Freshpet Q4 sales rise but slightly miss estimates

Freshpet

23/02/2026 11:37

Overview

Pet food maker's Q4 net sales rose 8.6% but slightly missed analyst expectations

Net income for Q4 increased to $33.8 mln from $18.1 mln last year

Company achieved positive free cash flow of $12.4 mln for 2025

Outlook

Company expects 2026 net sales growth between 7% and 10% compared to 2025

Freshpet forecasts 2026 adjusted EBITDA between $205 mln and $215 mln

Company anticipates positive free cash flow with capital expenditures of ~$150 mln in 2026

Result Drivers

VOLUME GAINS - Net sales increase driven by 9.7% volume gains, partially offset by unfavorable price/mix

OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES - Gross profit margin improvement attributed to reduced quality costs and better leverage on plant expenses

Key Details

Metric
Beat/Miss
Actual
Consensus Estimate
Q4 Sales
Slight Miss*
$285.20 mln
$285.70 mln (15 Analysts)
Q4 EPS
$0.64
Q4 Net Income
$33.80 mln


*Applies to a deviation of less than 1%; not applicable for per-share numbers.

Analyst Coverage

The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 9 "strong buy" or "buy", 7 "hold" and 1 "sell" or "strong sell"

The average consensus recommendation for the food processing peer group is "buy"

Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Freshpet Inc is $80.00, about 7.4% above its February 20 closing price of $74.51

The stock recently traded at 53 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 29 three months ago

Press Release: ID:nGNX6FDYT8

For questions concerning the data in this report, contact Estimates.Support@lseg.com. For any other questions or feedback, contact reuters.support@thomsonreuters.com.

(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)