Lifeway Foods, Inc. LWAY

Competitive advantage analysis · consumer-defensive

Corporate Default
Overall moat score
69/100
Moderate

Ranked against 72 peers in Packaged Foods

About Lifeway Foods, Inc.

Lifeway Foods, Inc. produces and markets probiotic-based products in the United States and internationally. The company's primary product is drinkable kefir, a cultured dairy product in various organic and non-organic sizes, flavors, and types. It offers European-style soft cheeses, including farmer and white cheeses, and sweet kiss; cream and other products; drinkable yogurt; ProBugs, a kefir products designed for children; … Full LWAY analysis →

Key strengths

  • ROIC Sustainably Above Peers ROIC at 89.1th percentile exceeds peers and WACC, demonstrating superior capital allocation.
  • Strong Interest Coverage & Conservative Leverage Debt serviceability is strong (score 0.89), with robust interest coverage.

Key risks

  • Inconsistent Cash Generation Cash generation is inconsistent (score 0.40), indicating operational challenges.

The dashed ring is the peer median. Defense scores are percentile ranks against peers, so 50 is roughly the typical company in this group.

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Pricing Power

Moderate
65
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Signals, strengths and risks for Pricing Power

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Signals, strengths and risks for Cost Advantage

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Signals, strengths and risks for Customer Stickiness

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Signals, strengths and risks for Capital Efficiency

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Signals, strengths and risks for Resilience

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Signals, strengths and risks for Scale & Market Position

Where LWAY ranks in Packaged Foods

Lifeway Foods, Inc. ranks #15 of 73 scored companies in Packaged Foods by moat score — the top 21%. The widest moat in the group is McCormick & Company, Incorporat (MKC-V) at 79/100.

# Company Moat score Rating
11 The Campbell's Company CPB 70/100 Moderate
12 Nature's Sunshine Products, Inc NATR 70/100 Moderate
13 J & J Snack Foods Corp. JJSF 70/100 Moderate
14 Herbalife Ltd. HLF 70/100 Moderate
15 Lifeway Foods, Inc. LWAY 69/100 Moderate
16 Nomad Foods Limited NOMD 69/100 Moderate
17 FitLife Brands, Inc. FTLF 68/100 Moderate
18 Pilgrim's Pride Corporation PPC 68/100 Moderate
19 Post Holdings, Inc. POST 68/100 Moderate

See every General Corporate company ranked by moat score →

How LWAY scores on the Corporate Default defenses

Pricing Power

Score 64 · 20% of the moat score

Pricing power is the ability to raise prices without losing volume.

Cost Advantage

Score 66 · 15% of the moat score

A cost advantage means delivering the same product for structurally less — better purchasing, denser distribution, a more automated process.

Customer Stickiness

Score 64 · 15% of the moat score

Stickiness is what makes revenue repeat without being re-won every year.

Capital Efficiency

Score 83 · 18% of the moat score

Capital efficiency asks what the company earns on the money tied up in the business.

Resilience

Score 70 · 17% of the moat score

Resilience is the capacity to get through a bad year on its own terms — enough liquidity, enough interest cover, and enough cash generation to avoid a rescue financing or a forced sale.

Scale & Market Position

Score 67 · 15% of the moat score

Scale matters only when it converts into economics.

How each Corporate Default defense is measured, in full →

Understanding LWAY's moat

What is Lifeway Foods, Inc.'s moat score?

Lifeway Foods, Inc. (LWAY) scores 69 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as moderate. It ranks #15 of 73 scored companies in Packaged Foods, the top 21%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 72 companies in Packaged Foods. Its strongest defense is Capital Efficiency (83/100) and its weakest is Customer Stickiness (64/100).

How does Lifeway Foods, Inc. compare with other Packaged Foods companies?

Lifeway Foods, Inc. ranks #15 of 73 scored companies in Packaged Foods by moat score. The widest moat in Packaged Foods is McCormick & Company, Incorporat (MKC-V) at 79/100. The companies ranked closest are Herbalife Ltd. (HLF) at 70 just above it and Nomad Foods Limited (NOMD) at 69 just below it.

How is the moat score calculated?

Each company is scored with an industry-specific template — Corporate Default in this case, chosen because the defenses that matter to a bank are not the ones that matter to a software company. Every defense combines several financial signals, and each signal is measured as a percentile against a peer group of 72 companies in Packaged Foods. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.

Why is Lifeway Foods, Inc. scored with the Corporate Default template?

Most public companies sell a product or a service at a margin, so the moat question is whether that margin survives contact with competitors. The Corporate template scores the six defenses that show up in a general operating company's financial signature: whether it can hold price, produce more cheaply than rivals, keep its customers, earn a return above its cost of capital, withstand a downturn, and turn size into economics.

Which competitive defenses are measured for Lifeway Foods, Inc.?

The Corporate Default template measures 6 defenses, and LWAY scores: Pricing Power (64), Cost Advantage (66), Customer Stickiness (64), Capital Efficiency (83), Resilience (70), Scale & Market Position (67). Each is scored independently as a percentile against peers, so a company can be strong on one and weak on another — the overall score reflects how those defenses are weighted for this industry.

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