Lifeway Foods, Inc.
LWAY · Dairy Products · 15.3M shares · -1%/yr ↓ buyback · EDGAR filings ↗
Net buyback after stock comp: $2M (gross $4M, SBC $2M)
Reference price $29.65 · est. market cap ~$453M — last insider sale, 2026-06-25 (estimated from the dated SEC Form 4 price × shares outstanding — not a live quote)
Grade
B73Category-leading kefir producer with top-decile ROA and strong growth, tempered by thin cash and negative free cash flow.
Strengths
- ROA 13.1% (92.5th pct) and ROE 16.1% (73.6th) lead the dairy peer set
- Revenue growth 13.7% (64th) and net income growth 53.6% (75th) with #1 U.S. kefir share
Risks
- Cash runway 1.4 quarters (16.9th pct) and FCF margin -7.7% (24.9th)
- Gross margin 27.4% (29th pct); small scale and commodity-milk input exposure
Notable findings
- Exec changeRecent 8-K item 5.02 8-K ↗
- Cash burnNegative free cash flow (-16.4M)
- Customer concentration~95% of revenue from one customer/distributor — PRODUCTION Manufacturing During 2025 and 2024, approximately 95% and 94% of our revenue, respectively, was derived from products manufactured at our own facilities
- Insider buyingInsider buying — 8 open-market buy(s) by 2 insider(s) (cluster of 2 insiders, ~$8M, last 6mo) Form 4 ↗
- Insider sellingInsider selling — 17 open-market sale(s) by 3 insider(s) (cluster of 3 insiders, ~$76M, last 6mo) Form 4 ↗
Quarterly revenue
Last 4 quarters · from SEC filings.
Key metrics
Gross margin
27.4%
Operating margin
7.6%
Net margin
6.5%
Return on equity
16.1%
Return on assets
13.1%
Revenue growth (QoQ)
13.8%
Net-income growth
53.6%
Current ratio
2.2×
Free cash flow
-$16M
EBITDA
$20M
Tangible book value
$68M
Cash & investments
$6M
Cash runway
1q
Stock comp / revenue
0.9%
Insider transactions · last 18 months
| Date | Insider | Type | Shares | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-25 | SMOLYANSKY LUDMILA | Sell | 46K | $29.65 |
| 2026-06-24 | SMOLYANSKY EDWARD | Sell | 37K | $29.82 |
| 2026-06-24 | SMOLYANSKY EDWARD | Sell | 1.8K | $30.52 |
| 2026-06-24 | SMOLYANSKY LUDMILA | Sell | 40K | $30.12 |
| 2026-06-22 | SMOLYANSKY EDWARD | Sell | 50K | $26.20 |
| 2026-06-17 | SMOLYANSKY JULIE | Option exercise | 6.1K | — |
| 2026-06-17 | SMOLYANSKY JULIE | Option exercise | 3.4K | — |
| 2026-06-17 | SMOLYANSKY JULIE | Tax withheld | 4.0K | $25.00 |
| 2026-06-17 | SMOLYANSKY JULIE | Option exercise | 486 | — |
| 2026-06-17 | SMOLYANSKY JULIE | Option exercise | 340 | — |
| 2026-06-17 | SMOLYANSKY JULIE | Tax withheld | 239 | $25.00 |
| 2026-06-16 | Hanson Eric A | Grant | 2.4K | — |
| 2026-06-16 | SMOLYANSKY JULIE | Option exercise | 108K | — |
| 2026-06-16 | SMOLYANSKY JULIE | Tax withheld | 53K | $24.79 |
| 2026-06-16 | SMOLYANSKY JULIE | Option exercise | 12K | — |
| 2026-06-16 | Hanson Eric A | Tax withheld | 994 | $24.79 |
| 2026-06-10 | SMOLYANSKY LUDMILA | Sell | 20K | $24.02 |
| 2026-05-15 | SMOLYANSKY LUDMILA | Sell | 20K | $24.64 |
| 2026-05-15 | Zolezzi William | Buy | 33K | $25.27 |
| 2026-05-15 | SMOLYANSKY EDWARD | Sell | 11K | $24.21 |
| 2026-05-15 | SMOLYANSKY EDWARD | Sell | 13K | $25.46 |
| 2026-05-15 | Divisadero Street Capital Management, LP | Buy | 33K | $25.27 |
| 2026-05-14 | Danone S.A. | Sell | 3.5M | $19.50 |
| 2026-05-14 | SMOLYANSKY EDWARD | Sell | 23K | $25.25 |
| 2026-05-14 | SMOLYANSKY EDWARD | Sell | 2.2K | $26.28 |
| 2026-05-14 | Zolezzi William | Buy | 35K | $26.33 |
| 2026-05-14 | Zolezzi William | Buy | 1.5K | $22.98 |
| 2026-05-14 | Divisadero Street Capital Management, LP | Buy | 95K | $25.24 |
| 2026-05-14 | Divisadero Street Capital Management, LP | Buy | 1.5K | $22.98 |
| 2026-05-14 | Divisadero Street Capital Management, LP | Buy | 35K | $26.33 |
| 2026-05-14 | Zolezzi William | Buy | 95K | $25.24 |
| 2026-04-20 | SMOLYANSKY LUDMILA | Sell | 15K | $26.50 |
| 2026-03-28 | Hanson Eric A | Grant | 743 | — |
| 2026-03-28 | Hanson Eric A | Tax withheld | 285 | $18.30 |
| 2026-03-19 | SMOLYANSKY EDWARD | Sell | 14K | $17.77 |
| 2026-03-18 | SMOLYANSKY LUDMILA | Sell | 10K | $18.74 |
| 2026-03-17 | SMOLYANSKY EDWARD | Sell | 22K | $20.10 |
| 2026-03-16 | SMOLYANSKY EDWARD | Sell | 13K | $20.60 |
| 2026-03-06 | SMOLYANSKY JULIE | Disposition | 13K | $21.50 |
| 2026-03-06 | Hanson Eric A | Grant | 21K | — |
| 2026-03-06 | Hanson Eric A | Tax withheld | 8.0K | $21.50 |
| 2026-03-06 | SMOLYANSKY JULIE | Option exercise | 13K | — |
| 2026-01-10 | McWhorter Dorri | Option exercise | 3.2K | — |
| 2026-01-10 | Hanson Eric A | Option exercise | 3.8K | — |
| 2026-01-10 | Hanson Eric A | Tax withheld | 1.7K | $22.78 |
| 2025-12-23 | SMOLYANSKY LUDMILA | Sell | 10K | $25.15 |
| 2025-12-23 | SMOLYANSKY LUDMILA | Sell | 16K | $23.97 |
| 2025-12-10 | SMOLYANSKY LUDMILA | Sell | 20K | $23.17 |
| 2025-12-09 | SMOLYANSKY LUDMILA | Sell | 14K | $23.41 |
| 2025-12-08 | SMOLYANSKY LUDMILA | Sell | 15K | $23.56 |
| 2025-10-08 | SMOLYANSKY LUDMILA | Sell | 10K | $26.44 |
| 2025-10-07 | SMOLYANSKY LUDMILA | Sell | 5.0K | $26.32 |
| 2025-10-01 | SMOLYANSKY EDWARD | Sell | 25K | $25.52 |
| 2025-10-01 | SMOLYANSKY EDWARD | Sell | 59K | $26.07 |
| 2025-09-24 | SMOLYANSKY EDWARD | Sell | 10K | $26.69 |
| 2025-09-23 | SMOLYANSKY EDWARD | Sell | 6.4K | $26.53 |
| 2025-07-01 | SIKAR POL | Option exercise | 1.4K | — |
| 2025-07-01 | LEVY JODY | Option exercise | 1.4K | — |
| 2025-07-01 | McWhorter Dorri | Option exercise | 1.4K | — |
| 2025-07-01 | Sanchez Perfecto | Option exercise | 1.4K | — |
| 2025-06-27 | SCHER JASON SCOTT | Sell | 16K | $24.24 |
| 2025-06-26 | SCHER JASON SCOTT | Sell | 8.2K | $24.22 |
| 2025-06-16 | Hanson Eric A | Option exercise | 2.4K | — |
| 2025-06-16 | Hanson Eric A | Tax withheld | 979 | $25.08 |
| 2025-06-16 | SMOLYANSKY JULIE | Option exercise | 12K | — |
| 2025-06-16 | SMOLYANSKY JULIE | Tax withheld | 5.3K | $25.08 |
| 2025-05-22 | SIKAR POL | Sell | 800 | $22.80 |
| 2025-05-21 | SIKAR POL | Sell | 200 | $22.83 |
| 2025-05-20 | SIKAR POL | Sell | 3.0K | $22.35 |
| 2025-05-19 | SMOLYANSKY JULIE | Sell | 50K | $22.07 |
| 2025-05-05 | SMOLYANSKY LUDMILA | Sell | 7.5K | $23.50 |
| 2025-05-01 | SMOLYANSKY LUDMILA | Sell | 30K | $23.87 |
| 2025-04-30 | SMOLYANSKY LUDMILA | Sell | 11K | $23.81 |
| 2025-04-29 | SMOLYANSKY LUDMILA | Sell | 9.6K | $23.73 |
| 2025-04-17 | SMOLYANSKY LUDMILA | Sell | 18K | $23.92 |
| 2025-04-15 | SMOLYANSKY LUDMILA | Sell | 8.7K | $23.88 |
| 2025-04-14 | SMOLYANSKY LUDMILA | Sell | 8.4K | $23.62 |
| 2025-04-11 | SMOLYANSKY LUDMILA | Sell | 15K | $23.38 |
| 2025-04-10 | SMOLYANSKY LUDMILA | Sell | 10K | $23.51 |
| 2025-03-18 | SMOLYANSKY EDWARD | Sell | 20K | $23.23 |
| 2025-03-07 | SMOLYANSKY JULIE | Grant | 119K | — |
| 2025-03-07 | SMOLYANSKY JULIE | Tax withheld | 53K | $21.20 |
| 2025-03-07 | Hanson Eric A | Grant | 22K | — |
| 2025-03-07 | Hanson Eric A | Tax withheld | 9.8K | $21.20 |
| 2025-02-11 | SMOLYANSKY LUDMILA | Sell | 10K | $21.31 |
| 2025-01-17 | SMOLYANSKY LUDMILA | Sell | 12K | $22.55 |
| 2025-01-16 | SMOLYANSKY LUDMILA | Sell | 7.7K | $22.57 |
| 2025-01-15 | SMOLYANSKY LUDMILA | Sell | 10K | $22.67 |
| 2025-01-13 | SMOLYANSKY LUDMILA | Sell | 10K | $22.48 |
| 2025-01-13 | SMOLYANSKY LUDMILA | Sell | 20K | $22.12 |
| 2025-01-10 | Hanson Eric A | Tax withheld | 538 | $22.45 |
| 2025-01-10 | SMOLYANSKY JULIE | Option exercise | 6.1K | — |
| 2025-01-10 | Feldman Amy M. | Option exercise | 1.0K | — |
| 2025-01-10 | Feldman Amy M. | Tax withheld | 418 | $22.45 |
| 2025-01-10 | SMOLYANSKY JULIE | Option exercise | 486 | — |
| 2025-01-10 | Hanson Eric A | Option exercise | 1.3K | — |
| 2025-01-06 | SMOLYANSKY LUDMILA | Sell | 45K | $23.49 |
| 2025-01-03 | SMOLYANSKY LUDMILA | Sell | 15K | $24.12 |
All non-derivative Form 4 activity (SEC), newest first.
Notable events (8-K)
| Date | Items | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-06-18 | Shareholder voteReg FDExhibits | filing ↗ |
| 2026-06-05 | 1.023.03 | filing ↗ |
| 2026-06-03 | Other | filing ↗ |
| 2026-05-14 | Material agreementOtherExhibits | filing ↗ |
| 2026-05-14 | ResultsExhibits | filing ↗ |
| 2026-04-01 | ResultsExhibits | filing ↗ |
| 2026-03-17 | ResultsExhibits | filing ↗ |
| 2026-03-11 | Exec/director changeExhibits | filing ↗ |
Recent filings
| Form | Filed | Period | Accession |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8-K | 2026-06-18 | 2026-06-17 | 0001683168-26-004989 ↗ |
| 8-K | 2026-06-05 | 2026-06-05 | 0001683168-26-004593 ↗ |
| 8-K | 2026-06-03 | 2026-06-03 | 0001683168-26-004480 ↗ |
| 8-K | 2026-05-14 | 2026-05-14 | 0001683168-26-003934 ↗ |
| 10-Q | 2026-05-14 | 2026-03-31 | 0001683168-26-003839 ↗ |
| 8-K | 2026-05-14 | 2026-05-14 | 0001683168-26-003838 ↗ |
| 8-K | 2026-04-01 | 2026-04-01 | 0001683168-26-002570 ↗ |
| 8-K | 2026-03-17 | 2026-03-17 | 0001683168-26-001888 ↗ |
| 10-K | 2026-03-17 | 2025-12-31 | 0001683168-26-001886 ↗ |
| 8-K | 2026-03-11 | 2026-03-06 | 0001683168-26-001682 ↗ |
| 8-K | 2026-01-08 | 2026-01-08 | 0001683168-26-000158 ↗ |
| 8-K | 2025-12-31 | 2025-12-29 | 0001683168-25-009435 ↗ |