Branded food giant General Mills (NYSE: GIS) saw its stock price drop more than 4% on Dec. 21 when it reported an earnings miss in its fiscal 2022 second quarter (Q2). General Mills, in short, is avoiding full-bore price increases because it is seeking to remain competitive -- and hoping that inflation problems will ease and supply-chain improvements will bring down costs. At his Dec. 15 press conference, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said, "We continue to expect inflation to decline to levels closer to our 2 percent longer-run goal by the end of next year."