Lifeway Foods Inc LWAY

Consumer StaplesFood & TobaccoUnited States of America

Last close 22.27 USD on Nov 2, 2026, −8.1% year to date

Quant rating

Quant rating C Rank 57 of 124 in Consumer Staples

Growth A 2 of 124
Valuation D 90 of 124
Quality B 46 of 124
Revisions C 56 of 124
Momentum C 84 of 124

Wall Street consensus Buy (1.67)Average target 33.00 USD +48.1%

Historical valuation

Multiples use consensus estimates for the next twelve months. The dashed line is the 5-year average.

Key data

Market cap: 337M
Enterprise value: 351M
52-week range: 17.31 – 32.66
3-year range: 9.38 – 33.82
Dividend yield: –
Beta (5 years): 0.52
Shares outstanding: 15.1M
Next earnings: Nov 12, 2026

About the company

Lifeway Foods, Inc. is a supplier of the probiotic, fermented beverage known as Kefir. In addition to its line of drinkable Kefir, the Company also produces a variety of cheeses and a ProBugs line for kids. Its primary product is drinkable kefir, a cultured dairy product. Lifeway kefir is tart and tangy, high in protein, calcium and vitamin D. It manufactures products under the Lifeway, Fresh Made and GlenOaks Farms brand names, as well as under private labels on behalf of certain customers. Its product categories are Drinkable kefir; European-style soft cheeses, including farmer cheese, white cheese, and Sweet Kiss; Cream and others, which consist primarily of cream, a byproduct of making its kefir; Drinkable yogurt, sold in a variety of sizes and flavors; ProBugs, a line of kefir products designed for children, and Other dairy, which consists primarily of Fresh Made butter and sour cream.

Growth and profitability fiscal year ends December 31

Growth and profitability by fiscal year
	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	5Y avg
Revenue (mil)	212	187	160	142	119	–
Revenue growth	13.7%	16.7%	13.1%	18.9%	16.7%	15.8%
EPS (basic, normalized)	0.89	0.60	0.75	0.06	–	–
EPS growth	48.3%	−20.0%	1,150.0%	–	–	–
Gross margin	27.4%	26.0%	26.5%	18.9%	24.1%	24.6%
Net margin	6.5%	4.8%	7.1%	0.7%	2.9%	4.4%
ROE	17.6%	13.6%	21.0%	1.9%	7.3%	12.3%

Balance sheet, last quarter
Cash & short-term investments (mil)	7.1
Current ratio	2.09x
Long-term debt (mil)	21.9
Net debt (mil)	14.9
Total equity (mil)	84.6
Net debt / equity	0.18x
Net debt / EBITDA	0.74x

Estimates and valuation

Consensus estimates and implied multiples
	Sales (mil)			EBITDA (mil)			EPS
Fiscal year	Mean est.	Growth	EV/Sales	Mean est.	Growth	EV/EBITDA	Mean est.	Growth	P/E
2025 actual	212	+13.7%	1.7x	20.2	−3.9%	17.4x	0.89	+48.3%	25.0x
2026	263	+23.6%	1.3x	18.9	−6.0%	18.5x	0.52	−41.6%	42.8x
2027	298	+13.6%	1.2x	36.6	+93.0%	9.6x	1.28	+145.5%	17.4x
2028	332	+11.2%	1.1x	42.4	+16.0%	8.3x	1.49	+16.7%	14.9x

Estimate revisions

Change in consensus estimates over 1, 3 and 6 months
	Sales				EPS
Fiscal year	Estimate (mil)	1M	3M	6M	Estimate	1M	3M	6M
2026	263	0.0%	+4.3%	+4.6%	0.52	0.0%	−53.2%	−53.6%
2027	298	0.0%	+4.8%	+5.2%	1.28	0.0%	−4.0%	−17.4%
2028	332	0.0%	+7.0%	+7.0%	1.49	0.0%	−8.0%	−13.9%

Earnings surprises

Reported results versus consensus, last 10 fiscal quarters
Quarter ended	Mar 2024	Jun 2024	Sep 2024	Dec 2024	Mar 2025	Jun 2025	Sep 2025	Dec 2025	Mar 2026	Jun 2026
Sales reported (mil)	44.6	49.2	46.1	46.9	46.1	53.9	57.1	55.4	63.0	66.9
Sales mean (mil)	42.2	45.5	49.8	48.0	48.5	53.0	55.0	55.0	60.8	61.4
Surprise	+5.6%	+8.0%	−7.3%	−2.2%	−5.0%	+1.7%	+3.9%	+0.7%	+3.6%	+8.9%
EPS reported	0.16	0.25	0.19	−0.01	0.01	0.28	0.23	0.16	0.30	0.01
EPS mean	0.24	0.20	0.27	0.21	0.19	0.18	0.28	0.28	0.30	0.27
Surprise	−33.3%	+25.0%	−29.6%	−104.8%	−94.7%	+55.6%	−17.9%	−43.9%	0.0%	−96.2%

Peer comparison Food & Tobacco

Peers in the same industry group, by market capitalization
Company	Market cap	Net debt/EBITDA	Net margin	P/B	FY1 P/E	FY2 P/E	FY1 EV/EBITDA	FY2 EV/EBITDA
LWAY Lifeway Foods Inc	337M	0.74x	6.5%	3.98x	42.8x	17.4x	18.5x	9.6x
UCFI CN Healthy Food Tech Group Corp	288M	–	30.3%	–	–	–	–	–
Mean		0.74x	18.4%	3.98x	42.8x	17.4x	18.5x	9.6x
Median		0.74x	18.4%	3.98x	42.8x	17.4x	18.5x	9.6x

Technical analysis

1M+5.0%
3M−25.2%
1Y−7.1%
3Y+111.3%

Financial statements in millions of USD

Income statement in millions of USD, fiscal years

Income statement, Lifeway Foods Inc, fiscal years, most recent first
	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020
Total revenue	212	187	160	142	119	102
Cost of revenue	154	138	118	115	90.4	75.1
Gross profit	58.2	48.6	42.4	26.8	28.7	26.9
Selling, general & administrative expenses	41.5	34.2	24.9	23.9	22.6	21.9
Research & development	–	–	–	–	–	–
Depreciation/amortization	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.1	0.2
Interest expense (income), operating	–	–	–	–	–	–
Unusual expense (income)	–	–	–	–	0.1	–
Other operating expenses	0	0	0	0	0	0
Operating income	16.2	13.9	17.0	2.3	5.9	4.9
Net interest income (expense)	3.2	−0.1	−0.4	−0.3	−0.1	−0.1
Gain (loss) on sale of assets	0	0	0	−0.2	−0.1	0
Other non-operating income (expense)	0.3	0.2	0	0	−0.1	0
Net income before taxes	19.7	14.0	16.6	1.8	5.6	4.8
Provision for taxes	5.8	4.9	5.3	0.9	2.1	1.8
Minority interest	–	–	–	–	–	–
Equity in affiliates	–	–	–	–	–	–
U.S. GAAP adjustment	–	–	–	–	–	–
Net income before extraordinary items	13.9	9.0	11.4	0.9	3.5	3.0
Extraordinary items	–	–	–	–	−0.2	0.2
Net income	13.9	9.0	11.4	0.9	3.3	3.2
EBIT, normalized	16.2	13.9	17.0	2.3	6.0	4.9
EBITDA, normalized	20.2	17.2	20.2	5.3	8.8	8.2
Basic EPS, normalized	0.89	0.60	0.75	0.06	–	–

Balance sheet in millions of USD, fiscal years

Balance sheet, Lifeway Foods Inc, fiscal years, most recent first
	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020
Assets
Cash & short-term investments	5.6	16.7	13.2	4.4	9.2	7.9
Receivables	17.0	16.1	13.9	11.5	10.3	8.0
Total inventory	11.9	8.7	9.1	9.6	8.3	6.9
Prepaid expenses	2.6	2.1	2.0	1.4	1.3	1.2
Other current assets	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total current assets	37.1	43.6	38.2	27.0	29.0	24.1
Property, plant & equipment	48.7	27.0	23.0	21.1	20.3	21.4
Goodwill	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	10.3
Intangibles	5.8	6.4	6.9	7.4	8.0	3.7
Long-term investments	–	–	–	–	–	–
Note receivable	–	–	–	–	–	–
Other long-term assets	2.3	1.9	1.9	1.8	1.8	1.8
Total assets	106	90.5	81.7	69.0	70.9	61.2
Liabilities
Accounts payable	11.0	10.4	10.0	8.0	6.6	5.6
Payable/accrued	–	–	–	–	–	–
Accrued expenses	5.4	5.1	4.9	3.8	3.7	2.2
Short-term debt	0	0	0	0	0	0
Current portion of long-term debt	–	0	1.2	1.2	1.0	0
Other current liabilities	0.2	0	0.5	0	0.7	0.7
Total current liabilities	16.6	15.5	16.6	13.0	12.1	8.4
Long-term debt	0	0	1.5	5.3	6.2	2.8
Minority interest	–	–	–	–	–	–
Other liabilities	3.2	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.4	3.2
Total liabilities	19.8	18.6	21.2	21.4	21.7	14.4
Shareholders' equity
Preferred stock	0	–	–	–	–	–
Common stock	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5
Additional paid-in capital	3.8	4.6	4.8	3.6	2.6	2.6
Retained earnings (accumulated deficit)	88.7	74.8	65.8	54.4	53.5	50.2
Treasury stock	−13.2	−14.1	−16.7	−17.0	−13.4	−12.4
Other equity	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total equity	85.8	71.9	60.4	47.6	49.1	46.9
Total liabilities & shareholders' equity	106	90.5	81.7	69.0	70.9	61.2

Cash flow statement in millions of USD, fiscal years

Cash flow statement, Lifeway Foods Inc, fiscal years, most recent first
	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020
Operating activities
Net income	13.9	9.0	11.4	0.9	3.3	3.2
Depreciation, depletion & amortization	4.0	3.4	3.2	3.0	2.9	3.2
Deferred taxes	−0.3	0.1	0	−0.2	0.3	0.8
Non-cash items	−1.5	2.5	1.5	1.3	1.2	0.3
Changes in working capital	−5.2	−2.0	1.0	−1.1	−2.1	−1.2
Cash from operations	10.9	13.0	16.9	4.0	5.6	6.4
Investing activities
Capital expenditures	−27.4	−6.7	−4.4	−3.4	−1.9	−1.9
Other investing cash flows	5.3	0	−0.1	−0.6	−5.2	0
Cash from investing	−22.0	−6.7	−4.4	−4.0	−7.1	−1.9
Financing activities
Financing cash flow items	−0.1	–	–	0	0	–
Cash dividends paid	–	–	–	–	–	–
Issuance (retirement) of debt, net	–	–	–	–	–	–
Other financing cash flows	0	−2.8	−3.8	−4.7	2.9	−0.4
Cash from financing	−0.1	−2.8	−3.8	−4.7	2.9	−0.4
Foreign exchange effects	–	–	–	–	–	–
Net change in cash	−11.2	3.5	8.8	−4.8	1.3	4.1
Free cash flow	−16.4	6.3	12.6	0.5	3.6	4.5

Disclaimer

The financial data presented in this report is delayed and obtained from sources QDD Research believes to be reliable, including stock exchanges, SEDAR, and EDGAR. However, no representation or warranty is made as to the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the information. QDD Research accepts no liability for any errors, omissions, or financial losses arising from the use of this data.

This report is generated using a fully systematic and quantitative approach. All factor scores and the overall quant rating (ranging from D to A+) are derived from algorithmic models and are based solely on objective financial metrics. These scores are intended for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as investment advice or a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any securities.

QDD Research is not a registered investment advisor or broker-dealer and does not provide personalized financial advice. The content is not tailored to the specific investment goals, financial situation, or risk profile of any individual investor. We strongly encourage readers to consult with a licensed broker or investment advisor before making any investment decisions based on the information contained in this report.

Live quote provided by TradingView. Report data updated Nov 2, 2026 after market close.