Kraft Heinz's latest tumble begs question what is value of its brands
For Kraft Heinz investors, their main worry can be summed up in one sentence uttered by its CEO on Thursday.

"There's going to be continued risk of future impairments," Miguel Patricio told analysts during the company's quarterly earnings call Thursday.

Ahead of the call, Kraft Heinz announced its net income in the first half of the year was half the size it was in the same period a year ago. Profits were weighed down by another round of impairment charges — $1.2 billion to write down the value of business units and brands like Velveeta and Cool Whip. Before Patricio joined Kraft Heinz in April, the company had written down the value of its two of its biggest brands, Kraft and Oscar Mayer, by $15 billion.

But the warning that more could be ahead, sent Kraft Heinz's already beaten up stock to its lowest levels yet, an all-time low of $26.05.

Patricio, a former chief marketing officer at Anheuser-Busch InBev , brought the promise that his brand-building skills would revive growth. But he admitted on Thursday he didn't have enough clarity yet to provide financial guidance.

"We have a big agenda to build ... But I think that working on targets will not help. But second since I've been here just for 40 days, I wouldn't feel comfortable about [giving] a guidance that I still do not have the necessary confidence about that number."

The refusal to provide a forecast frustrated analysts who had gone six months without a quarterly filing, and hoped they would finally have insight into how the company expects to regain its footing. Kraft Heinz's shares have fallen nearly 30% year-to-date, as sales have stalled and profit has crumbled. Its filings have been delayed amid a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into its accounting and procurement practices.

The aversion to targets, meantime, surprised some industry insiders, who remarked that the company's backers, 3G Capital, developed a reputation for intense focus on numbers and a target-based compensation system that helps it achieve its aggressive goals.

Now, without any guidance, investors and analysts alike are left wondering what the true value of Kraft Heinz's brands are, and how much farther those values might fall.