Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.04 EPS

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.04), FiscalAI reports. Lifeway Foods had a net margin of 4.48% and a return on equity of 12.66%. The firm had revenue of $67.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $66.45 million.

Here are the key takeaways from Lifeway Foods’ conference call:

• Record sales extended Lifeway’s growth streak. Third-quarter net sales reached a company-high $67.8 million, up nearly 19% year over year; nine-month sales rose 25.8%, marking 28 consecutive quarters of year-over-year growth.
• Capacity limits are constraining sales, but a major expansion is expected to ease them. Lifeway said it is allocating supply amid strong demand, while the Waukesha facility is expected to begin scaling up in early 2027 and ultimately more than double capacity; management expects increased capacity to support new distribution and product offerings.
• Higher costs sharply pressured profitability. Gross margin was 18%, and net income fell to $0.3 million from $3.5 million a year earlier; management expects milk, packaging, ingredient, and transportation costs to remain elevated in Q4.
• Management is counting on pricing and operational improvements to restore margins. Price increases are rolling out from late 2026 into Q1 2027, and Lifeway expects margin expansion next year, with a potential return to its historical 25%+ gross margin; the timing depends partly on costs outside its control.

Lifeway Foods Stock Down 7.2%

Lifeway Foods stock traded down $1.62 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $20.89. 314,870 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 93,761. The company has a market cap of $315.65 million, a PE ratio of 32.16 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $22.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.52. Lifeway Foods has a fifty-two week low of $17.31 and a fifty-two week high of $32.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.47.

Insider Transactions at Lifeway Foods

In related news, major shareholder Divisadero Street Capital Mana acquired 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $20.80 per share, with a total value of $1,040,000.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 2,451,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,997,273.60. The trade was a 2.08% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Edward Smolyansky sold 70,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.62, for a total value of $1,583,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 794,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,978,217.66. This represents a 8.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 156,636 shares of company stock valued at $3,481,060 and have sold 175,000 shares valued at $4,171,350. Corporate insiders own 18.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on LWAY shares. BTIG Research set a $30.00 price objective on Lifeway Foods and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Lifeway Foods in a research report on Wednesday. Freedom Capital upgraded Lifeway Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Lifeway Foods from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.33.

Lifeway Foods Company Profile

Lifeway Foods, Inc. is a U.S. food company specializing in cultured and probiotic dairy products. Its offerings include drinkable kefir, a fermented milk beverage, as well as cultured dairy products such as farmer cheese, sour cream and probiotic shots. Founded in 1986, the company has built its business around kefir and related products, which it sells under the Lifeway brand. Its products are distributed across the United States and are also available in select international markets. Julie Smolyansky has served as Lifeway Foods’ president and chief executive officer since 2002, following the death of her father, co-founder Michael Smolyansky.