Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The specialty retailer reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.11, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. Lamb Weston had a net margin of 4.61% and a return on equity of 23.77%. The company’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Lamb Weston’s conference call:

• North America outperformed with 12% volume growth and 5% net sales growth driven by customer wins, improved plant run rates and higher retention, which supported a tighter FY26 guidance and stronger operating execution.
• International markets remain stressed—Europe faces surplus potato supply and weak restaurant traffic, prompting a $33 million pre-tax write-off, the Munro plant closure in Argentina and production curtailments that materially pressured international EBITDA.
• Cost and cash strength: the company has already hit its $100 million FY26 savings goal and is tracking ahead of the $250 million FY28 target, while generating $596 million of cash from operations YTD, $339 million of free cash flow and maintaining ~$1.3 billion of liquidity.
• Price/mix and margin headwinds persist as price mix declined ~7% (partly from customer price/trade support and mix shifts), adjusted EBITDA fell $101 million YoY, and management expects Q4 gross margin to decline another 250–300 bps with ongoing mix pressure into FY27.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

LW stock opened at $39.40 on Friday. Lamb Weston has a 52 week low of $37.62 and a 52 week high of $67.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.49.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lamb Weston

In other Lamb Weston news, insider Jan Eli B. Craps bought 50,000 shares of Lamb Weston stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $48.65 per share, for a total transaction of $2,432,500.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 300,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,595,000. This represents a 20.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LW. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Lamb Weston by 27.4% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,824,690 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $411,558,000 after purchasing an additional 2,111,874 shares during the period. Ion Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Lamb Weston in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $84,379,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 170.5% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,022,143 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $42,818,000 after purchasing an additional 644,334 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Lamb Weston by 129.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,089,110 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $63,256,000 after buying an additional 613,829 shares during the period. Finally, ION Fund Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Lamb Weston during the 4th quarter valued at $23,555,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.56% of the company’s stock.

Lamb Weston News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Lamb Weston this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management raised the midpoint of its fiscal‑year net sales and EBITDA outlook, trimmed expected 2026 capital expenditures, and highlighted stronger free‑cash‑flow generation — a near‑term shift from growth to cash‑flow focus that supports the dividend and valuation. Business Wire: Q3 Results & Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Company reiterated a $250M cost‑savings goal (Focus to Win) and said it’s on track to exceed it; combined with lower forecasted input costs (potatoes) this could help margin recovery in FY27. MarketBeat: Analysis of margins & cost savings
• Neutral Sentiment: Q3 results beat revenue and EPS estimates ($1.56B, $0.72 adj. EPS) and management raised the sales midpoint, but adjusted EPS declined sharply year‑over‑year — the headline beat is tempered by profitability concerns. Zacks: Q3 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Detailed Q3 earnings call/transcript and slide deck provide management commentary on international softness, factory utilization and timing for margin recovery — useful for modelling cadence of cost saves and margin improvement. Seeking Alpha: Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Several firms cut price targets after the print: BNP Paribas Exane lowered its PT to $41 and moved to neutral, Bank of America, Stifel and others trimmed targets — these downward revisions compress near‑term upside and reflect continued skepticism on margins. American Banking News: BNP Paribas PT
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts have cut forecasts and flagged persistent margin pressure from international demand weakness and factory utilization — the consensus view is mixed, keeping some investors cautious despite revenue growth. Benzinga: Analysts Cut Forecasts
• Negative Sentiment: Market commentary emphasizes that earnings are being constrained by international softness and shrinking margins — that narrative has driven recent underperformance and explains why some investors are selling despite the beat. MarketBeat: Frozen Out

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Lamb Weston from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $50.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Lamb Weston from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Lamb Weston from $54.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lamb Weston presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.00.

Lamb Weston Company Profile

Lamb Weston, traded on the NYSE under the symbol LW, is a leading global processor and supplier of frozen potato products. The company’s portfolio includes a variety of potato-based items such as French fries, potato wedges, hash browns and specialty cuts tailored to the foodservice and retail grocery channels. Lamb Weston serves quick-service restaurants, full-service operators, grocery chains and food distributors, offering customized product formats, packaging solutions and seasoning options to meet evolving customer demands.

Founded in 1950 and headquartered in Eagle, Idaho, Lamb Weston has grown from a regional processor into one of the world’s largest producers of frozen potato products.