Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.24 EPS

Lamb Weston (NYSE:LW) announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday. The specialty retailer reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.24, FiscalAI reports. Lamb Weston had a return on equity of 23.77% and a net margin of 4.61%.The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Lamb Weston updated its FY 2027 guidance to 2.950-3.250 EPS.

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

• Lamb Weston said fiscal 2026 marked a meaningful turnaround, with North America stabilizing and delivering six straight quarters of volume growth, while full-year North America EBITDA margin reached 26%.
• The company generated $537 million of free cash flow in fiscal 2026, cut capital expenditures to $410 million, and returned $321 million to shareholders through dividends and buybacks.
• Management reaffirmed its Focus to Win strategy and outlined a broader strategic review of international markets, including possible M&A, partnerships, divestitures, and sharper country-cluster priorities, with more details expected at an Investor Day in early calendar 2027.
• International results remained pressured by EMEA weakness, including competitive pricing pressure, slower demand, higher freight costs tied to Middle East disruption, and startup costs from the new Argentina plant.
• For fiscal 2027, Lamb Weston guided to flat to 1% sales growth and adjusted EPS of $2.95 to $3.25, with expectations that earnings will grow faster than sales as cost savings, lower potato costs, and higher utilization offset broader inflation.

Lamb Weston Price Performance

Lamb Weston stock traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $48.77. 1,797,093 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,396,394. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.22. Lamb Weston has a 12 month low of $37.62 and a 12 month high of $67.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $6.73 billion, a PE ratio of 22.93, a PEG ratio of 6.37 and a beta of 0.47.

Key Stories Impacting Lamb Weston

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

• Positive Sentiment: Lamb Weston beat Wall Street estimates for both earnings and revenue in Q4, reporting $0.87 EPS versus $0.62 expected and $1.77 billion in revenue versus $1.70 billion expected. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised optimism around its outlook by guiding FY2027 revenue to $6.6 billion-$6.7 billion, above the consensus estimate of about $6.4 billion.
• Positive Sentiment: Management cited volume growth in North America as a key driver of higher sales, which suggests core demand remains healthy. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The company said cost inflation and geopolitical volatility continued to weigh on international sales, limiting the strength of the overall results. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical momentum also improved after the stock crossed above its 200-day moving average, which some traders may view as a bullish signal. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: FY2027 EPS guidance of 2.95-3.25 was slightly below the consensus estimate of 3.02, which may temper enthusiasm despite the stronger revenue outlook.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on LW shares. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on Lamb Weston from $48.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Lamb Weston from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $46.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Lamb Weston from $46.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Lamb Weston from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.27.

Institutional Trading of Lamb Weston

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LW. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Lamb Weston by 27.4% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,824,690 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $411,558,000 after purchasing an additional 2,111,874 shares during the period. Ion Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Lamb Weston during the second quarter worth about $84,379,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Lamb Weston by 170.5% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,022,143 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $42,818,000 after buying an additional 644,334 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Lamb Weston by 129.2% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,089,110 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $63,256,000 after buying an additional 613,829 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ION Fund Management Ltd bought a new position in Lamb Weston in the 4th quarter valued at about $23,555,000. 89.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.