026. Methodology.
Cite
General Mills advertising spend, FY2009-FY2026. Aleksei Trudov, io.trudov.com, from SEC EDGAR XBRL company facts (latest: 10-K filed Jul 1, 2026), retrieved Nov 4, 2026. https://io.trudov.com/company/general-mills/advertising-spend/
Download
CSV, all years · CSV, all 336 companies