Lifeway Foods Inc's Competitiveness
A competitive positioning analysis and financial ratio benchmarking of Lifeway Foods Inc (LWAY) against its publicly traded competitors: sales growth, net income, profitability, valuation and market share, plus each peer's market capitalization, revenue, income and employees. Free below: the top 5 peers. Subscriber access adds the full competitor list and CSV downloads.
Key Findings: Lifeway Foods Inc vs Its Competitors
- TTM: Trailing 12-month revenue of 242M vs 115,201M combined for tracked competitors (0.2% combined share).
- Trending: Latest-quarter revenue run-rate is accelerating (+10.6% annualized vs trailing 12 months), vs holding steady (+0.0%) for its tracked peer group.
- Growth: Lifeway Foods Inc generated 25.3% revenue growth year over year in Q2 2026, vs 5.5% for its tracked competitors combined.
- Profitability: Its 0.2% net margin compares with 3.5% for the peer group.
- Scale: Lifeway Foods Inc ranks #35 of 62 companies by market capitalization in the Food Processing industry, holding 0.1% of industry market cap.
- Peer revenue share: Lifeway Foods Inc accounted for 0.2% of combined revenue among its tracked peer group, up from 0.2% a year earlier.
- Peer differentiation: Revenue per employee of $0.82M compares with $0.36M for the peer group (2.3x).
Every figure above is sourced and cited in detail further down this page (Market Structure, Profitability & Cost Structure, Productivity vs Peers).
LWAY Sales vs. its Competitors, Q2 2026
Lifeway Foods Inc reported revenue growth of 25.27 % year on year in Q2 2026, above its competitors' combined revenue growth of 5.53 %.
With a net margin of 0.19 %, Lifeway Foods Inc reported lower profitability than its competitors (3.46 %).
Lifeway Foods Inc generated 0.23 % of the combined sales of its peer group, up from 0.20 % a year earlier.
Lifeway Foods Inc vs. its Competitors, Q2 2026
Revenue growth, year on year
Net income growth, year on year
Net margin
Revenue run-rate vs trailing 12 months
TTM net margin
TTM = trailing twelve months. Run-rate annualizes the latest quarter (×4) and compares it to TTM. In millions of $. High-Confidence Competitors are named as a competitor directly in an SEC filing; Similar-Size Competitors are the closest peers by market-cap rank within the same industry; Similar Growth & Profitability Competitors are the closest peers by combined revenue growth, operating margin and ROIC, all independent of the competitor list.
TTM revenue, latest-quarter run-rate and net income/margin benchmarked across Lifeway Foods Inc and its 4 competitor groupings. Available under Commercial License.
| Entity | TTM Revenue | Rev Run-rate vs TTM |
|---|---|---|
| Lifeway Foods Inc | $12,345M | +12.3% · Accelerating |
| Competitors combined | $12,345M | +12.3% · Accelerating |
| Similar-Size Competitors (9) | $12,345M | +12.3% · Accelerating |
| Similar Growth & Profitability (6) | $12,345M | +12.3% · Accelerating |
TTM revenue, run-rate and net margin benchmarking across Lifeway Foods Inc's competitor groups requires a Commercial License.
For context: the Food Processing industry grew revenue 12.8% year over year, combined, vs 25.3% for Lifeway Foods Inc. Lifeway Foods Inc's share of combined industry revenue moved from 0.05% to 0.05%, a gain of 0.01 percentage points.
Lifeway Foods Inc's Competitor Quality Breadth
Share of each group, trailing 12 months: profitable (net margin > 0), expanding (revenue growth > 0), growing faster than the industry's own median, and financially distressed (Piotroski F-Score of 2 or below).
| Entity | Profitable | Expanding | Above Industry Growth | Distressed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lifeway Foods Inc | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Competitors combined (3) | ||||
| Similar-Size Competitors (10) | ||||
| Similar Growth & Profitability (8) | 100.00 % (8 of 8) | 100.00 % (8 of 8) | 100.00 % (8 of 8) | 16.70 % (1 of 6) |
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months. Altman Z-Score is not shown here: it is not populated in the underlying data for any company. Percentages are of companies in each group that report the relevant metric, not of the full group size.
LWAY Stock Performance relative to its Competitors
LWAY Stock Performance relative to Similar-Size Competitors
LWAY Stock Performance relative to Similar Growth & Profitability Competitors
5 Best-Performing Tracked Competitors, Trailing 12 Months
| # | Competitor | TTM Share Price Return | vs U.S.A. 500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mondel z International Inc | 282.9% | Outperformed |
| 2 | Pepsico Inc | 282.9% | Outperformed |
| 3 | General Mills Inc | 282.9% | Outperformed |
TTM share price return and U.S.A. 500 outperformance for Lifeway Foods Inc's best-performing tracked competitors requires a Commercial License.
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months.
Lifeway Foods Inc's Comment on Competition and Industry Peers
Publicly Traded Peers of Lifeway Foods Inc
Revenue and income for trailing 12 months, in millions of $, except employees| Company | Market Cap | Revenues |
|---|---|---|
| Lifeway Foods Inc | 325.50 | 242.02 |
| Pepsico Inc | 175,916.50 | 96,904.00 |
| Mondel z International Inc | 77,391.48 | 39,304.00 |
| General Mills Inc | 18,073.44 | 18,296.60 |
| SUBTOTAL | 271,706.92 | 154,746.62 |
Sources: Lifeway Foods Inc's official press releases and regulatory filings; CSIMarket.com's market research; and the financial filings and press releases of the other companies cited.
Updated on:
Focus of this report: publicly traded companies. Ten additional tables on Lifeway Foods Inc versus competitors, including market share analysis, are in the navigation menu under Competition. To download the tables, please subscribe.
Lifeway Foods Inc's Competitors Named by the Company
Competitive relationships identified from SEC filings and corroborating sources, each with a basis and confidence.| Competitor | Basis | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| General Mills Inc | Named by the company | 85% |
| Pepsico Inc | Named by the company | 85% |
Filing basis, confidence, active dates and source counts for Lifeway Foods Inc's named competitors require a Commercial License.
Methodology: relationships are extracted from SEC filings (named-competitor disclosures) and corroborating sources. Named by the company = explicitly disclosed as a competitor; Inferred = derived from corroborating signals. Confidence reflects evidence strength.
Lifeway Foods Inc's Business Segment Mix vs Peers
Revenue by operating segment or division, as named and reported by each company. Segment names are the filer's own and are not standardized across companies. Do not assume a same-named or similarly-named segment is defined identically between two companies. Shares are of each company's own total revenue and are not required to sum to 100% (intersegment revenue, unallocated items).| Company | Largest Segment |
|---|---|
| Pepsico Inc | PepsiCo Beverages North America 29.95 % |
| Mondel z International Inc | Europe 37.98 % |
| General Mills Inc | United States Meals and Baking Solutions Operating Unit 24.61 % |
Source: operating segment revenue as reported in each company's SEC filings (10-K/10-Q), via the CSIMarket API, leaf-level reportable segments only (parent roll-up segments are excluded where sub-segments are separately disclosed).
Lifeway Foods Inc's Productivity vs Peers Comparison
Revenue and income per employee, trailing 12 months, in $; market cap in millions of $| Company | Market Cap | Revenue / Employee | Income / Employee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lifeway Foods Inc | 326 | 820,390 | 36,851 |
| Pepsico Inc | 175,917 | 316,680 | 34,363 |
| Mondel z International Inc | 77,391 | 431,912 | 28,824 |
| General Mills Inc | 18,073 | 609,887 | -29,703 |
| PEERS TOTAL | 271,381 | 361,837 | 28,681 |
Lifeway Foods Inc's Position in Industry Market Structure
Market-capitalization share and concentration across all 53 companies in Lifeway Foods Inc's industry classification, broader than the peer set above. Market cap in millions of $.Lifeway Foods Inc ranks #35 of 53 companies by market capitalization in its industry, holding 0.11 % of total industry market cap. The industry's Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) is 1,029, indicating a unconcentrated market structure (U.S. antitrust guidance: below 1,500 unconcentrated, 1,500 to 2,500 moderately concentrated, above 2,500 highly concentrated).
| Rank | Company | Market Cap | Industry Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mondel z International Inc | 77,057 | 25.34 % |
| 2 | Hershey Co | 33,750 | 11.10 % |
| 3 | Kraft Heinz Co | 27,966 | 9.20 % |
| 4 | Tyson Foods Inc | 18,027 | 5.93 % |
| 5 | General Mills Inc | 1,234 | 5.2% |
| 6 | Magnum Ice Cream Co N v | 1,234 | 5.2% |
| 7 | The J M Smucker Company | 1,234 | 5.2% |
| 8 | Mccormick and Company Incorporated | 1,234 | 5.2% |
| 9 | Hormel Foods Corporation | 1,234 | 5.2% |
| 10 | Smithfield Foods Inc | 1,234 | 5.2% |
| 35 | Lifeway Foods Inc | 326 | 0.11 % |
Market cap and industry share for the rest of Lifeway Foods Inc's industry peers requires a Commercial License.
Source: CSIMarket API (daily market-structure computation) across CSIMarket's industry classification, market capitalization as of 2026-09-28.
Lifeway Foods Inc's Same-Size Peers & Stock Performance
Peers chosen by closeness in market-cap rank within the same industry classification (not the named-competitor list above). Trailing 12-month total return, 3-month price momentum, beta and Sharpe ratio vs the broad U.S. market.| Rank | Company | Market Cap | TTM Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | The Simply Good Foods Company | 854 | -61.66 % |
| 31 | Sanfilippo John B and Son Inc | 792 | 6.75 % |
| 32 | Once Upon A Farm Pbc | 684 | - |
| 33 | Mama s Creations Inc | 592 | 20.91 % |
| 34 | Vital Farms Inc | 1,234 | 12.3% |
| 35 | Lifeway Foods Inc | 326 | -19.08 % |
| 36 | Forafric Global Plc | 1,234 | 12.3% |
| 37 | B and g Foods inc | 1,234 | 12.3% |
| 38 | Medifast Inc | 1,234 | 12.3% |
| 39 | Branchout Food Inc | 1,234 | 12.3% |
| 40 | Bridgford Foods Corporation | 1,234 | 12.3% |
Market cap, return, momentum, beta and Sharpe ratio for the rest of Lifeway Foods Inc's same-size peers requires a Commercial License.
Source: CSIMarket API (daily market-structure computation); returns and risk metrics as of 2026-09-28. Beta and Sharpe ratio are versus the broad U.S. equity market, not this industry.
Lifeway Foods Inc's Profitability & Cost Structure
Trailing 12-month margins from SEC-filed financials. Operating margin is compared to the Food Processing industry median; gross margin, EBITDA margin and capital intensity are compared to the live industry average (79 companies).| Metric | Company | Industry | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross Margin | 3.84 % | 26.42 % (avg) | -22.6 pp |
| Operating Margin | 6.50 % | industry median | +1.7 pp |
| EBITDA Margin | 8.27 % | -1.80 % (avg) | +10.1 pp |
| Capital Intensity (Capex / Revenue) | 17.49 % | 4.50 % (avg) | +13.0 pp |
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months. SG&A and R&D as a share of revenue have limited coverage as this data is backfilled and appear only where reported. Higher capital intensity is not inherently negative; it reflects the industry's asset requirements.
Lifeway Foods Inc's Valuation vs Competitive Position
Valuation multiples vs the Food Processing industry average (79 companies, excluding loss-making/negative-equity outliers), alongside returns on capital for context on whether a premium or discount lines up with measurably stronger or weaker returns.| Metric | Company | Industry Average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| P/E | 39.3x | 26.5x | +12.8x |
| EV / EBITDA | 20.8x | 12.9x | +7.9x |
| P/B | 4.9x | 2.9x | +2.0x |
| Return on Equity | 12.66 % | industry aggregate | 10.68 % |
| Return on Invested Capital | 8.61 % | 0.69 % (avg) | 7.92 % |
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months. A valuation premium or discount is not, by itself, a judgment of over- or under-valuation. Compare it against the return and growth context shown elsewhere on this page.
Lifeway Foods Inc's Multi-Year Financial Trajectory
Fiscal-year revenue growth, operating margin, return on invested capital and P/E, as reported in SEC filings.| Metric | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue Growth | -11.25 % | -9.37 % | 8.93 % | 105.26 % | -5.80 % | -19.18 % | 17.02 % | 13.74 % |
| Operating Margin | -3.01 % | -2.06 % | 4.83 % | 2.81 % | 1.19 % | 10.66 % | 7.42 % | 7.62 % |
| Return on Invested Capital | -3.21 % | -2.14 % | 5.20 % | 5.59 % | 2.20 % | 14.67 % | 9.83 % | 9.85 % |
| P/E | - | - | 28.6x | 25.5x | 98.4x | 17.3x | 40.4x | 25.8x |
Source: CSIMarket API, fiscal-year figures. P/E is this company's own historical ratio at each fiscal year end and can swing sharply around an earnings trough: that is real, not a data error.
Lifeway Foods Inc's Strategic Group Map
Every company in Lifeway Foods Inc's industry and named-competitor list, plotted by trailing 12-month revenue growth and operating margin. Lifeway Foods Inc is shown in red; its closest peers by combined growth, margin and ROIC (the Similar Growth & Profitability group above) are labeled.
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months. Extreme outlier values (from near-zero-revenue companies) are excluded from the plotted cloud but never from the highlighted company or its labeled peers.
Lifeway Foods Inc's BCG Growth-Share Matrix
Relative market share (vs Lifeway Foods Inc's largest competitor by market cap) against industry revenue growth, using the standard textbook thresholds (1.0x share, 10% growth) a common framework, not a precision instrument.
Lifeway Foods Inc falls in the Dog quadrant: relative market share of 0.00x vs its largest competitor, in an industry growing revenue 1.7% (median, trailing 12 months).
Source: CSIMarket API (market-cap share and industry revenue growth). The 10% growth and 1.0x share lines are standard textbook thresholds, not derived from this industry's own distribution.
Lifeway Foods Inc's Competitive Forces (Porter's Five Forces)
Only the forces this data can support honestly are shown; the other three are marked as such rather than guessed.| Force | Assessment | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Competitive Rivalry | High | Industry HHI of 1,029 (see Industry Market Structure & Concentration above) |
| Barriers to Entry | High (capital intensive) | Capital intensity (capex / revenue) of 17.49 % vs industry average 4.50 % (see Profitability & Cost Structure above) |
| Supplier Power | Not covered on this page | See Lifeway Foods Inc's dedicated suppliers page for concentration and dependency data |
| Buyer Power | Not covered on this page | See Lifeway Foods Inc's dedicated customers page for concentration and dependency data |
| Threat of Substitutes | - | No systematic data source for cross-product substitution exists in this system; not estimated |
Note: this is a partial, data-grounded application of the framework, not a complete strategic assessment. Rivalry and barriers-to-entry readings are mechanical translations of the HHI and capital-intensity figures shown elsewhere on this page, not independent judgments.
Lifeway Foods Inc's Industry Attractiveness & Competitive Strength
A CSIMarket composite, not a standard field: each axis is an equal-weighted average of three factors already shown elsewhere on this page (industry growth, industry profitability and rivalry for attractiveness; relative market share, profitability and growth vs industry for strength). Disclosed as a designed methodology, not a precision measurement.
Lifeway Foods Inc falls in the Low attractiveness / Medium strength cell: Harvest.
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months. Each axis score is a simple 1(low)/2(medium)/3(high) average across its three inputs -- a transparent, disclosed simplification, not a validated academic scoring model.
Lifeway Foods Inc's SWOT
Every point below is a fixed rule applied to a metric already shown elsewhere on this page (Market Structure, Profitability, Valuation, Run-Rate, Stock Performance, Quality Breadth) not an independent strategic assessment. A blank quadrant means no rule was met, not that none apply.Strengths
- Return on equity 10.7 points above the industry aggregate.
- Latest-quarter revenue run-rate is accelerating (+10.6% annualized vs trailing 12 months).
Weaknesses
- Underperforming the U.S.A. 500 over the trailing 12 months.
- Low relative market share vs the industry leader (0.00x).
- Piotroski F-Score of 2 or below, the standard financial-distress signal.
Opportunities
- A meaningful share of tracked competitors (33.30 %) show financial-distress signals, a possible opening to gain share.
Threats
- High capital intensity requires continuous reinvestment just to keep pace with the industry.
Methodology: mechanical, rule-based SWOT. Each bullet reuses a figure already sourced and cited elsewhere on this page; nothing here is generated narrative or independent analyst judgment.
Lifeway Foods Inc's Financial Strength vs Peers Comparison
Quick ratio, working capital, debt to equity and asset turnover, trailing 12 months| Company | Quick Ratio | Working Capital | Debt / Equity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lifeway Foods Inc | 0.50 | 2.19 | 0.08 |
| Pepsico Inc | 0.28 | 0.90 | 2.46 |
| Mondel z International Inc | - | 0.59 | 0.81 |
| General Mills Inc | 0.07 | 0.65 | 2.07 |
Quick ratio = cash / current liabilities; working capital ratio = current assets / current liabilities; asset turnover = revenue / total assets. Peers in the Blank Checks industry are excluded.
Lifeway Foods Inc's Revenue and Income Growth vs Peers
Quarterly revenue and net income growth, year over year and quarter over quarter| Company | Period | Revenue Y/Y | Income Y/Y |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lifeway Foods Inc | Q2 2026 | +25.3 % | -97.0 % |
| Pepsico Inc | Q2 2026 | +6.4 % | +134.9 % |
| Mondel z International Inc | Q1 2026 | +8.2 % | +38.6 % |
| General Mills Inc | Q3 2026 | -2.8 % | -67.0 % |
| PEERS TOTAL | +5.8 % | +37.0 % |
Growth is shown only where both periods are positive. Peers in the Blank Checks industry are excluded.
Lifeway Foods Inc's Peers' Costs of Sales and Capital Expenditures
Context for revenue growth: peer costs and capex, year over year and quarter over quarter| Company | Period | Costs Y/Y | Capex Y/Y |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lifeway Foods Inc | Q2 2026 | +180.9 % | +411.1 % |
| Pepsico Inc | Q2 2026 | +7.4 % | -9.4 % |
| Mondel z International Inc | Q1 2026 | +5.7 % | +12.6 % |
| General Mills Inc | Q3 2026 | -2.8 % | -17.4 % |
Lifeway Foods Inc's Returns and Turnover vs Peers
ROA, ROI and ROE (trailing 12 months), receivables and inventory turnover| Company | ROA | ROI | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lifeway Foods Inc | 9.29% | 11.24% | 12.66% |
| Pepsico Inc | 9.63% | 13.23% | 50.13% |
| Mondel z International Inc | 3.68% | 4.94% | 10.07% |
| General Mills Inc | - | - | - |
ROA = net income / total assets; ROI = net income / investments; ROE = net income / equity; turnover ratios use trailing 12 month revenue (receivables) and cost of sales (inventory).
Lifeway Foods Inc's Valuation vs Peers
P/E, price to sales, PEG, price to cash flow and price to book| Company | P/E | Price / Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Lifeway Foods Inc | 30.54 | 1.34 |
| Pepsico Inc | 16.84 | 1.82 |
| Mondel z International Inc | 29.94 | 1.97 |
| General Mills Inc | - | 0.99 |
| PEERS AVERAGE | 22.17 | 1.76 |
P/E = price / diluted EPS (trailing 12 months); PEG = P/E divided by EPS growth; the average row divides the peers' combined market cap by their combined income, sales, cash flow and equity.