Earnings call transcript: Lifeway Foods Q3 2025 sees strong growth, stock jumps

Lifeway Foods Inc. (LWAY) posted robust financial results for the third quarter of 2025, surpassing revenue expectations and driving a significant premarket surge in its stock price. The company reported net sales of $57.1 million, a 24% increase year-over-year, while earnings per share (EPS) came in at $0.23. Despite missing the EPS forecast of $0.24, the positive revenue performance and strategic developments fueled an 11.49% rise in premarket trading, with shares priced at $26.01.

Key Takeaways

• Lifeway Foods reported a 24% year-over-year increase in net sales for Q3 2025.
• The company’s stock surged 11.49% in premarket trading following the earnings release.
• Lifeway continues its 24-quarter streak of year-over-year net sales growth.
• Strategic product launches and partnerships are driving market expansion.

Company Performance

Lifeway Foods demonstrated strong performance in Q3 2025, maintaining its growth trajectory with a 24% increase in net sales compared to the same period last year. This marks the 24th consecutive quarter of year-over-year sales growth, showcasing the company’s consistent ability to capture market demand. Lifeway’s strategic focus on health trends and innovation, such as the launch of the Muscle Mace beverage, has bolstered its market position.

Financial Highlights

• Revenue: $57.1 million, up 24% year-over-year
• Earnings per share: $0.23, compared to $0.20-$0.19 last year
• Gross profit margin: 28.7%, up 300 basis points from last year
• Net income: $3.5 million, up from $3 million last year

Earnings vs. Forecast

Lifeway Foods reported an EPS of $0.23, slightly below the forecast of $0.24. However, the company exceeded its revenue forecast of $54 million by achieving $57.1 million. The revenue surprise underscores Lifeway’s robust market demand and effective strategic initiatives, despite the minor EPS shortfall.

Market Reaction

Following the earnings announcement, Lifeway’s stock price increased by 11.49% in premarket trading, reaching $26.01. This surge reflects investor optimism driven by the company’s strong sales growth and strategic direction. The stock’s movement contrasts with its previous close of $23.33 and remains within its 52-week range of $19.5 to $34.2.

Outlook & Guidance

Lifeway Foods is optimistic about its future, targeting $45-$50 million in adjusted EBITDA by fiscal year 2027. The company anticipates achieving its strongest annual sales in history for 2025, supported by ongoing investments in marketing and manufacturing capabilities. Lifeway’s forward guidance remains positive, with strategic expansions planned in high-growth product categories.

Executive Commentary

CEO Julie Smolyansky emphasized the company’s strong market position, stating, "We are operating from a position of strength, dominating the kefir category, heavily investing behind our key products, and expanding into high-growth adjacents, all while scaling profitability." She also highlighted the sustainability of Lifeway’s growth trajectory and its alignment with prevailing health trends.

Risks and Challenges

• Supply Chain Disruptions: Potential impacts on production and distribution.
• Market Saturation: Increased competition in the functional beverage space.
• Macroeconomic Pressures: Inflation and economic downturns could affect consumer spending.
• Regulatory Changes: Shifts in health and safety regulations could impact operations.

Lifeway Foods’ Q3 2025 earnings call underscores the company’s strategic growth and market resilience, with positive investor sentiment driving a notable increase in stock value.

Full transcript - Lifeway Foods Inc (LWAY) Q3 2025:

John, Unspecified Introducer/Operator, Lifeway Foods: 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 Foods and Julie Smolyansky assume 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. With that, I would like to turn the call over to Lifeway Foods’ President and Chief Executive Officer, Julie Smolyansky.

Julie Smolyansky, 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 thrilled to announce yet another record-breaking quarter for Lifeway Foods. This quarter significantly surpassed our previous high set in Q2 and further showcases our unique and powerful growth as we continue to define our industry and deliver outstanding results across the board. Before diving into the details, I want to applaud our incredible Lifeway team. Your relentless execution, innovation, and commitment to excellence are the driving force behind our consistently extraordinary results, and you continue to raise the bar every quarter. In the third quarter, we delivered record net sales, a $57.1 million, a 24% increase year over year, and an approximate 29% increase on a comparable basis when adjusted for two strategic modifications to customer relationships that we initiated in late 2024 to prioritize high-value brand strengthening opportunities.

This growth was entirely volume-led and driven by the explosive demand for our flagship Lifeway kefir and high-protein Lifeway Farmer Cheese. This growth is even more impressive when considering we delivered it on top of a strong 13% increase in Q3 of 2024. This marks our 24th consecutive quarter of year-over-year net sales growth. In other words, six full years of uninterrupted growth. To put that in perspective, year to date, we achieved net sales of $157.1 million, which is an incredible 123% increase when compared to the same nine-month period six years ago in 2019. We’re consistently setting records at Lifeway and have been doing so for years. Our growth trajectory is consistent and sustainable, and it’s accelerating strongly as we continue to cement our position as the undisputed leader in kefir and help drive growth in the functional dairy space.

Our outstanding track record of growth recently garnered nationwide attention as we were named to the TIME America’s Growth Leader 2026 list. We secured the 33rd position out of 101 distinguished companies and ranked as the number two food and beverage company, highlighting our strong growth, financial stability, and leading market performance. Our business is rooted in humble beginnings and has succeeded through resilience, community, and the unwavering belief that healthy food can change people’s lives. This recognition is truly an honor. The Lifeway portfolio is positioned at the intersection of numerous consumer trends, including the demand for protein-rich, probiotic functional foods, heightened awareness of the gut’s critical role in overall wellness, and the rising prevalence of Americans on GLP-1, seeking nutrient-dense foods that naturally support digestive health.

As consumers have increasingly embraced the vast nutritional and gut health benefits of our delicious products, they are flying off the shelf faster and faster, which is driving our surging product velocities. We are at the forefront of these trends, which show no signs of slowing down, and we are investing heavily in our marketing efforts and manufacturing capabilities to support our accelerating velocities and comfortably meet the growing demand for the Lifeway brand. Alongside our outstanding top-line performance, we delivered meaningful growth across our core profitability metrics. Our gross profit margin in Q3 was 28.7%, up an impressive 300 basis points from last year, and up sequentially compared to our strong Q2 margin performance. This margin expansion reflects strong volume growth of our core Lifeway products, manufacturing efficiencies aided by our Waukesha facility improvements, and favorable conventional milk pricing.

Selling expenses were $5 million, up slightly from last year, as we continue to invest in marketing, sales activations, and retail expansions to heighten brand awareness and sustain our significant growth. Our sales performance in 2025 demonstrates that these investments are paying off. Product velocities are accelerating, we are driving trial, and our loyal customers keep coming back for more. Net income was $3.5 million, or $0.23 per basic and diluted share, compared to $3 million, or $0.20 per basic and $0.19 per diluted share last year. This strong double-digit growth on the bottom line further shines a light on our operational excellence and our ability to seamlessly convert top-line strength into profitable results. I’ll now touch on ongoing modernization of our state-of-the-art Waukesha facility.

This strategic expansion continues to progress as planned, and we are on track to double manufacturing capacity and enhance our operational efficiencies by the end of 2026. In September, we completed the first step of our facility optimization with the successful installation of additional fermentation tanks, which are used to combine raw milk and the live kefir cultures during the fermentation process to make our kefir. As for next steps, we have recently initiated critical infrastructure enhancements to our refrigeration capabilities and milk processing systems, with plans to break ground on the facility expansion in early 2026. We will realize the full production capacity benefits and efficiencies, including more than tripling our bottling speeds upon completion of the project in Q4 of 2026, enabling us to meet the accelerating demand for our products while maintaining our exceptional product quality standards.

To date, in 2025, we have invested over $9 million in this project, and upon completion, we estimate the total investment of approximately $45 million in capital expenditures. This expansion is a pivotal investment in Lifeway’s future as we position ourselves to further capitalize on the rapid growth in functional dairy, consumer appetite for protein, and associated GLP-1 trends. Beyond our operational investments, we’re simultaneously keeping a pulse on the consumer and their evolving taste to stay ahead of the curve on emerging trends. We recently announced Muscle Mace, our revolutionary, ready-to-drink functional beverage that delivers a powerful trifecta of 20 grams of protein, 5 grams of creatine, and our 12 live and active probiotic cultures. This product taps into the exploding creatine market, which has seen significant triple-digit growth at certain retailers in recent years and is notably serving a growing percentage of women.

With this product, we are advancing functional nutrition by delivering performance and wellness in one convenient and delicious bottle, and we are extremely excited for it to begin shipping to retailers. Our first-of-its-kind probiotic smoothies with collagen continue to perform very well and are resonating comfortably with the growing global market for collagen, which is projected to exceed $8 billion by 2030. We are also expanding our brand reach through strategic partnerships that introduce Lifeway to new consumers through innovative product launches and experiential settings. Our Trust Your Gut smoothie is an exciting collaboration with Joe & The Juice, bringing Lifeway kefir to a wide audience of Gen Z and millennial consumers in cafes across the United States. Our second partnership with Erewhon delivered a delicious Love Your Gut Pumpkin Spice Smoothie exclusively for the month of October, perfectly timed for seasonal wellness trends at Los Angeles’ iconic wellness destinations.

I’m also excited to highlight Lifeway’s nationwide sorority tour. We are currently connecting with young women across the country to introduce them to the brand and the benefits of gut health. The Gut Health Glow Up Tour is yet another opportunity to build community and sample our core products and innovative kefir flavor fusions with the next generation of Lifeway kefir consumers. Our digital marketing strategy continues to launch Lifeway into the center of viral moments. Across TikTok and Instagram, millions of users are engaging with authentic customer stories about the daily wellness benefits that they’re experiencing from Lifeway kefir, and we continue to expand our influencer partnerships to drive awareness of our product offerings, educate on their benefits, and showcase recipes with Lifeway kefir and Farmer Cheese.

In stores, we continue to be strategic with our marketing dollars and are effectively driving velocities with high visibility programs that meet consumers at interruptive moments during their shopping experience. We also continue to expand distribution across our key product channels. We recently gained everyday placements at BJ’s and are currently in rotation at Costco in San Diego. Additionally, in Q4, we have visibility into a significant nationwide distribution expansion for our Lifeway Farmer Cheese as it continues to capture the attention of consumers nationwide. What we have accomplished is extraordinary, but our momentum is only intensifying. We’re well on pace to deliver our strongest annual sales in the company history in 2025, and we’re reiterating our target to achieve between $45 and $50 million in adjusted EBITDA by fiscal year 2027.

We are operating from a position of strength, dominating the kefir category, heavily investing behind our key products, and expanding into high-growth adjacents, all while scaling profitability. With our improving production capabilities and our accelerating tailwinds behind consumer health and wellness, we are perfectly situated to sustain this remarkable momentum. The results speak for themselves, and we’re on an incredible growth trajectory as we finish off 2025 and head into the new year. We remain committed to our mission of bringing best-in-class bioavailable probiotic and nutritious foods to our loyal and growing customer base. Thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to updating you on our continued progress when we report our fourth quarter and full year results in March 2026. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season. Thank you.

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