CHOCOLATE GIANT BITES ITS OWN OUTLOOK

In a display of corporate optimism only slightly less sweet than a chocolate fountain at a shareholder meeting, Barry Callebaut has gone from preparing for a return to growth three months ago to slashing its profit forecast now, blaming falling cocoa prices, overcapacity, volume declines and the ever-helpful possibility of supply disruption from the Iran war. The world’s largest chocolate maker insists it still has an “unparalleled market position,” which is a comforting phrase that generally means “please ignore the part where earnings are expected to fall by mid-teens percentage.” CEO Hein Schumacher framed the whole thing as a turbulent but opportunity-rich moment, which is exactly the kind of carefully polished language that lets a company announce a downgrade while sounding like it has merely misplaced its umbrella in a storm of its own making.