Lifeway Foods (LWAY) Competitors

$25.17 0.00 (0.00%)

Closing price 05/22/2026 04:00 PM Eastern

Extended Trading

$25.16 -0.01 (-0.04%)

As of 05/22/2026 06:26 PM Eastern

LWAY vs. JJSF, DOLE, SENEA, JBSS, and CVGW

Should you buy Lifeway Foods stock or one of its competitors? MarketBeat compares Lifeway Foods with other companies and stocks that may be similar based on industry, sector, market capitalization, business model, investor interest, or shared news coverage. Companies and stocks commonly compared with Lifeway Foods include J & J Snack Foods (JJSF), Dole (DOLE), Seneca Foods (SENEA), John B. Sanfilippo & Son (JBSS), and Calavo Growers (CVGW). These companies are all part of the "packaged foods & meats" industry.

How does Lifeway Foods compare to J & J Snack Foods?

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) and J & J Snack Foods (NASDAQ:JJSF) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, earnings, profitability and institutional ownership.

J & J Snack Foods has higher revenue and earnings than Lifeway Foods. J & J Snack Foods is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lifeway Foods, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lifeway Foods	$212.50M	1.81	$13.86M	$0.97	25.95
J & J Snack Foods	$1.58B	0.88	$65.60M	$2.98	25.02

In the previous week, Lifeway Foods had 9 more articles in the media than J & J Snack Foods. MarketBeat recorded 10 mentions for Lifeway Foods and 1 mentions for J & J Snack Foods. Lifeway Foods' average media sentiment score of 0.27 beat J & J Snack Foods' score of 0.00 indicating that Lifeway Foods is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Lifeway Foods	4 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
J & J Snack Foods	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Lifeway Foods has a beta of 0.53, meaning that its stock price is 47% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, J & J Snack Foods has a beta of 0.43, meaning that its stock price is 57% less volatile than the broader market.

Lifeway Foods has a net margin of 6.54% compared to J & J Snack Foods' net margin of 3.75%. Lifeway Foods' return on equity of 17.76% beat J & J Snack Foods' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lifeway Foods	6.54%	17.76%	13.82%
J & J Snack Foods	3.75%	9.01%	6.18%

36.4% of Lifeway Foods shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 76.0% of J & J Snack Foods shares are held by institutional investors. 18.9% of Lifeway Foods shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 20.4% of J & J Snack Foods shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Lifeway Foods presently has a consensus target price of $34.33, suggesting a potential upside of 36.41%. J & J Snack Foods has a consensus target price of $120.00, suggesting a potential upside of 60.97%. Given J & J Snack Foods' higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe J & J Snack Foods is more favorable than Lifeway Foods.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lifeway Foods	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
J & J Snack Foods	2 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.67

Summary

Lifeway Foods beats J & J Snack Foods on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does Lifeway Foods compare to Dole?

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) and Dole (NYSE:DOLE) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, media sentiment, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Lifeway Foods has a beta of 0.53, indicating that its share price is 47% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Dole has a beta of 0.67, indicating that its share price is 33% less volatile than the broader market.

36.4% of Lifeway Foods shares are owned by institutional investors. 18.9% of Lifeway Foods shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 41.8% of Dole shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dole has higher revenue and earnings than Lifeway Foods. Lifeway Foods is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Dole, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lifeway Foods	$212.50M	1.81	$13.86M	$0.97	25.95
Dole	$9.17B	0.15	$51.32M	$0.45	32.13

In the previous week, Lifeway Foods had 9 more articles in the media than Dole. MarketBeat recorded 10 mentions for Lifeway Foods and 1 mentions for Dole. Dole's average media sentiment score of 0.71 beat Lifeway Foods' score of 0.27 indicating that Dole is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Lifeway Foods	4 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Dole	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Lifeway Foods presently has a consensus target price of $34.33, indicating a potential upside of 36.41%. Dole has a consensus target price of $15.50, indicating a potential upside of 7.21%. Given Lifeway Foods' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Lifeway Foods is more favorable than Dole.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lifeway Foods	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
Dole	1 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.75

Lifeway Foods has a net margin of 6.54% compared to Dole's net margin of 0.46%. Lifeway Foods' return on equity of 17.76% beat Dole's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lifeway Foods	6.54%	17.76%	13.82%
Dole	0.46%	7.63%	2.51%

Summary

Lifeway Foods beats Dole on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does Lifeway Foods compare to Seneca Foods?

Seneca Foods (NASDAQ:SENEA) and Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, media sentiment, dividends, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Lifeway Foods has a consensus price target of $34.33, indicating a potential upside of 36.41%. Given Lifeway Foods' higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Lifeway Foods is more favorable than Seneca Foods.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Seneca Foods	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.50
Lifeway Foods	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67

Seneca Foods has a beta of -0.03, meaning that its stock price is 103% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Lifeway Foods has a beta of 0.53, meaning that its stock price is 47% less volatile than the broader market.

Seneca Foods has higher revenue and earnings than Lifeway Foods. Seneca Foods is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lifeway Foods, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Seneca Foods	$1.58B	0.60	$41.22M	$13.00	10.70
Lifeway Foods	$212.50M	1.81	$13.86M	$0.97	25.95

In the previous week, Lifeway Foods had 8 more articles in the media than Seneca Foods. MarketBeat recorded 10 mentions for Lifeway Foods and 2 mentions for Seneca Foods. Seneca Foods' average media sentiment score of 0.67 beat Lifeway Foods' score of 0.27 indicating that Seneca Foods is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Seneca Foods	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Lifeway Foods	4 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Lifeway Foods has a net margin of 6.54% compared to Seneca Foods' net margin of 5.58%. Lifeway Foods' return on equity of 17.76% beat Seneca Foods' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Seneca Foods	5.58%	12.30%	6.65%
Lifeway Foods	6.54%	17.76%	13.82%

42.5% of Seneca Foods shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 36.4% of Lifeway Foods shares are held by institutional investors. 8.4% of Seneca Foods shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 18.9% of Lifeway Foods shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Lifeway Foods beats Seneca Foods on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does Lifeway Foods compare to John B. Sanfilippo & Son?

John B. Sanfilippo & Son (NASDAQ:JBSS) and Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, risk, media sentiment, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations and valuation.

In the previous week, Lifeway Foods had 8 more articles in the media than John B. Sanfilippo & Son. MarketBeat recorded 10 mentions for Lifeway Foods and 2 mentions for John B. Sanfilippo & Son. Lifeway Foods' average media sentiment score of 0.27 beat John B. Sanfilippo & Son's score of 0.00 indicating that Lifeway Foods is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
John B. Sanfilippo & Son	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Lifeway Foods	4 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

70.6% of John B. Sanfilippo & Son shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 36.4% of Lifeway Foods shares are owned by institutional investors. 30.2% of John B. Sanfilippo & Son shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 18.9% of Lifeway Foods shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Lifeway Foods has a net margin of 6.54% compared to John B. Sanfilippo & Son's net margin of 5.76%. John B. Sanfilippo & Son's return on equity of 18.11% beat Lifeway Foods' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
John B. Sanfilippo & Son	5.76%	18.11%	10.88%
Lifeway Foods	6.54%	17.76%	13.82%

John B. Sanfilippo & Son has a beta of 0.38, indicating that its stock price is 62% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Lifeway Foods has a beta of 0.53, indicating that its stock price is 47% less volatile than the broader market.

John B. Sanfilippo & Son has higher revenue and earnings than Lifeway Foods. John B. Sanfilippo & Son is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lifeway Foods, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
John B. Sanfilippo & Son	$1.11B	0.81	$58.93M	$5.70	13.46
Lifeway Foods	$212.50M	1.81	$13.86M	$0.97	25.95

John B. Sanfilippo & Son presently has a consensus target price of $109.00, indicating a potential upside of 42.09%. Lifeway Foods has a consensus target price of $34.33, indicating a potential upside of 36.41%. Given John B. Sanfilippo & Son's higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe John B. Sanfilippo & Son is more favorable than Lifeway Foods.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
John B. Sanfilippo & Son	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33
Lifeway Foods	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67

Summary

Lifeway Foods beats John B. Sanfilippo & Son on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does Lifeway Foods compare to Calavo Growers?

Lifeway Foods (NASDAQ:LWAY) and Calavo Growers (NASDAQ:CVGW) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, media sentiment, earnings and dividends.

Lifeway Foods has a net margin of 6.54% compared to Calavo Growers' net margin of 2.61%. Lifeway Foods' return on equity of 17.76% beat Calavo Growers' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lifeway Foods	6.54%	17.76%	13.82%
Calavo Growers	2.61%	12.81%	8.77%

Lifeway Foods presently has a consensus target price of $34.33, suggesting a potential upside of 36.41%. Calavo Growers has a consensus target price of $33.50, suggesting a potential upside of 26.65%. Given Lifeway Foods' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Lifeway Foods is more favorable than Calavo Growers.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lifeway Foods	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
Calavo Growers	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33

36.4% of Lifeway Foods shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.3% of Calavo Growers shares are owned by institutional investors. 18.9% of Lifeway Foods shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.2% of Calavo Growers shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Lifeway Foods has a beta of 0.53, suggesting that its share price is 47% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Calavo Growers has a beta of 0.44, suggesting that its share price is 56% less volatile than the broader market.

In the previous week, Lifeway Foods had 9 more articles in the media than Calavo Growers. MarketBeat recorded 10 mentions for Lifeway Foods and 1 mentions for Calavo Growers. Lifeway Foods' average media sentiment score of 0.27 beat Calavo Growers' score of 0.00 indicating that Lifeway Foods is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Lifeway Foods	4 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Calavo Growers	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Calavo Growers has higher revenue and earnings than Lifeway Foods. Lifeway Foods is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Calavo Growers, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lifeway Foods	$212.50M	1.81	$13.86M	$0.97	25.95
Calavo Growers	$648.43M	0.73	$19.80M	$0.89	29.72

Summary

Lifeway Foods beats Calavo Growers on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

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New MarketBeat Followers Over Time

This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding LWAY and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period.

Media Sentiment Over Time

This chart shows the average media sentiment of NASDAQ and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.

LWAY vs. The Competition

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Metric	Lifeway Foods	FOOD Industry	Staples Sector	NASDAQ Exchange
Market Cap	$384.65M	$2.93B	$16.25B	$12.34B
Dividend Yield	N/A	2.45%	3.51%	5.28%
P/E Ratio	25.95	6.49	25.72	25.65
Price / Sales	1.81	1.09	47.48	86.31
Price / Cash	21.49	14.07	16.52	56.67
Price / Book	4.26	19.04	5.27	7.14
Net Income	$13.86M	$51.87M	$674.03M	$335.98M
7 Day Performance	-0.12%	3.60%	1.38%	4.15%
1 Month Performance	-9.00%	-3.36%	-1.67%	2.54%
1 Year Performance	12.37%	20.90%	-12.21%	35.06%

Lifeway Foods Competitors List

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Company	MarketRank	Share Price	Analysts' Price Target	1Y Price Performance	Market Cap	Revenue	P/E Ratio	Employee Count	Indicator(s)
LWAY Lifeway Foods	2.7808 of 5 stars	$25.17 flat	$34.33 +36.4%	+12.4%	$384.65M	$212.50M	25.95	280
JJSF J & J Snack Foods	4.0033 of 5 stars	$73.00 -0.4%	$120.00 +64.4%	-33.1%	$1.37B	$1.58B	24.50	4,600
DOLE Dole	2.725 of 5 stars	$14.38 +1.0%	$15.50 +7.8%	+3.3%	$1.37B	$9.42B	31.95	32,027
SENEA Seneca Foods	2.3762 of 5 stars	$144.23 +1.1%	N/A	+52.0%	$978.00M	$1.61B	11.12	2,885
JBSS John B. Sanfilippo & Son	4.0026 of 5 stars	$76.50 +1.2%	$109.00 +42.5%	+27.0%	$890.72M	$1.11B	13.37	1,900	Analyst Downgrade

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This page (NASDAQ:LWAY) was last updated on 5/26/2026 by MarketBeat.com Staff.

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Lifeway Foods (LWAY) Competitors

LWAY vs. JJSF, DOLE, SENEA, JBSS, and CVGW

How does Lifeway Foods compare to J & J Snack Foods?

Summary

How does Lifeway Foods compare to Dole?

Summary

How does Lifeway Foods compare to Seneca Foods?

Summary

How does Lifeway Foods compare to John B. Sanfilippo & Son?

Summary

How does Lifeway Foods compare to Calavo Growers?

Summary

New MarketBeat Followers Over Time

Media Sentiment Over Time

LWAY vs. The Competition

Lifeway Foods Competitors List

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Stock Ideas and Recommendations

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Lifeway Foods (LWAY) Competitors

LWAY vs. JJSF, DOLE, SENEA, JBSS, and CVGW

How does Lifeway Foods compare to J & J Snack Foods?

Which has higher valuation and earnings, LWAY or JJSF?

Does the media favor LWAY or JJSF?

Which has more risk and volatility, LWAY or JJSF?

Is LWAY or JJSF more profitable?

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in LWAY or JJSF?

Do analysts rate LWAY or JJSF?

Summary

How does Lifeway Foods compare to Dole?

Which has more risk and volatility, LWAY or DOLE?

Do insiders & institutionals believe in LWAY or DOLE?

Which has preferable earnings & valuation, LWAY or DOLE?

Does the media favor LWAY or DOLE?

Do analysts prefer LWAY or DOLE?

Is LWAY or DOLE more profitable?

Summary

How does Lifeway Foods compare to Seneca Foods?

Do analysts prefer SENEA or LWAY?

Which has more volatility and risk, SENEA or LWAY?

Which has higher earnings and valuation, SENEA or LWAY?

Does the media refer more to SENEA or LWAY?

Is SENEA or LWAY more profitable?

Do institutionals and insiders believe in SENEA or LWAY?

Summary

How does Lifeway Foods compare to John B. Sanfilippo & Son?

Does the media favor JBSS or LWAY?

Do institutionals & insiders believe in JBSS or LWAY?

Is JBSS or LWAY more profitable?

Which has more volatility & risk, JBSS or LWAY?

Which has better earnings and valuation, JBSS or LWAY?

Do analysts prefer JBSS or LWAY?

Summary

How does Lifeway Foods compare to Calavo Growers?

Is LWAY or CVGW more profitable?

Do analysts recommend LWAY or CVGW?

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in LWAY or CVGW?

Which has more volatility & risk, LWAY or CVGW?

Does the media favor LWAY or CVGW?

Which has higher earnings & valuation, LWAY or CVGW?

Summary

New MarketBeat Followers Over Time

Media Sentiment Over Time

LWAY vs. The Competition

Lifeway Foods Competitors List

Related Companies and Tools

MarketBeat All Access Features

Best-in-Class Portfolio Monitoring

Stock Ideas and Recommendations

Advanced Stock Screeners and Research Tools