Freshpet Stock Earnings Reports

Freshpet reported a strong start to FY2026: Q1 net sales were $297.6M, up 13.1% YoY (driven by volume), adjusted gross margin improved to 46.9%, and adjusted EBITDA was $37.9M. Management modestly raised 2026 net sales guidance to +8% to +11% (from +7% to +10%) while reiterating adjusted EBITDA guidance of $205M–$215M and maintaining ~ $150M CapEx guidance absent incremental investments. The company expects to be free cash flow positive in 2026 (Q1 FCF was $12.7M). Key growth/strategic drivers: ownership of manufacturing and a new bag-production technology (first lines started up in Bethlehem and Ennis) that management expects will improve throughput, yield and unit economics; a large fridge network (39,000+ fridges) and omnichannel strategy that is fueling digital orders (digital +43% in Q1 and ~16.1% of sales); continued household penetration gains (16.1M households, +8% YoY) and strong growth among MVPs (2.5M households, +13% YoY). Risks and near-term headwinds: macro volatility and potential consumer trade-down, elevated logistics costs (fuel and storm/driver issues) are expected for the remainder of 2026, and any decision to accelerate new-technology rollouts or fridge-island expansion would increase 2026 CapEx above the current budget. Longer-term targets remain ambitious: management reiterated confidence in 2027 targets — at least 48% adjusted gross margin and 20%–22% adjusted EBITDA margin — and emphasized capital allocation priority on internal investments before evaluating shareholder returns.