Lifeway Foods, Inc.
Close on Oct 19, 2026
- Market cap
- $338.80M
- P/E (TTM)
- 31.7
- Dividend yield
- –
About Lifeway Foods
Dairy Products, SIC 2020
Lifeway Foods, Inc. produces and markets cultured dairy products. Its primary offering is drinkable kefir across multiple sizes, flavors, and milk types, alongside ProBugs kefir designed for children. The company also supplies European-style soft cheeses such as farmer cheese and white cheese, drinkable yogurt, cream, butter, and sour cream under proprietary brand names and private labels. Lifeway manages its operations in one business segment. Its customers comprise grocery chains, specialty retailers, wholesalers, club stores, convenience outlets, mass merchants, foodservice operators, schools, and military installations.
The company is headquartered in Morton Grove, Illinois, where it also maintains production operations. Additional company-operated manufacturing and distribution facilities are located in Niles, Illinois; Waukesha, Wisconsin; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, supported by co-packers in California and Ireland. Lifeway distributes primarily across the United States, with international sales reaching Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, France, Ireland, and the Middle East. Its workforce consists of 293 full-time and two part-time employees.
Summary of the business section of Lifeway Foods's latest annual report, written by StockData.
Company profile
Company
- Legal name
- Lifeway Foods, Inc.
- Founded
- 1986
- Headquarters
- Morton Grove, IL
- Address
- 6431 W Oakton 60053
- Phone
- (847) 967-1010
- Website
- lifewayfoods.com
- Employees
- 295, Dec 31, 2025
- Industry
- Dairy Products
- Incorporated in
- Illinois
- Fiscal year ends
- December 31
- Auditor
- GRANT THORNTON LLP, Chicago, Illinois
Stock & identifiers
- Ticker
- LWAY
- Exchange
- Nasdaq
- IPO date
- Dec 29, 1988
- Shares outstanding
- 15M, Aug 7, 2026
- Public float
- $132.50M, Jun 30, 2025
- Filer category
- Non-accelerated filer<br>Smaller reporting company
- Stock splits
- 2-for-1, Aug 16, 2006; 2-for-1, Mar 9, 2004
- SEC CIK
- 814586
- CUSIP
- 531914109
- ISIN
- US5319141090
- EIN
- 36-3442829
Executives and directors
Officers and directors who filed ownership reports (Forms 3, 4, 5) in the last two years
| Name | Position | Shares owned |
|---|---|---|
| Julie Smolyansky | CEO, President and Secretary, Director | 2,714,095 |
| Eric A. Hanson | CFO | 58,890 |
| Amy M. Feldman | Sr. Exec VP of Sales | 19,913 |
| Juan Carlos Dalto | Director | 4,751 |
| Dorri McWhorter | Director | 28,842 |
| Jason Scott Scher | Director | 1 |
| Kirk Chartier | Director | – |
| Susan Hultquist | Director | – |
| Andee Harris | Director | – |
| Rachel Drori | Director | – |
| Pol Sikar | Director | 22,214 |
| Jody Levy | Director | 26,847 |
| Perfecto Sanchez | Director | 6,107 |
CEO pay and shareholder return
Pay versus performance table from the proxy statement
| Fiscal year | CEO total pay | CEO pay actually paid | Other executives (avg) | Value of $100 invested | Peer group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Julie Smolyansky | $3.39M | $2.91M | $948.46K | $98 | – |
| FY2024 Julie Smolyansky | $5.37M | $10.08M | $808.61K | $185 | – |
| FY2023 Julie Smolyansky | $3.37M | $5.12M | $772.73K | $242 | – |
“Actually paid” adjusts reported pay for changes in the value of equity awards. Shareholder return assumes $100 invested at the start of the measurement period, as disclosed by the company.
Employees
Headcount reported in annual reports
“As of December 31, 2025, we employed 293 full-time and two part-time employees, of which 97 were members of a union bargaining unit in Illinois.”
Corporate history
Events identified from SEC filings