Lifeway Foods Inc
🔔 Watch stock
Assessment
Our Rating
A journalistic assessment by our editorial team at the time of the deep dive — it rates the company, not the entry point. Not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell.
The business works in principle, but one material question is open. As long as it stays open, our findings do not carry a quality verdict.
Why this colour
The business fundamentally works: demand is real, the brand leads its category, the balance sheet carries the company, and there is no evidence of a threat to its substance. What is open is one material operating question — does gross margin return to its earlier level after the drop to 19.5 percent, or was that earlier level the exception? Until that is settled, what stands here is a company that has added a third to its revenue since 2023 and earns less on it, that funds its plant expansion with debt, and whose takeover and ownership fight has cost 10.7 million dollars in legal and professional fees over two years. Anyone waiting should check three lines in the next filing: the gross margin, the remaining headroom on the credit facility and the Waukesha cost estimate. The decision is yours.
What the thesis turns on
Assessment: Opportunities & Risks
Lifeway Foods demonstrably sells more kefir every year — 27 consecutive quarters, four record years in a row. What that turns into as profit is the open question: operating income in 2025 was below 2023, gross margin collapsed to 19.5 percent in the second quarter of 2026, and the Waukesha expansion is being funded with bank debt while the revolving facility is 88 percent drawn. On top of that sits an ownership structure in which the chief executive's brother and mother together hold more shares than she does, and in which the strategic anchor shareholder exited in May 2026 at a clear discount to its own earlier bid. The decisive numbers in the next filings are the gross margin, the remaining headroom on the credit facility and the Waukesha cost estimate. Not investment advice.
Demand & market position
27 consecutive quarters of year-over-year net sales growth and four record years in a row (141.6 million dollars in 2022 to 212.5 million in 2025), described by the company as consistently volume-led. Lifeway describes itself in its annual report as the largest kefir producer in the United States and makes 95 percent of its net sales in its own plants.
Earning power
Operating income was 16.2 million dollars in 2025, below the 17.0 million of 2023 — on a third more revenue. The operating margin fell from 10.6 to 7.5 percent. In the second quarter of 2026, 66.9 million dollars of net sales left 0.1 million of net income.
Margin & raw-material exposure
Gross margin fell from 28.6 to 19.5 percent in the second quarter of 2026; the company names milk prices as the main cause. The same factor was cited on the three preceding calls as the reason for margin improvements — the margin follows the commodity more closely than it follows execution.
Cash position & cash flow
In the first half of 2026, 4.0 million dollars of operating cash flow met 19.5 million of capital spending; cash fell to 7.1 million and 22.0 million of the 25.0 million revolving facility was drawn. An equipment financing facility of up to 22.0 million stands ready; the bank covenants were met at 2026-06-30.
Balance-sheet substance
Equity of 84.6 million dollars on total assets of 132.4 million (2026-06-30), no going-concern language, no impairment of the 11.7 million goodwill balance, and interest cover of roughly 24 times in the first half of 2026.
Ownership & governance
The chief executive's brother and mother together hold 24.90 percent against her 17.52 percent (2026-04-30); a campaign against the board by her brother in 2025, roughly a quarter of votes against the board at the 2026 annual meeting, 10.7 million dollars of legal and advisory fees over two years, and strategic holder Danone exited at 19.50 dollars per share in May 2026.
Concentration
85 percent of 2025 net sales came from drinkable kefir and 24 percent from two retail customers (first half of 2026: 25 percent). In U.S. food retail that is neither unusual nor existential, but it limits the ability to pass higher input costs on.
Worth Noting
The source base is the Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 2026-06-30 (filed 2026-08-13), the Forms 10-K for 2023 through 2025, the Forms 8-K dated 2026-06-03, 2026-06-05, 2026-06-18, 2026-07-07 and 2026-08-13, the prospectus supplement 424B7 dated 2026-05-14 and the proxy statement DEF 14A dated 2026-04-30.
The 2025 net income of 13.9 million dollars includes a one-off gain of 3.4 million dollars on the sale of the Simple Mills investment; the reported 54 percent increase over 2024 is considerably smaller without that item.
Only the prepared remarks are available for the three earnings presentations analysed (2025-11-12, 2026-03-17, 2026-05-14); none of the transcripts contains a question-and-answer section. No transcript was available for the second quarter of 2026 at the time of writing.
The ownership figures come from two dates: the annual report gives rounded values as of 2025-12-31 (roughly 18, 20, 6, 23 and 9 percent), the proxy statement exact values as of 2026-04-30. Danone sold its entire block on 2026-05-14.
Analyst coverage is very thin; a price target from that source would not be a meaningful sample and is therefore not used as an anchor.
Stock Watch
This analysis is as of August 29, 2026. Stock Watch will tell you what's changed at LWAY since then.
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Price history
Chart
Interactive price chart (TradingView).
52-week range: 17.80 $ to 33.80 $ · Last price: 23.80 $ (As of: September 17, 2026)
Key figures
Key figures at a glance
Every figure we hold for this stock, grouped by topic. The question mark next to a label explains what the number means.
Basics
Performance
Technical Indicators
Calculated from the price history · as of 09/18/2026
Valuation
Profitability
Balance Sheet & Safety
Growth
Dividend
This stock currently pays no dividend.
Quality & Screener
Highlighted are things our editorial team noticed: green = stands out as strong, red = deserves a closer look. No single metric is a verdict on its own — always read it in context.
Comparison
Industry comparison
The stock alongside the largest companies in the same group. The median row is the middle value of the companies shown above — not of the whole industry.
Industry: Packaged Foods
| Company | Market cap ($B) | P/E | EV/EBITDA | Gross Margin % | EBIT Margin % | Sales Growth (Year) % | Perf. 1Y % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lifeway Foods Inc LWAY | 0.4 | – | 19.2 | 27.2 | – | 13.7 | -29.7 |
| JBS N.V. JBS | 39.9 | 11.7 | 6.2 | 11.8 | 2.5 | 13.0 | -16.1 |
| Kraft Heinz Co KHC | 29.1 | – | 13.1 | 33.5 | 20.7 | -3.5 | 2.7 |
| General Mills Inc GIS | 19.9 | 9.2 | 21.6 | 33.7 | 19.2 | -1.9 | -20.8 |
| McCormick & Company Incorporated MKC-V | 13.8 | 8.6 | 13.4 | 38.9 | 17.4 | 1.7 | -18.7 |
| McCormick & Company Incorporated MKC | 13.5 | 8.9 | 13.1 | 38.9 | 17.4 | 1.7 | -23.2 |
| The J. M. Smucker Company SJM | 12.8 | – | 14.8 | 38.0 | 18.5 | 3.7 | 22.5 |
| Hormel Foods Corporation HRL | 11.6 | 28.1 | 15.5 | 15.7 | 11.1 | 1.6 | -12.2 |
| Darling Ingredients Inc DAR | 10.7 | 48.5 | 9.6 | 26.3 | 8.1 | 7.4 | 100.8 |
| Median of companies shown | 13.5 | 10.4 | 13.4 | 33.5 | 17.4 | 1.7 | -16.1 |
Based on the most recently reported figures. Only stocks from the same trading venue are lined up, so the market caps are counted in one currency. Compare in a chart →
Fiscal years
Annual Figures
Fiscal years from the audited annual reports, oldest first. EBIT is the operating profit before interest and taxes; total assets are everything the company owns.
Revenue, operating income and net income per fiscal year $M
Revenue Operating income Net income
| Fiscal Year | Revenue ($M) | EBIT ($M) | Net Income ($M) | EPS ($) | Operating Cash Flow ($M) | Equity ($M) | Total Assets ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 124 | 6 | 3 | 0.22 | 5 | 48 | 66 |
| 2017 | 119 | -1 | 0 | -0.02 | 4 | 47 | 65 |
| 2018 | 103 | -3 | -3 | -0.19 | 2 | 42 | 57 |
| 2019 | 94 | -2 | 0 | 0.03 | 4 | 43 | 59 |
| 2020 | 102 | 5 | 3 | 0.21 | 6 | 47 | 62 |
| 2021 | 119 | 6 | 3 | 0.21 | 6 | 49 | 71 |
| 2022 | 142 | 2 | 1 | 0.06 | 4 | 48 | 69 |
| 2023 | 160 | 17 | 11 | 0.75 | 17 | 60 | 83 |
| 2024 | 187 | 14 | 9 | 0.59 | 13 | 72 | 91 |
| 2025 | 213 | 16 | 14 | 0.89 | 11 | 86 | 106 |
Quarters
Quarterly Figures
Each bar is one quarter, the last one is the most recent. Use the switch to step through the individual figures.
Revenue & Profit
Cash Flow
Balance Sheet
Margins
Per Share
Click the chart or tab into it, then use ← and → to step through the periods.
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· Total · per year
These companies report in different currencies — switch on “Indexed” or pick a margin for a fair comparison.
The figures could not be loaded right now.
Source: fundamental data
| Quarter | EPS (Earnings Per Share) | EPS YoY (%) | Sales ($M) | Sales YoY (%) | Net Margin (%) | OCF ($M) | FCF ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024: Q4 | -0.01 | -104.00 | 47 | 11.50 | -0.30 | -3 | -4 |
| 2025: Q1 | 0.23 | 45.90 | 46 | 3.30 | 7.70 | 0 | -2 |
| 2025: Q2 | 0.28 | 12.30 | 54 | 9.70 | 7.90 | 4 | 2 |
| 2025: Q3 | 0.23 | 18.60 | 57 | 24.00 | 6.20 | 7 | 2 |
| 2025: Q4 | 0.17 | – | 55 | 18.00 | 4.60 | 0 | -17 |
| 2026: Q1 | 0.31 | 32.00 | 63 | 36.70 | 7.40 | 4 | -7 |
| 2026: Q2 | 0.01 | -96.40 | 67 | 24.10 | 0.10 | 0 | -9 |
What Do These Terms Mean?
- EPS (Earnings Per Share):
- Quarterly profit divided by the total share count — how much of the profit works out to a single share.
- YoY (Year over Year):
- Change versus the same quarter a year ago — this is how you compare without seasonal distortion (e.g. the holiday shopping season).
- Sales:
- All revenue for the quarter, before any costs are deducted — the top line of the income statement.
- Net Margin:
- What percentage of sales is left over as profit in the end. Negative means the company is posting a loss.
- OCF (Operating Cash Flow):
- The cash that actually flows into the till from the core business during the quarter — harder to dress up than book profit.
- FCF (Free Cash Flow):
- Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures — the money that's genuinely free to use, say for paying down debt, buybacks, or dividends.
Screening
Appears in These Scanners
This stock currently matches 10 of our scanner strategies — each hit links to the scanner.
Backtested Scanners
Growth
Quality & Balance Sheet
Breakout & Setup
Momentum & Trend
Research
Only genuine hits from verified scanners count; pure ranking metrics (P/E, P/S, and similar, which just sort the whole universe) don't count as a hit. View all scanners
Outlook
Analysts & Price Target
Combined picture of the price targets and recommendations of every analyst covering the stock. Price targets are expectations for the next 12 months, not promises — and they often follow the price rather than predict it.
Distribution of Recommendations
Estimates by Fiscal Year
| Fiscal Year | EPS Estimate ($) | EPS Range ($) | Revenue Estimate ($M) | Expected Growth | Analysts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/31/2026 | 0.50 | 0.50 – 0.50 | 263 | – | 1 |
| 12/31/2027 | 1.35 | 1.35 – 1.35 | 298 | 170.0% | 1 |
Average of the analyst estimates for the coming fiscal years. The range shows how far the most optimistic and the most cautious estimate sit apart — the wider it is, the less certain the expectation.
Valuation
What is priced in?
Free cash flow over the past twelve months is negative, which rules out a serious reverse calculation. Any growth rate only makes a negative cash flow more negative; no present value comes out of it. What the price reflects here is therefore not a stream of cash flows, but the expectation that there will be one at all.
A simplified model calculation — not a forecast and not a recommendation.
AI classification
AI Rating
Lifeway Foods stellt Kefir und Frischkäse her; in den ausgewerteten Filings gibt es keine KI-Umsatzquelle und keinen belegten operativen KI-Einsatz. Der einzige KI-Bezug ist ein allgemein gehaltener Risikohinweis im Geschäftsbericht 2025 ohne konkreten Bezug zum eigenen Geschäftsmodell.
View the full file — quotes, sources, reviewed filings
Filings Reviewed: 10-Q 2026-08-13 · 10-Q 2026-05-14 · 10-Q 2025-11-12 · 10-Q 2025-08-12 · 10-K 2026-03-17 · 10-K 2025-03-14
Rated on August 29, 2026 · How the Rating Is Built
Growth
Growth Score
Ten checks against the annual reports — each one passed counts a point.
- Revenue grows by more than 15% a year over three years 14.5%
- More than 10% revenue growth is expected for the coming year 13.3%
- Share count grows by less than 3% a year -0.4%
- Revenue growth plus cash-flow margin add up to at least 40 ("Rule of 40") 6.0%
- Gross margin at 40% or higher and without meaningful erosion 27.4%
- Goodwill from acquisitions does not grow faster than revenue 11.1%
- Net debt below twice EBITDA 5 m net cash
- Operating cash flow covers the profits of the last three years 7 m
- Return on capital at 15% or higher, or up versus two years ago 18.2%
- Insiders hold at least 10% or are net buyers 39.4%
A criterion without figures counts neither as passed nor as failed; a score is only produced from 7 judgeable criteria upwards. Source: fundamental data. All ten criteria in detail
Quality check
AAQS
8/10The AAQS (AlleAktien Quality Score) checks 10 quality criteria on growth, profitability, and balance-sheet strength — per the methodology developed and published by AlleAktien, calculated by us from our own fundamental data. A stock counts as a quality stock from 9 out of 10 points. Where a company has a shorter listing history, we calculate over the fiscal years available (at least five).
- Sales growth 10Y > 5% 6.2%
- Exp. sales growth 3Y > 5% 18.5%
- EBIT growth 10Y > 5% 11.5%
- Exp. EBIT growth 3Y > 5% 23.0%
- Net debt < 4x EBIT -0.3x
- EBIT positive, 10Y straight 7
- Max. EBIT decline < 50% 100.0%
- Return on equity > 15% 20.3%
- ROCE > 15% 18.2%
- Expected return > 10% 17.6%
View stocks with the full AAQS score · Read the methodology at AlleAktien
Source: fundamental data
Insiders
Insider Transactions
Reportable transactions by officers and major shareholders from SEC Form 4 filings. "Other" includes things like stock grants and option exercises without a buy/sell character.
| Date | Person | Role | Type | Shares | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 31, 2026 | McWhorter Dorri | Director | Other | 1,550 | 0.00 | – |
| Aug 19, 2026 | Smolyansky Julie | CEO, President and Secretary | Buy | 2,000 | 25.26 | 50,520 |
| Aug 17, 2026 | Divisadero Street Capital Management, LP | 10% Owner | Buy | 35,952 | 24.78 | 890,923 |
| Aug 14, 2026 | Divisadero Street Capital Management, LP | 10% Owner | Buy | 15,000 | 24.69 | 370,352 |
| Aug 14, 2026 | Smolyansky Edward | 10% Owner | Sell | 31 | 26.50 | 822 |
| Aug 14, 2026 | Smolyansky Edward | 10% Owner | Sell | 45,038 | 25.82 | 1,162,881 |
| Aug 14, 2026 | Smolyansky Edward | 10% Owner | Sell | 29,931 | 24.89 | 744,983 |
| Aug 13, 2026 | Divisadero Street Capital Management, LP | 10% Owner | Buy | 195,616 | 24.87 | 4,865,537 |
| Aug 12, 2026 | Smolyansky Edward | 10% Owner | Sell | 35,000 | 28.74 | 1,005,900 |
| Jul 22, 2026 | Smolyansky Ludmila | Member of 10% owner group | Sell | 40,000 | 29.46 | 1,178,400 |
The company
About the Company
Lifeway Foods, Inc. produziert und vermarktet probiotikabasierte Produkte in Nordamerika.
- Employees
- 293
- Headquarters
- Morton Grove, IL
- Address
- 6431 West Oakton Street, 60053 Morton Grove, United States
- Phone
- 847 967 1010
- Website
- lifewaykefir.com
- IPO Date
- 09/29/1987
- ISIN
- US5319141090
- Stock Split
- 2:1 on 08/16/2006
- Stock Split
- 2:1 on 03/09/2004
Management
| Name | Title | Birth Year |
|---|---|---|
| Julie Smolyansky | Chairperson of the Board, CEO, President & Secretary | 1975 |
| Eric A. Hanson | CFO, Chief Accounting Officer & Treasurer | 1975 |
Executives per the latest required filings; titles kept in their original language. Source: fundamental data.
Filings
Company Filings (8-K)
An 8-K is the filing a US company must use to disclose material events immediately — takeovers, changes at the top, major contracts or payment troubles, for instance. The links open the original document at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
- 08/13/2026 Lifeway Foods, Inc. (LWAY): Results of Operations and Financial Condition; Financial Statements and Exhibits SEC ↗
- 07/07/2026 Lifeway Foods, Inc. (LWAY): Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement; Creation of a Direct Financial Obligation or an Obligation under an Off-Balance Sheet Arrangement of a Registrant; Financial Statements and Exhibits SEC ↗
Data as of: September 17, 2026 · Source: fundamental data & SEC filings (annual and quarterly reports, 10-K/10-Q)
Note: pure fact-based analysis, not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell. All figures without guarantee.