LWAYLifeway Foods, Inc.
Is the business good?
The checks split: nothing decisive, though earnings fully cash-backed (1.0×).
Operating profit is fully backed by cash.
Positive operating leverage, operating profit is growing faster than sales, so margins widen as the business scales.
Efficiency-driven, thin margins turned over fast (the retail model). ROE 15% = margin × turnover × leverage.
Unless marked, from derived.
Where this answer is blind. The F-score rewards improvement, so an already-elite company can score mid-pack.
How good a business is LWAY?
Lifeway Foods, Inc. earns 16% on the capital it employs against a 9.0% cost of capital, so the business is worth more the bigger it gets.
Return on invested capital · cost of capital 9.0% · 7.0 points above what the capital costs: growth creates value
- Operating margin
- 6.5%
Operating margin · Packaged Foods median 7.6% · 12 months to Q2 2026
- Cash conversion
- 1.02×
Cash conversion · 1.06× a year ago · operating cash flow covers the operating profit after tax
- Share count, year on year
- −0.66%
Share count, year on year · flat: no meaningful dilution
| Year | Operating margin |
|---|---|
| FY2020 | 4.8% |
| FY2021 | 4.9% |
| FY2022 | 1.7% |
| FY2023 | 11% |
| FY2024 | 7.4% |
| FY2025 | 7.6% |
Details›
- Gross margin12 months to Q2 2026
- 26%
- Operating margin12 months to Q2 2026
- 6.5%
- Net margin12 months to Q2 2026
- 4.5%
- Free cash flow margin
- −11%
- Revenue, trailing twelve months
- $242M
- Free cash flow, trailing twelve months
- −$27M
- Net income, trailing twelve months
- $11M
- Return on invested capitaloperating profit after tax ÷ debt + equity − cash
- 16%
Margins, capital and share counts from the statements as filed with the SEC; cash conversion is operating cash flow over operating profit after tax.