The Simply Good Foods Company (SMPL) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Access earnings results, analyst expectations, report, slides, earnings call, and transcript.
Overview
The company demonstrates strong sales growth projections, particularly for OWYN and Quest, despite challenges with Atkins. Strategic initiatives in product placement and innovation are promising. However, declining gross margins and the OWYN issue are concerns. The company's balanced capital allocation and share buybacks add positive sentiment. The market cap suggests moderate stock volatility, leading to a positive forecast for the next two weeks.
Key Financial Performance
Reported Net Sales Growth 9% year-over-year growth, including 3% on an organic basis. Growth was driven by the acquisition of OWYN and strong performance in Quest, while Atkins faced challenges due to distribution losses.
Adjusted EBITDA Growth 3% year-over-year growth. This was supported by net sales growth and productivity initiatives, despite inflationary pressures.
Quest Net Sales Contribution Quest represented almost 2/3 of the company's net sales in Q4 and grew consumption by 11% year-over-year in the quarter. For the fiscal year, Quest grew consumption by 12% and net sales by over 13% on a 52-week basis. Growth was driven by innovation, expanded marketing, and increased household penetration.
Atkins Performance Atkins consumption declined 12% in Q4 and 10% for the full year, primarily due to distribution losses and reduced merchandising events. Efforts are being made to stabilize the brand through new advertising, packaging, and product offerings.
OWYN Performance OWYN consumption grew 14% in Q4 and 34% for the full year. Growth was supported by new distribution gains and increased household penetration, though a quality issue with pea protein impacted growth rates temporarily.
Gross Margin 34.3% in Q4, a decline of 450 basis points year-over-year. The decline was due to higher input costs, including cocoa and tariffs, partially offset by productivity and pricing actions.
Adjusted EBITDA for Q4 $66.2 million, down 14.5% year-over-year. The decline was attributed to higher costs and the impact of lapping the 53rd week.
Net Loss for Q4 $12.4 million, compared to net income of $29.3 million in the prior year. The loss was primarily due to a $60.9 million noncash impairment charge related to the Atkins brand.
Cash Flow from Operations $178 million for the fiscal year, down from $216 million in the prior year. The decline was due to higher working capital requirements.
Debt Repayment $150 million of term loan debt repaid during the fiscal year, bringing total repayments since the OWYN acquisition to $240 million.
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Operating Highlights
Quest Salty Snacks: Consumption up 31% for the quarter and 34% for the full year. Salty snacks are on target to be the largest platform by the end of fiscal year 2026.
Quest Bake Shop: Launch of high-protein doughnut expected in Q1 of fiscal 2026.
Quest RTD Milk Shake: New platform disrupting the category with leading macros and great taste.
OWYN: Consumption grew 14% in Q4 and 34% for the full year. Focus on clean plant-based nutrition with increased trade and marketing investments planned.
Generational shift: High-protein, low-sugar, low-carb products are becoming mainstream, with 70% of Americans seeking these attributes.
Nutritional snacking category: Grew 13% this year, with high single-digit growth over the past 5 years.
OWYN integration: Integration largely completed, leveraging Simply Good's scale and capabilities to drive growth.
Capacity expansion: Construction of an additional production line for salty snacks is in progress.
Productivity initiatives: Efforts to combat inflation and free up funds for growth.
Atkins brand strategy: Refocusing on core assortment and weight management positioning. Distribution losses and SKU reductions to align shelf space with sales.
Pricing actions: Targeted pricing actions to address inflation and tariffs, expected to be a low single-digit benefit.
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Risk or Challenges
Atkins Brand Performance: Atkins is losing shelf space in the competitive nutritional snacking aisle, with sales declines driven by distribution cuts at several retailers, especially in club and mass channels. Approximately 10-15% of Atkins SKUs remain in the bottom quartile of category velocity rankings, posing a risk of further distribution losses. Consumption is expected to decline by approximately 20% in fiscal year 2026.
Inflation and Input Costs: The company faces significant inflationary pressures, particularly from historically high cocoa prices and tariffs, which have heavily impacted margins. These pressures are expected to persist into the first half of fiscal year 2026, with gross margins projected to decline by 100-150 basis points for the year.
OWYN Quality Issues: A product quality issue related to pea protein sourcing caused taste and texture problems, leading to slower consumption growth and reduced consumer response. This issue has required incremental trade and brand investment to reaccelerate growth.
Tariffs: Tariffs on Chinese imports are expected to impact less than 2% of fiscal 2026 cost of goods sold, but the blended tariff rates are slightly higher than previously expected, adding to cost pressures.
Elasticity from Pricing Actions: Targeted pricing actions to combat inflation are expected to cause subdued top-line trends in the near term due to initial elasticity effects.
Atkins Brand Restructuring: The company is proactively rightsizing Atkins' shelf space, which may lead to short-term pain but aims to stabilize the brand for long-term sustainability. This includes reducing underperforming SKUs and focusing on a strong core assortment.
OWYN Distribution and Awareness: OWYN's aided awareness is low at 20%, and its ACV for shakes and powders is below potential, indicating significant headroom for growth but requiring substantial investment in marketing and distribution.
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Guidance & Outlook
Net Sales Growth: Expected to be in the range of negative 2% to positive 2% for fiscal year 2026, with growth from Quest and OWYN offset by declines in Atkins.
Gross Margins: Expected to decline in the range of 100 to 150 basis points for fiscal year 2026, with improvement anticipated in the second half of the year due to lower cocoa costs, productivity initiatives, and realized pricing.
Adjusted EBITDA: Expected to be in the range of negative 4% to positive 1% year-over-year for fiscal year 2026, with stronger performance anticipated in the second half.
First Half vs. Second Half Performance: First half of fiscal year 2026 expected to be weaker due to inflation, tariffs, and initial elasticity from pricing actions. Second half expected to show meaningful improvement driven by innovation launches, normalizing elasticities, and distribution gains.
Quest Brand Performance: Continued strong growth expected, with innovation in salty snacks and bars, and new product launches such as high-protein doughnuts and RTD milk shakes in fiscal year 2026.
Atkins Brand Performance: Consumption expected to decline approximately 20% in fiscal year 2026 due to distribution losses and a focus on core assortment. Investments in marketing and product adjustments are aimed at stabilizing the brand long-term.
OWYN Brand Performance: Mid-teens growth rate expected in fiscal year 2026, with increased trade and marketing investments to drive awareness and household penetration. Focus on clean plant-based nutrition and expanding distribution.
Capital Expenditures: Planned spending of $30 million to $40 million in fiscal year 2026, primarily to support growth in the salty snacks business and expand production capacity.
Tariffs and Inflation: Tariffs expected to represent less than 2% of fiscal 2026 cost of goods sold. Inflationary pressures, particularly from cocoa, expected to ease in the second half of the year.
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Shareholder Return Plan
Stock Repurchase Program: The company repurchased nearly 900,000 shares during the quarter, amounting to approximately $27 million. For the full year, the company repurchased nearly 1.6 million shares, totaling approximately $51 million, which represents almost 2% of the outstanding common stock. Additionally, the Board of Directors approved a $150 million increase to the company's existing stock repurchase program, leaving approximately $171 million remaining under the revised authorization as of October 23, 2025.
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Key Q&A
Q:What were the product quality issues with OWYN and how are they being addressed?
A:The product quality issues with OWYN were related to raw material sourcing for pea protein, which impacted taste and texture on certain lots as the product aged. This affected around 10% of the product, leading to a decline in consumption and ratings. The issue has been rectified with a newer, more stable formulation that has been shipping since August and will be fully in the market by fiscal Q2. The company has increased trade and marketing investments to restart trials and address the issue.
Q:How does the company view the competition in the low sugar, high-protein category?
A:The company views the low sugar, high-protein category as highly competitive but sees it as a fantastic category with 5 years of high single or low double-digit growth. They have invested heavily in R&D, bolstered sales capabilities, and built an agile supply chain to handle competition. The category is mainstreaming, increasing the addressable market, and the company is focusing on expanding product placement outside traditional aisles and innovating with more mainstream products.
Q:What is the company's approach to capital allocation and M&A?
A:In fiscal '25, the company generated $180 million in cash from operations, spent $20 million in CapEx, paid off $150 million in debt, and bought back over $50 million in shares. They prioritize a balanced approach to capital allocation, including share buybacks, capital investments, and M&A opportunities. They believe their stock is attractively valued and see buybacks as a good opportunity for long-term value creation. They are also willing to invest in CapEx to strengthen competitive moats, such as in the chips segment.
Q:What is the sales guidance for fiscal '26 and the expected performance of key brands?
A:The company expects Quest to grow high single digits, OWYN to grow in the double-digit range, and Atkins to decline in consumption by about 20%. The first half of fiscal '26 is expected to be lower due to price elasticity effects, trade inventory reductions for Atkins, and tough laps for Quest and OWYN. The second half is expected to improve as these factors stabilize.
Q:How is the company addressing the mainstreaming of the category and reaching new consumers?
A:The company is expanding the physical availability of products outside traditional aisles, focusing on secondary placements, new channels like clubs, and away-from-home locations such as universities and gyms. They are also innovating with more mainstream products like Quest chips and Bake Shop items to attract a broader range of consumers. They have built capabilities to support this mainstreaming effort.
Q:What is the status of Atkins and its SKU rationalization?
A:75% of Atkins' sales come from SKUs in the top 2 quartiles of category velocity, which are mostly growing and healthy. The decline in Atkins is driven by underperforming SKUs in the bottom quartile, which represent 10%-15% of the category. The company is focused on rationalizing this tail and working with retailers to optimize the assortment around the core.
Q:What is the company's marketing strategy and spending priorities?
A:The company has increased marketing investments for Quest and OWYN, while rationalizing spending for Atkins to align with its size and trajectory. They are shifting more marketing spend to digital channels, including social media, influencers, and retail media outlets. They are also open to increasing marketing investments further if opportunities arise.
Q:How is the company addressing the impact of the OWYN product issue on the brand?
A:The company has overinvested in channels where the product issue was more concentrated to improve ratings and drive trial. They are confident the brand will recover quickly and are making significant marketing investments to drive awareness and capitalize on the clean movement. They also see distribution opportunities and plan to launch disruptive innovation within the next year.
Q:What is the company's pricing strategy and its impact on consumption?
A:The company has announced mid-to-high single-digit price increases on portions of the portfolio. They expect elasticity to be in line with historical levels, with a higher initial impact that diminishes over time. Pricing has not dampened long-term growth in the category, which has shown resilience to pricing. For Atkins, they introduced a 4-pack at a lower entry price point to attract new users.
Q:What is the company's outlook on cocoa costs and gross margins?
A:Cocoa represents a mid-single-digit percentage of COGS. The company is covered at high prices for the first half of fiscal '26 but expects deflationary costs in the second half as they transition to lower-priced cocoa. Spot prices have recently decreased, which could provide further margin relief in Q4 and fiscal '27.
Q:Review of Unclear Management Responses
A:Management avoided directly addressing the specific impact of the OWYN product issue on long-term brand perception and consumer trust. While they emphasized that the issue is largely resolved and highlighted marketing efforts to recover, they did not provide detailed data or clarity on how the brand's narrative or consumer sentiment has been affected. Additionally, they did not specify the exact financial impact of the issue on the company's overall performance.
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Earnings Word Cloud
The most frequently occurring keywords in this quarter's earning call
OWYN
Quest sale
RTD
acquisition
action
addition
aisle
assortment
bar
basis
brand
category
challenge
channel
club
consumer
consumption
decision
digit
distribution
food
household penetration
investment
line
macro
market
marketing
nutrition
platform
point
portfolio
product
productivity
protein
retailer
selling capability
shelf
space
strength
term
texture
velocity
week
year
SMPL Transcript
The Simply Good Foods Company (SMPL) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
Positive1-8
The earnings call reveals a mixed but generally optimistic outlook. Despite some short-term challenges, the company expects significant improvements in the second half of the year, driven by innovation and distribution gains. Share repurchases and a focus on high-growth brands like Quest and OWYN are positive indicators. The market cap suggests a moderate reaction, leading to a positive prediction.
The Simply Good Foods Company (SMPL) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Positive10-23
The company demonstrates strong sales growth projections, particularly for OWYN and Quest, despite challenges with Atkins. Strategic initiatives in product placement and innovation are promising. However, declining gross margins and the OWYN issue are concerns. The company's balanced capital allocation and share buybacks add positive sentiment. The market cap suggests moderate stock volatility, leading to a positive forecast for the next two weeks.
The Simply Good Foods Company (SMPL) Q3 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Unknown7-10
The earnings call presented mixed signals: OWYN's strong growth and distribution expansion are positive, but Atkins' decline and gross margin pressures offset this. The Q&A revealed uncertainties regarding guidance and fiscal '26 performance, with management's vague responses adding to investor uncertainty. The market cap suggests moderate reactions, leading to a neutral prediction.
The Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ:SMPL) Q2 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Positive4-15
The earnings call summary highlights several positive factors: EPS exceeded expectations, a strategic acquisition of OWYN, and a $50 million share repurchase program. Despite competitive pressures and supply chain challenges, the positive EPS and acquisition of OWYN, which is expected to drive future growth, are strong indicators. The Q&A reveals some concerns about Atkins' sales guidance, but the company's proactive approach to product innovation and distribution expansion for OWYN suggests optimism. Given the company's market cap, these factors collectively suggest a positive stock price movement over the next two weeks.
SMPL Slides
SMPL Report
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