Utz Brands Q4 Earnings Call Highlights

• Small-cap Utz Brands has mid-cap aspirations: analysts upgrade

Utz Brands (NYSE:UTZ) outlined a twelvemonth of borderline expansion, productivity gains, and continued geographic enlargement successful its prerecorded treatment of fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results, portion besides providing its fiscal outlook for 2026. Executives said the company’s proviso concatenation consolidation is mostly implicit and emphasized a increasing absorption connected escaped currency travel procreation and equilibrium expanse deleveraging.

CEO Howard Friedman said 2025 featured “accelerating top-line maturation versus the category,” on with “significant adjusted gross borderline and Adjusted EBITDA borderline expansion.” For the year, the institution reported integrated nett income maturation of 2.4% and branded salty integrated nett income maturation of 4.7%, portion Friedman noted the class was down 0.5% successful retail income dollars.

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Friedman said the institution gained measurement stock successful halfway geographies and continued to station stock gains successful enlargement geographies. Citing Circana MULO with convenience for the 52 weeks ended Dec. 28, 2025, helium said enlargement geographies grew retail income 7.8%.

He besides pointed to productivity arsenic a cardinal operator of nett improvement. The institution delivered 7% productivity successful 2025, supra its anterior extremity of 6% of adjusted outgo of goods sold, which Friedman said helped grow adjusted gross borderline by 260 ground points and adjusted EBITDA borderline by 80 ground points for the year. Friedman added that selling spending roseate 35% successful 2025 connected apical of a astir 70% summation successful 2024, and helium said the institution plans to summation selling spending again successful 2026.

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Management said its proviso concatenation translation and consolidation were mostly implicit by year-end, pursuing elevated superior spending crossed 2024 and 2025 tied to web consolidation, automation, and modernization. Friedman said the institution has reduced the fig of large facilities from 16 to 7 since 2022, including the expected closure of Grand Rapids.

The institution besides highlighted its planned California expansion. Friedman said Utz has purchased Insignia’s DSD routes and prime assets successful the state, calling California a “key maturation differentiator for the adjacent respective years.” He said California shipments done the Insignia assets volition statesman aboriginal successful February.

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