Earnings call transcript: Lifeway Foods beats Q2 2025 earnings expectations

Lifeway Foods Inc. (LWAY) reported its second-quarter 2025 earnings, surpassing analysts’ expectations with an EPS of $0.28 compared to the forecasted $0.27. The company also exceeded revenue projections, posting $53.9 million against an expected $50 million. This positive performance led to a pre-market stock price increase of 4.96%, reaching $28.99. According to InvestingPro analysis, LWAY maintains a "GREAT" financial health score of 3.52, though the stock appears to be trading above its Fair Value. InvestingPro identifies 12 additional key insights about LWAY’s financial position.

Key Takeaways

• Lifeway Foods reported a record net sales figure of $53.9 million for Q2 2025.
• The company’s EPS of $0.28 exceeded forecasts by 3.7%.
• Pre-market trading saw Lifeway’s stock rise by 4.96%.
• Lifeway launched new probiotic smoothies, expanding its product line.
• The company aims for $45-50 million in adjusted EBITDA by fiscal year 2027.

Company Performance

Lifeway Foods continues to demonstrate robust performance, marking its 23rd consecutive quarter of year-over-year sales growth. The company’s strategic focus on expanding its product lines, particularly in kefir and farmer’s cheese, has contributed to its strong market position. Lifeway’s leadership in the probiotic functional foods category is further supported by its innovation in product offerings, such as the new probiotic smoothies with collagen.

Financial Highlights

• Revenue: $53.9 million, an 18% volume-led growth adjusted for strategic portfolio changes.
• Earnings per share: $0.28, up from $0.26 in the previous year.
• Gross profit margin: 28.6%, an increase of 160 basis points year-over-year.
• Net income: $4.2 million, compared to $3.8 million in the same period last year.

Earnings vs. Forecast

Lifeway Foods outperformed expectations with an EPS surprise of 3.7% and a revenue surprise of 7.8%. This beat aligns with the company’s historical trend of consistent growth and strong financial performance, showcasing its ability to exceed market forecasts.

Market Reaction

Following the earnings announcement, Lifeway’s stock price increased by 4.96% in pre-market trading, reflecting investor confidence in the company’s performance and future prospects. The stock has delivered impressive returns, with a 146.39% gain over the past year and a 27.81% increase in the last six months. The stock’s current price of $28.99 is approaching its 52-week high of $29.7, indicating positive market sentiment. For detailed valuation metrics and comprehensive analysis, visit InvestingPro, which offers exclusive insights through its Pro Research Report.

Outlook & Guidance

Looking ahead, Lifeway Foods projects unaudited net sales of $26.4 million for Q3 2025, representing a 20% year-over-year increase. The company is also targeting $45-50 million in adjusted EBITDA by fiscal year 2027, driven by strategic initiatives and product innovations.

Executive Commentary

CEO Julie Smolensky emphasized Lifeway’s leadership in the kefir category, stating, "We are not just growing. We are expanding our leadership, winning share, strengthening our brand equity." She also highlighted the company’s strong position in the market, saying, "LifeWay is operating from a position of strength, leading the category, expanding our platform."

Risks and Challenges

• Supply chain disruptions could impact production and distribution.
• Market saturation in the probiotic foods category may limit growth.
• Economic downturns could affect consumer spending on premium products.
• Increased competition from new entrants in the functional foods market.
• Regulatory changes in food safety and labeling could pose compliance challenges.

Lifeway Foods’ strong Q2 2025 performance and positive market reaction underscore its solid position within the industry. The company’s strategic focus on innovation and expansion positions it well for continued growth in the competitive functional foods sector.

Full transcript - Lifeway Foods Inc (LWAY) Q2 2025:

John, Moderator/Investor Relations, LifeWay Foods: Good morning. Welcome to LifeWay Foods’ Second Quarter twenty twenty five Conference Call. On the call with me today is Julie Smolensky, President and Chief Executive Officer. By now, everyone should have access to the press release that went out this morning. If you have not received the release, it is available on the Investor Relations portion of LifeWay’s website at www.lifewayfoods.com.

A recording of this call will be available on the company’s website. Before we begin, we would like to remind everyone that the prepared remarks contain forward looking statements. The words believe, expect, anticipate, plan, will and other similar expressions generally identify forward looking statements. These statements do not guarantee future performance, and therefore, undue reliance should not be placed on them. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in any forward looking statements.

LifeWay assumes no obligation to update any forward looking projections that may be made during today’s call, except as required by law. All of the forward looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date of this call. And with that, I would like to turn the call over to LifeVoice President and Chief Executive Officer, Julie Smolansky.

Julie Smolensky, President and Chief Executive Officer, LifeWay Foods: Thank you, John, and good morning to everyone joining us. As always, we greatly appreciate your interest in LifeWay Foods. I’m excited to be speaking with you today following another extraordinary quarter for LifeWay Foods, a quarter that reinforces our momentum, showcases our market leadership and demonstrates the expanding scale of our platform. In the 2025, we delivered record net sales of $53,900,000 with approximately 18% volume led growth when adjusted for strategic portfolio changes. This performance builds on an exceptional 2024 and underscores how LifeWay’s growth engine is accelerating.

We are not just growing. We are expanding our leadership in the keeper category, winning share, strengthening our brand equity and broadening our distribution reach across multiple channels. Before I walk through the details, I want to recognize our LifeWay team. The consistency of our results and the exceptional service we deliver to customers and partners stem directly from your dedication and execution. You are driving this success, and we are so grateful.

Our net sales growth this quarter was powered primarily by higher volumes of LifeWay branded drinkable kefir and farmer’s cheese. The significance of this performance is even greater when you remember that in Q2 twenty twenty four was already a record setting quarter with over 25% growth and yet we built on that with additional double digit gains. We achieved this while executing deliberate strategic changes to sharpen our focus on high margin brand building opportunities. In late twenty twenty four, we exited a lower margin retail relationship and adjusted terms with the distributor to reduce billed sales, but improve freight cost efficiency. Even with these adjustments and a temporary sales lag from a partner’s distributor cyber attack in early June, our momentum was undeniable.

This marks our twenty third consecutive quarter of year over year sales growth, nearly six years of uninterrupted expansion, and that growth is not slowing. We are riding powerful consumer trends that continue to accelerate, demand for protein rich, probiotic functional foods and heightened awareness of gut health’s role in overall wellness. This is particularly pronounced among the more than fifteen percent of Americans now on GLP-one medications who are seeking nutrient dense, satisfying foods that naturally support GLP-one hormone production and digestive health. LifeWay’s portfolio is perfectly aligned with these needs. Gross profit margin in Q2 was 28.6%, up 160 basis points from last year and over four sixty basis points from Q1, our strongest performance since 2023.

This improvement came from branded volume growth, manufacturing efficiencies and favorable conventional milk pricing, partially offset by higher organic milk costs and planned trade investments to support distribution and innovation. Selling, general and administrative expenses were $9,500,000 as we continue to invest in marketing, sales activation and retail expansion. These investments are paying off. They are driving trial, accelerating velocities and strengthening consumer loyalty. Net income was $4,200,000 or $0.28 per share compared to $3,800,000 or $0.26 per share last year.

This reflects a clean flow through from top line to bottom line, demonstrating that our growth is both sustainable and profitable. Collagen is a perfect example of our ability to lead emerging wellness trends. The global collagen market is projected to exceed $8,000,000,000 by 02/1930, and LifeWay was first in the category to combine probiotics and collagen in our probiotic smoothies with collagen. This innovation tapped into our dual consumer priorities of gut health and beauty from within. Our Berry Blast was recently named a 2025 Good Housekeeping Snack Award winner, and the entire line is resonating strongly with consumers.

Our marketing is embedding LifeWay into the heart of culture and sparking viral moments. On TikTok, millions of consumers are discovering LifeWay kefir through authentic testimonials about how they feel better after drinking it daily. National Kefir Day made its debut this June with official proclamations from Illinois, Wisconsin and other states, celebrations coast to coast and a stunning probiotic powered drone show lighting up Chicago’s skyline. At the Chicago Loop one hundred ten NASCAR race, our Bold LifeWay branding took center stage on Josh Balicki’s car, tapping into one of the fastest growing fan demographics, women’s sixteen to twenty four and 35 audiences and connecting athletic performance with gut health in front of millions of viewers. This is how we make LifeWay not just a brand in the dairy aisle, but a lifestyle icon in the public consciousness.

Our distribution expansion continues across channels. Target is adding over 1,100 new 32 ounce kefir placements. Publix is launching new eight ounce items and Whole Foods, BJ’s, Costco, Amazon Fresh, Ingalls and Kroger divisions are expanding their LifeWay sets. Farmer Cheese is gaining distribution in H E V, Hy Vee, Albertsons and Lowe’s food. We recently began shipping eight ounce Kefir 12 packs to over 60 Costco locations in San Diego, a key step towards national club expansion.

Capital spending was $4,500,000 in the 2025 as we expanded capacity and upgraded facilities. Our state of the art Waukesha plant is already enhancing efficiencies and once all planned investments are complete, we expect to nearly double production capacity and more than triple bottling speed. Our growth strategy is working. We are reiterating our target to achieve between 45,000,000 and $50,000,000 in adjusted EBITDA by fiscal year twenty twenty seven, and our early Q3 results show continued acceleration. Our unaudited estimate Q3 twenty twenty five net sales through eighteleven has already surpassed $26,400,000 over a 20% increase from the same time last year.

In July, we delivered our highest week of gross sales in the company history, dollars 5,500,000.0, up 66% year over year. LifeWay is operating from a position of strength, leading the category, expanding our platform, building cultural relevance and scaling profitability. We see significant runway ahead as more consumers embrace gut health, functional nutrition and the benefits of probiotics. This was another defining quarter for our business and our momentum is only building. We are executing with discipline, innovating with purpose and expanding our reach to bring LifeWay to more people in more places than ever before.

The results speak for themselves. With continued investments behind our key LifeWay branded products alongside the growing consumer embrace of health and wellness, we are well positioned to continue this incredible momentum through the back half of the year and to further pursue our mission to provide best in class bioavailable probiotic and nutritious foods to our growing base of consumers. We look forward to providing another progress update on our third quarter call in November. Have an amazing day and incredible rest of your summer.

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