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Snack food company Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) beat Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q1 CY2025, with sales up 1.6% year on year to $352.1 million. Its non-GAAP profit of $0.16 per share was in line with analysts’ consensus estimates.
Is now the time to buy Utz? Find out in our full research report.
Utz (UTZ) Q1 CY2025 Highlights:
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Revenue: $352.1 million vs analyst estimates of $350.2 million (1.6% year-on-year growth, 0.6% beat)
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Adjusted EPS: $0.16 vs analyst estimates of $0.15 (in line)
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Adjusted EBITDA: $45.1 million vs analyst estimates of $44.79 million (12.8% margin, 0.7% beat)
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Operating Margin: 1.6%, down from 2.8% in the same quarter last year
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Free Cash Flow was -$59.01 million compared to -$22.7 million in the same quarter last year
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Organic Revenue rose 2.9% year on year (1.5% in the same quarter last year)
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Market Capitalization: $1.14 billion
“I’m pleased with our strong start to the year, as we delivered nearly 3% Organic Net Sales growth(1), and gained dollar and pound share of the Salty Snacks category in the first quarter(2). Our use of bonus packs and focused trade promotions have been effective in addressing consumer value needs. We’ve now shown our ability to grow despite category softness, due to our unique geographic expansion opportunity. In addition, we delivered our ninth consecutive quarter of year-over-year Adjusted EBITDA Margin expansion, and we drove Adjusted Earnings Per Share growth of over 14%,” said Howard Friedman, Chief Executive Officer of Utz.
Company Overview
Tracing its roots back to 1921 when Bill and Salie Utz began making potato chips in their kitchen, Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) offers salty snacks such as potato chips, tortilla chips, pretzels, cheese snacks, and ready-to-eat popcorn, among others.
Sales Growth
Examining a company’s long-term performance can provide clues about its quality. Any business can put up a good quarter or two, but many enduring ones grow for years.
With $1.41 billion in revenue over the past 12 months, Utz is a small consumer staples company, which sometimes brings disadvantages compared to larger competitors benefiting from economies of scale and negotiating leverage with retailers.
As you can see below, Utz’s 4.2% annualized revenue growth over the last three years was sluggish, but to its credit, consumers bought more of its products.
This quarter, Utz reported modest year-on-year revenue growth of 1.6% but beat Wall Street’s estimates by 0.6%.
Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 1.8% over the next 12 months, a slight deceleration versus the last three years. This projection doesn't excite us and indicates its products will see some demand headwinds.