Lifeway Foods (LWAY) Operating Margin (2010 - 2025)
Lifeway Foods' (LWAY) quarterly Operating Margin came in at 6.8% in Q4 2025, up 528.0% YoY from 1.08% in Q4 2024, and down 22.93% on a QoQ basis from 8.82% in Q3 2025.
Lifeway Foods (LWAY) Operating Margin (2010 - 2025) Analysis & Trends
Lifeway Foods (LWAY) has 16 years of Operating Margin data on file, last reported at 6.8% in Q4 2025.
- Quarterly Operating Margin rose 528.0% year-over-year to 6.8% in Q4 2025, while the trailing twelve-month figure through Dec 2025 was 7.61% (up 20.0% YoY) and the FY2025 annual result came in at 7.61%, up 20.0% from the prior year.
- Operating Margin retreated to 6.8% in Q4 2025, from 8.82% in the prior quarter.
- In the past five years, Operating Margin ranged from a high of 13.67% in Q4 2023 to a low of 3.08% in Q1 2022.
- A 5-year average of 6.37% and a median of 6.69% in 2021 frame the typical range for Operating Margin.
- Annual changes were most pronounced in 2023 — Operating Margin soared 1143 bps — and 2024, when it tumbled 1215 bps.
- Tracing LWAY's Operating Margin over 5 years: stood at 1.31% in 2021, then surged by 318 bps to 5.47% in 2022, then surged by 150 bps to 13.67% in 2023, then slumped by 89 bps to 1.52% in 2024, then jumped by 347 bps to 6.8% in 2025.
- The last three Operating Margin figures came in at 6.8% (Q4 2025), 8.82% (Q3 2025), and 10.75% (Q2 2025), per Business Quant data.
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Peer Comparison
| # | Company | Market Cap | Enterprise Value | Gross Profit (Qtr) | Operating Margin (Qtr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kraft Heinz | 30.23 Bn | 27.54 Bn | 2.03 Bn | -102.70% |
| 2 | General Mills | 21.36 Bn | 20.90 Bn | 1.60 Bn | -45.40% |
| 3 | Mccormick | 14.89 Bn | 14.56 Bn | 778.20 Mn | 14.27% |
| 4 | Jbs | 14.54 Bn | 11.07 Bn | 4.91 Bn | 2.38% |
| 5 | Hormel Foods | 13.26 Bn | 12.40 Bn | 518.51 Mn | 7.30% |
| 6 | J M Smucker | 13.17 Bn | 13.11 Bn | 862.10 Mn | 19.60% |
| 7 | Magnum Ice Cream | 12.10 Bn | 11.38 Bn | - | - |
| 8 | Darling Ingredients | 10.78 Bn | 10.62 Bn | 503.37 Mn | 32.20% |
| 9 | Smithfield Foods | 8.77 Bn | 7.42 Bn | 478.00 Mn | 7.84% |
| 10 | Lifeway Foods | 395.28 Mn | 389.70 Mn | 15.36 Mn | 6.80% |
Historic Data
Download Data| Date | Value |
|---|---|
| Dec 31, 2025 | 6.80% |
| Sep 30, 2025 | 8.82% |
| Jun 30, 2025 | 10.75% |
| Mar 31, 2025 | 3.41% |
| Dec 31, 2024 | 1.52% |
| Sep 30, 2024 | 9.09% |
| Jun 30, 2024 | 10.96% |
| Mar 31, 2024 | 7.98% |
| Dec 31, 2023 | 13.67% |
| Sep 30, 2023 | 12.32% |
| Jun 30, 2023 | 12.15% |
| Mar 31, 2023 | 3.79% |
| Dec 31, 2022 | 5.47% |
| Sep 30, 2022 | 3.13% |
| Jun 30, 2022 | 0.72% |
| Mar 31, 2022 | -3.08% |
| Dec 31, 2021 | 1.31% |
| Sep 30, 2021 | 3.53% |
| Jun 30, 2021 | 8.55% |
| Mar 31, 2021 | 6.59% |