Assay
Financial-condition grades for SEC filers
Company Report · as of Oct 9, 2026
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| Lifeway Foods, Inc.LWAY · consumer nondurables | |
|---|---|
| Grade |  Astrongest fifth of 124 graded peers; percentile 7.3, sampling error 3.8 points; lower is stronger |
| Rank | 10 of 124 |
| Profitability | C/Dpercentile 58.7 |
| Solvency | A/Bpercentile 20.0 |
| Growth and financing | Apercentile 15.2 |
| Reliability | 0.83 AUCfailure model, filers with $12.5M to $120M assets; 95% interval 0.79 to 0.86; 201 events, 2020 to 2025 |
| Peer failure rate | 1.07% a yearItem 1.03 bankruptcies, same asset band, 2012 to 2025 |
| Size band | $12.5M to $120M assetstotal assets $105.6M[1] |
| Standard universe | insiderevenue above $1M and assets above $10M[1-2] |
| Warnings | none active · fortress balance sheetnot computable: distress |
| Inputs computable | 9 of 14 |
| Graded from | filings received through Mar 17, 2026206 days before the rescan; every figure keyed to the SEC receipt date |
| Last close | $21.112026-10-08; market equity $318.9M; iex feed |
| Price used in grade | None |
| Share price, twelve months to the rescansplit-adjusted close; a lollipop at every rescan carries the letter held then; baseline ticks are SEC receipt dates of the inputs; ranges and dragging scroll the full history | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Percentile at every rescan on file, Jan 21, 2012 to Oct 9, 2026; stronger toward the top. Hover for the date. Open this report as it stood on | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Each date opens the report as it stood on that rescan. |
Business, in the company's words. Opening of Item 1 of the 10-K received Mar 17, 2026; the document on sec.gov.
ten years after he and his family emigrated from Eastern Europe to the United States. Lifeway was the first to successfully introduce kefir to the U.S. consumer on a commercial scale, initially catering to ethnic consumers in the Chicago, Illinois metropolitan area. Lifeway has grown to become the largest producer and marketer of kefir in the U.S. and an important player in the broader market spaces of probiotic-based dairy product. Lifeway kefir is tart and tangy, high in protein, calcium and vitamin D.
Warnings [top]
7 checks ran; none of them enters the letter. The checks are listed on the warnings screen.
The Fourteen Inputs [top]
Lower percentile is stronger. Source numbers open the SEC filing; a range that spans filings opens the sources table.
| Input | Percentile, 0 to 100 | Value | Source | Peer median | Percentile | Peers | Period end |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profitability, sleeve percentile 58.7 | |||||||
| Gross profitability | 55.1% | [1,5] | 29.8% | 15.9 | 146 | 2025-12-31 | |
| Return on invested capital | not computable | 5.6% | |||||
| latest aligned inputs end 2023-12-31; latest annual assets end 2025-12-31 | |||||||
| Accruals ratio | 3.0% | [1,6-8] | (5.0%) | 88.8 | 153 | 2025-12-31 | |
| Gross margin stability, five years | 3.0 pts | [2,5,9-16] | 1.9 pts | 71.3 | 116 | 2025-12-31 | |
| Solvency, sleeve percentile 20.0 | |||||||
| Twelve-month failure probability | not computable | 0.03% | |||||
| latest liabilities, cash plus short-term investments, book equity, and shares are required | |||||||
| Altman Z double-prime | 9.59 | [1,17-22] | 3.11 | 6.6 | 122 | 2025-12-31 | |
| Net debt to EBITDA | not computable | 2.54x | |||||
| latest aligned inputs end 2023-12-31; latest annual assets end 2025-12-31 | |||||||
| Interest coverage | not computable | 2.51x | |||||
| latest aligned inputs end 2023-12-31; latest annual assets end 2025-12-31 | |||||||
| Current ratio | 2.23x | [17-18] | 1.81x | 33.3 | 157 | 2025-12-31 | |
| Growth and financing, sleeve percentile 15.2 | |||||||
| Revenue growth, three-year compound | 14.5% | [2,10,12,14] | 0.2% | 6.1 | 133 | 2025-12-31 | |
| Free cash flow growth, three-year compound | not computable | 14.9% | |||||
| current FCF must be positive and base FCF must exceed $100,000 | |||||||
| Reinvestment rate | 137.9% | [17-18,20,23-28] | 10.7% | 10.1 | 70 | 2025-12-31 | |
| Asset growth, three years | 15.2% | [1,8,29-30] | 0.5% | 10.5 | 134 | 2025-12-31 | |
| Net share issuance, one year | (0.4%) | [31-32] | 0.05% | 34.0 | 104 | 2026-03-02 | |
Gross profitability. Revenue less cost of goods sold, over total assets.
Accruals ratio. Net income less operating cash flow, over average assets; lower is stronger.
Gross margin stability, five years. Standard deviation of gross margin; lower is stronger.
Twelve-month failure probability. CHS model; lower is stronger.
Net debt to EBITDA. Lower is stronger.
Net share issuance, one year. Split-adjusted; lower is stronger.
Sleeves are equal-weighted; within a sleeve each computable input carries equal weight. Composite -0.437; sampling error 3.8 percentile points on 124 peers.
Among 124 Peers [top]
Composite score of every graded peer, smoothed. Vertical rules are the letter band edges at the 20th, 40th, 60th and 80th percentiles. Small dots are the six largest peers by market equity.
| Rank | Company | Percentile | Letter | Warnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | lululemon athletica Inc. (LULU) lululemon athletica Inc. (LULU) Astrongest fifth; percentile 3.3 Nasdaq · Apparel & Other Finishd Prods of Fabrics & Similar Matl market equity $9.8B; last close $92.67 No active warnings; 10 of 14 inputs | 3.3 | A | |
| 6 | Bellring Brands, Inc. (BRBR) Bellring Brands, Inc. (BRBR) Astrongest fifth; percentile 4.1 NYSE · Food and Kindred Products market equity $929.1M; last close $7.98 No active warnings; 13 of 14 inputs | 4.1 | A | |
| 7 | Mama's Creations, Inc. (MAMA) Mama's Creations, Inc. (MAMA) Astrongest fifth; percentile 4.9 Nasdaq · Sausages & Other Prepared Meat Products market equity $631.8M; last close $13.40 Warnings: fortress balance sheet; 10 of 14 inputs | 4.9 | A | fortress balance sheet |
| 8 | Ralph Lauren Corp. (RL) Ralph Lauren Corp. (RL) Astrongest fifth; percentile 5.7 NYSE · Men's & Boys' Furnishgs, Work Clothg, & Allied Garments last close $367.27 Warnings: fortress balance sheet; 8 of 14 inputs | 5.7 | A | fortress balance sheet |
| 9 | Monster Beverage Corp. (MNST) Monster Beverage Corp. (MNST) Astrongest fifth; percentile 6.5 Nasdaq · Bottled & Canned Soft Drinks & Carbonated Waters market equity $85.5B; last close $43.66 Warnings: fortress balance sheet; 9 of 14 inputs | 6.5 | A | fortress balance sheet |
| 10 | Lifeway Foods, Inc. (LWAY) Lifeway Foods, Inc. (LWAY) Astrongest fifth; percentile 7.3 Nasdaq · Dairy Products market equity $318.6M; last close $21.11 Warnings: fortress balance sheet; 9 of 14 inputs | 7.3 | A | fortress balance sheet |
| 11 | Jerash Holdings (Us), Inc. (JRSH) Jerash Holdings (Us), Inc. (JRSH) Astrongest fifth; percentile 8.1 Nasdaq · Apparel & Other Finishd Prods of Fabrics & Similar Matl market equity $76.5M; last close $5.98 Warnings: fortress balance sheet; 10 of 14 inputs | 8.1 | A | fortress balance sheet |
| 12 | Sanfilippo John B & SON Inc. (JBSS) Sanfilippo John B & SON Inc. (JBSS) Astrongest fifth; percentile 8.9 Nasdaq · Sugar & Confectionery Products last close $68.38 No active warnings; 11 of 14 inputs | 8.9 | A | |
| 13 | Vita Coco Company, Inc. (COCO) Vita Coco Company, Inc. (COCO) Astrongest fifth; percentile 9.8 Nasdaq · Beverages market equity $3.2B; last close $55.97 No active warnings; 9 of 14 inputs | 9.8 | A | |
| 14 | Columbia Sportswear Co. (COLM) Columbia Sportswear Co. (COLM) Astrongest fifth; percentile 10.6 Nasdaq · Apparel & Other Finishd Prods of Fabrics & Similar Matl market equity $2.9B; last close $56.73 No active warnings; 10 of 14 inputs | 10.6 | A | |
| 15 | Steven Madden, Ltd. (SHOO) Steven Madden, Ltd. (SHOO) Astrongest fifth; percentile 11.4 Nasdaq · Footwear, (No Rubber) market equity $3.2B; last close $44.20 No active warnings; 10 of 14 inputs | 11.4 | A |
| Peer policy | Letter | Percentile | Peers |
|---|---|---|---|
| all graded filers, equal sleeves | A | 9.0 | 2204 |
| sector peers, equal sleeves (the grade) | A | 7.3 | 124 |
| same exchange, equal sleeves | A | 11.4 | 1219 |
| sector peers, equal inputs | A | 5.7 | 124 |
Each letter is one fifth of the 124 graded peers, about 24 companies. A boundary letter (A/B, B/C, C/D, D/E) marks a percentile within one sampling error of a band edge.
What the Price Implies [top]
Market measures at the 2026-10-08 close. None enters the grade. Percentile among graded peers with the same measure.
| Measure | Value | Peer median | Percentile | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Twelve-month price change, skipping the latest month | (6.2%) | (0.2%) | 40 | hotter than 40 of 100 peers |
| Distance from 52-week high | (34.8%) | (24.8%) | 27 | closer to its high than 27 of 100 peers |
| EBIT to enterprise value | 5.2% | 4.1% | 57 | pricier than 43 of 100 peers |
| Free cash flow yield | (5.2%) | 4.8% | 19 | pricier than 81 of 100 peers |
| Book value to price | 0.27 | 0.57 | 26 | pricier than 74 of 100 peers |
| Sales to price | 0.67 | 1.20 | 27 | pricier than 73 of 100 peers |
| Composite equity issuance, five years | (3.2%) | (16.3%) | 72 | more equity-funded than 72 of 100 peers |
| Relative strength against the sector, log excess return | (0.16) | (0.10) | 40 | ahead of 40 of 100 peers |
Inputs: market equity $318.6M; EBIT $16.2M; free cash flow -$16.4M; book equity $84.6M; sales $212.5M; debt $2.5M; cash $7.1M[33].
Diagnostics [top]
Diagnostics do not feed the grade.
| Piotroski F-score: None of 9, period end 2025-12-31 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Return on assets above zero | 15.3% | ✓ pass[6,8] |
| Operating cash flow above zero | $10.9M | ✓ pass[7] |
| Return on assets improved | 4.3 pts | ✓ pass[6,8,29,34] |
| Operating cash flow exceeds net income | -$2.9M | ✗ fail[6-7] |
| Long-term leverage fell | n/a[1,8,29] | |
| Current ratio improved | (58.5 pts) | ✗ fail[17-18,27-28] |
| No new shares issued | (0.4%) | ✓ pass[31-32] |
| Gross margin improved | 1.4 pts | ✓ pass[2,5,9-10] |
| Asset turnover improved | 5.9 pts | ✓ pass[2,8,10,29] |
| Cash, filings, liquidity | |
|---|---|
| Cash and equivalents | $7.1M[35] |
| Operating cash flow, four quarters | $11.2M[7,35-39] |
| Months of runway | not finite |
| trailing operating cash flow is nonnegative, so runway is not finite | |
| Late filings, two years | 0 |
| NT 10-K or NT 10-Q | |
| Days since last periodic filing | 57 |
| 10-Q received Aug 13, 2026 | |
| Median daily dollar volume | $2.8M |
| 63 sessions | |
| Days since newest grade input | 206 |
Downloads [top]
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Sources [top]
Every citation on this page. Filing opens the SEC index page for that submission; viewer opens the SEC interactive data for the same filing; series opens the SEC XBRL API record for that tag and company.
| # | Concept | XBRL tag | Value | Period end | Received | Form | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | assets | us-gaap:Assets | $105.6M | 2025-12-31 | 2026-03-17 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 2 | revenue | us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax | $212.5M | 2025-12-31 | 2026-03-17 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 3 | cash | us-gaap:CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue | $13.2M | 2023-12-31 | 2025-03-14 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 4 | total debt | us-gaap:LongTermDebt | $2.8M | 2023-12-31 | 2024-03-20 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 5 | gross profit | us-gaap:GrossProfit | $58.2M | 2025-12-31 | 2026-03-17 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 6 | net income | us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss | $13.9M | 2025-12-31 | 2026-03-17 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 7 | operating cash flow | us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities | $10.9M | 2025-12-31 | 2026-03-17 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 8 | assets | us-gaap:Assets | $90.5M | 2024-12-31 | 2026-03-17 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 9 | gross profit | us-gaap:GrossProfit | $48.6M | 2024-12-31 | 2026-03-17 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 10 | revenue | us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax | $186.8M | 2024-12-31 | 2026-03-17 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 11 | gross profit | us-gaap:GrossProfit | $42.4M | 2023-12-31 | 2025-03-14 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 12 | revenue | us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax | $160.1M | 2023-12-31 | 2025-03-14 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 13 | gross profit | us-gaap:GrossProfit | $26.8M | 2022-12-31 | 2024-03-20 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 14 | revenue | us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax | $141.6M | 2022-12-31 | 2024-03-20 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 15 | gross profit | us-gaap:GrossProfit | $28.7M | 2021-12-31 | 2023-03-27 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 16 | revenue | us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax | $119.1M | 2021-12-31 | 2023-03-27 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 17 | current assets | us-gaap:AssetsCurrent | $37.1M | 2025-12-31 | 2026-03-17 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 18 | current liabilities | us-gaap:LiabilitiesCurrent | $16.6M | 2025-12-31 | 2026-03-17 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 19 | retained earnings | us-gaap:RetainedEarningsAccumulatedDeficit | $88.7M | 2025-12-31 | 2026-03-17 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 20 | operating income | us-gaap:OperatingIncomeLoss | $16.2M | 2025-12-31 | 2026-03-17 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 21 | book equity | us-gaap:StockholdersEquity | $85.8M | 2025-12-31 | 2026-03-17 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 22 | liabilities | us-gaap:Liabilities | $19.8M | 2025-12-31 | 2026-03-17 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 23 | capital expenditure | us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment | $27.4M | 2025-12-31 | 2026-03-17 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 24 | depreciation amortization | us-gaap:DepreciationDepletionAndAmortization | $4.0M | 2025-12-31 | 2026-03-17 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 25 | pretax income | us-gaap:IncomeLossFromContinuingOperationsBeforeIncomeTaxesExtraordinaryItemsNoncontrollingInterest | $19.7M | 2025-12-31 | 2026-03-17 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 26 | income tax | us-gaap:IncomeTaxExpenseBenefit | $5.8M | 2025-12-31 | 2026-03-17 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 27 | current assets | us-gaap:AssetsCurrent | $43.6M | 2024-12-31 | 2026-03-17 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 28 | current liabilities | us-gaap:LiabilitiesCurrent | $15.5M | 2024-12-31 | 2026-03-17 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 29 | assets | us-gaap:Assets | $81.7M | 2023-12-31 | 2025-03-14 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 30 | assets | us-gaap:Assets | $69.0M | 2022-12-31 | 2024-03-20 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 31 | shares outstanding | dei:EntityCommonStockSharesOutstanding | 15,149,600 | 2026-03-02 | 2026-03-17 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 32 | shares outstanding | dei:EntityCommonStockSharesOutstanding | 15,203,241 | 2025-04-25 | 2025-04-29 | 10-K/A | filing · viewer · series |
| 33 | shares outstanding | dei:EntityCommonStockSharesOutstanding | 15,106,747 | 2026-08-07 | 2026-08-13 | 10-Q | filing · viewer · series |
| 34 | net income | us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss | $9.0M | 2024-12-31 | 2026-03-17 | 10-K | filing · viewer · series |
| 35 | cash | us-gaap:CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue | $7.1M | 2026-06-30 | 2026-08-13 | 10-Q | filing · viewer · series |
| 36 | operating cash flow | us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities | $4.0M | 2026-06-30 | 2026-08-13 | 10-Q | filing · viewer · series |
| 37 | operating cash flow | us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities | $4.4M | 2026-03-31 | 2026-05-14 | 10-Q | filing · viewer · series |
| 38 | operating cash flow | us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities | $10.7M | 2025-09-30 | 2025-11-12 | 10-Q | filing · viewer · series |
| 39 | operating cash flow | us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities | $3.8M | 2025-06-30 | 2026-08-13 | 10-Q | filing · viewer · series |
Limitations [top]
Grade boundary. Percentile 7.3 is 12.7 points from the nearest band edge; sampling error is 3.8 points.
Peer group. Sector assignment from four-digit SIC codes, hand-tuned and published. The grade under three alternative peer policies is tabled above.
Size. Within a sector the letter tracks size. Among graded filers in the smallest asset band, 72% grade E and 0% grade A; in the largest, 13% grade E and 21% grade A. Universe as of Oct 9, 2026.
Failure model. filings 2012-01-01 to 2019-12-31 fit, filings 2020-01-01 to 2025-12-31 test; status post hoc pending confirmation. pre-registered on 2026 filings once their 12-month outcome windows close; supported if the paired per-quintile gain over the pooled model has a lower bound above 0.05.
Input validity. Revenue or total assets at or below $100,000 sets the degenerate-inputs flag. An input whose denominator is at or below $100,000 is left not computable rather than ranked.
Returns. No input on this page has a post-2015 confidence interval on returns that excludes zero. The grade ranks reported financial condition and is not a return forecast.
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