Calavo Growers (CVGW) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $403.13M
• Dividend Yield: 3.7%
• Average Volume (3M): 235.74K
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 20.4
• Beta (1Y): 0.62
• Revenue Growth: -5.33%
• EPS Growth: N/A
• Country: US
• Employees: 2,106
• Sector: Consumer Defensive
• Sector Strength: 42
• Industry: Food Distribution
• EPS (TTM): 0.25
• Shares Outstanding: 17,874,079
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 225,326
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 235,735
• PEG Ratio: 0.00
• Price to Book (P/B): 0.00
• Price to Sales (P/S): 0.00
• P/FCF Ratio: 0.00
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 1.02
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 0.59
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 5.99
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 13.42
• 1Y Price Target: N/A
• Price Target Upside: N/A
• Rating Consensus: N/A
• Number of Analyst Covering: 0
• EPS Forecast (FY): 1.82
• Revenue Forecast (FY): $743.50M

• Rating: 71 Outperform
• Price Target: $25.00 ▲(5.09% Upside)

The score is driven primarily by improved financial quality (profitability rebound, strong cash flow, and sharply reduced debt) and supportive corporate events (pending acquisition and SEC probe closure). Technicals are constructive but not a full long-term uptrend, and valuation is fair rather than compelling given the ~20 P/E despite a solid dividend yield.

Positive Factors

Deleveraged Balance Sheet

Sharp debt reduction materially lowers financial risk and interest burden, improving flexibility to fund operations, capex, or strategic initiatives. A de-risked balance sheet strengthens resilience to seasonal produce cycles and price shocks, supporting durable operational stability.

Restored Cash Generation

Consistent positive operating and free cash flow enables internal funding of working capital, dividends, and reinvestment into processing and distribution. Reliable cash generation reduces refinancing reliance and supports long-term competitiveness in fresh-produce logistics.

Strategic Acquisition & Synergies

Planned combination with Mission Produce is a structural change that can realize scale economies, procurement leverage and broader distribution. $25M of synergies could sustainably improve margins and market position if integration preserves customer and grower relationships.

Negative Factors

Top-line Contraction

Recurring revenue declines signal demand, pricing, or mix pressures in core avocado and prepared-food markets. Persistent top-line weakness erodes margin leverage and jeopardizes the durability of recent profit and cash-flow improvements absent a clear revenue stabilization plan.

Margin & Profitability Sensitivity

Historical thin or negative margins reveal high sensitivity to input costs, freight, and pricing variability in perishable goods. Even with recent net income, margin fragility makes long-term earnings and cash-flow sustainability contingent on stable commodity pricing and improved operational efficiency.

Executive Turnover Risk

Recent CEO and senior-executive retirements create transition risk for strategy, grower relationships and operations. Leadership change during a potential merger and turnaround can slow execution, complicate integration, and affect long-term consistency in supply-chain and commercial execution.

Calavo Growers Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Calavo Growers, Inc. markets and distributes avocados, prepared avocados, and other perishable foods to retail grocery and foodservice customers, club stores, mass merchandisers, food distributors, and wholesale customers worldwide. It operates in three segments: Fresh Products, Calavo Foods, and Renaissance Food Group (RFG). The Fresh products segment distributes avocados and other fresh produce products comprising tomatoes and papayas; and procures avocados grown in California, Mexico, Peru, and Colombia. The Calavo Foods segment is involved in purchasing, processing, packaging, and distributing prepared avocado products, including guacamole and salsa. The RFG segment manufactures, markets, and distributes fresh-cut fruits and vegetables, fresh prepared entrée salads, wraps, sandwiches, and fresh snacking products, as well as ready-to-heat entrees, other hot bar and various deli items, meals kits and related components, and salad kits. The company offers its products under the Calavo and RFG brands, and related logos; and Avo Fresco, Bueno, Calavo Gold, Calavo Salsa Lisa, Salsa Lisa, Celebrate the Taste, El Dorado, Fresh Ripe, Select, Taste of Paradise, The First Name in Avocados, Tico, Mfresh, Maui Fresh International, Triggered Avocados, ProRipeVIP, RIPE NOW!, Garden Highway Fresh Cut, Garden Highway, and Garden Highway Chef Essentials trademarks. Calavo Growers, Inc. was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in Santa Paula, California.

How the Company Makes Money

Calavo Growers generates revenue through multiple key streams, with the primary source being the sale of fresh avocados. The company benefits from its extensive supply chain and established relationships with growers, enabling it to source high-quality avocados year-round. Additionally, Calavo earns income through its prepared food division, which includes guacamole and other avocado-based products, catering to both retail and food service outlets. The company has formed strategic partnerships with various retailers and distributors, enhancing its market reach. Seasonal demand fluctuations and the overall growth of the avocado market also contribute significantly to its revenue generation.

Calavo Growers Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Financials show a clear rebound and de-risking: net income returned to $29.5M in 2025 and debt dropped sharply to $3.6M, supported by solid recent operating cash flow (~$24.4M) and free cash flow ($21.5M). Offsetting this, revenue remains volatile and contracted again in 2025 (down 6.5%), and profitability has been thin/negative in prior years, raising questions about durability if the top line stays soft.

Income Statement

Profitability has improved meaningfully in the latest annual period, with net income rebounding to $29.5M (2025) after losses in 2024–2021, and EBIT rising versus 2024. However, the top line has been volatile and is now shrinking again (revenue down 6.5% in 2025 after large declines in 2023 and a sharp drop from 2022 to 2023). Margins were thin/negative in several years, highlighting sensitivity to cost and pricing swings despite the recent earnings recovery.

Balance Sheet

Leverage has improved sharply: total debt fell to $3.6M in 2025 from $98.8M in 2023 and $25.9M in 2024, while equity remained solid at ~$206.9M (2025). Assets are relatively stable (~$292.2M in 2025). The main weakness is that returns on equity were negative in prior years (e.g., 2024 and 2023), indicating the balance sheet strength has not consistently translated into shareholder returns—though 2025 profitability should help if sustained.

Cash Flow

Cash generation is currently solid: operating cash flow was $24.4M in 2025 (also $24.4M in 2024) and free cash flow was $21.5M, supporting internal funding. That said, free cash flow declined 24.8% in 2025, and cash flow has been volatile historically (notably negative operating and free cash flow in 2023). Overall, the company has regained cash flow stability recently, but durability through a softer revenue environment remains the key watch item.

Breakdown	TTM	Dec 2025	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue	693.71M	648.43M	661.54M	594.10M	1.19B	1.06B
Gross Profit	68.31M	61.70M	67.80M	62.61M	72.84M	57.42M
EBITDA	30.49M	27.09M	23.15M	31.73M	15.51M	19.00M
Net Income	15.65M	29.48M	-1.27M	-8.34M	-6.25M	-11.82M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	301.25M	292.25M	301.12M	386.85M	385.75M	445.40M
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	63.75M	61.16M	57.03M	2.09M	2.06M	1.89M
Total Debt	24.20M	22.58M	25.92M	65.55M	66.29M	109.22M
Total Liabilities	93.25M	83.69M	99.34M	176.63M	162.38M	218.52M
Stockholders Equity	206.42M	206.94M	200.33M	208.84M	223.37M	225.51M
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	28.63M	19.39M	21.53M	-25.16M	40.46M	2.13M
Operating Cash Flow	30.07M	21.54M	24.42M	-14.47M	50.23M	13.57M
Investing Cash Flow	81.56M	-2.15M	80.11M	-10.69M	8.68M	-9.36M
Financing Cash Flow	-49.01M	-15.27M	-50.35M	24.88M	-58.63M	-5.41M

Calavo Growers Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Positive
• Last Price: 23.79
• 50DMA: Positive
• 100DMA: Positive
• 200DMA: Positive
• MACD: Negative
• RSI: Negative
• STOCH: Negative

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For CVGW, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 23.79 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 21.85, above the 50-day MA of 21.07, and below the 200-day MA of 24.54, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 0.56 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 83.34 is Negative, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 90.90 is Negative, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for CVGW.

Calavo Growers Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
WILC	81 Outperform	$409.53M	15.44	15.15%	3.55%	9.33%	72.31%
AVO	72 Outperform	$896.23M	23.19	6.65%	―	12.68%	3.09%
CVGW	71 Outperform	$403.13M	20.41	9.72%	3.70%	-5.33%	―
ANDE	71 Outperform	$1.96B	27.02	5.85%	1.44%	2.19%	-39.07%
Sector *	62 Neutral	$20.33B	14.63	-3.31%	3.23%	1.93%	-12.26%
HFFG	56 Neutral	$116.17M	-2.52	-17.40%	―	4.10%	-2241.30%
UNFI	52 Neutral	$2.11B	-21.13	-6.37%	―	1.45%	-5.49%

Calavo Growers Corporate Events

Calavo Growers to Be Acquired by Mission Produce

On January 14, 2026, Calavo Growers agreed to be acquired by Mission Produce through a two-step merger in which Calavo shareholders will receive 0.9790 Mission shares plus $14.85 in cash per Calavo share, with mechanisms to preserve the intended U.S. tax reorganization treatment by adjusting the stock/cash mix if needed. The deal, which remains subject to shareholder approvals, antitrust and other regulatory clearances, Nasdaq listing of new Mission shares and effectiveness of a registration statement, will see all Calavo stock options and restricted stock units vest and be cashed out based on the merger consideration value, and one Calavo independent director will join the Mission board at closing. The merger agreement includes customary covenants, non-solicitation provisions and detailed termination rights, including a Calavo break-up fee of about $12.87 million in certain circumstances and reverse termination fees payable by Mission of about $15.02 million or $12.87 million depending on the reason for termination, underscoring the strategic significance and negotiated protections around consolidation in the avocado and fresh foods sector. On the same date, Calavo entered into executive retention agreements with CFO James Snyder and Calavo Foods EVP Ronald Araiza, providing sizable one-time retention bonuses, change-in-control bonuses and severance protections to stabilize leadership through the transaction, and the board signaled it does not expect to hold a 2026 annual meeting in order to focus on timely completion of the merger.

The most recent analyst rating on (CVGW) stock is a Buy with a $25.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Calavo Growers stock, see the CVGW Stock Forecast page.

Calavo Growers SEC investigation concludes with no action

On December 22, 2025, Calavo Growers, Inc. announced that it had received a letter from the staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission stating that the SEC staff had concluded its previously disclosed investigation into the company and, based on the information available at that time, did not intend to recommend any enforcement action. The closure of the probe, which had been detailed in earlier regulatory filings including Calavo’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2024, removes a regulatory overhang for the company and its stakeholders, easing concerns about potential sanctions or litigation risk tied to the investigation.

The most recent analyst rating on (CVGW) stock is a Hold with a $21.50 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Calavo Growers stock, see the CVGW Stock Forecast page.

Calavo Growers CEO Lecil E. Cole Retires

On December 8, 2025, Lecil E. Cole retired as the President and CEO of Calavo Growers, Inc. On his retirement, an agreement was made to amend his stock options, allowing for the vesting and exercisability of 300,000 shares. The agreement also includes a right of first offer for Calavo Growers to purchase avocados grown by Mr. Cole or his affiliates, impacting the company’s operations and supply chain.

The most recent analyst rating on (CVGW) stock is a Hold with a $21.50 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Calavo Growers stock, see the CVGW Stock Forecast page.

Calavo Growers Announces EVP Mike Browne’s Retirement

On November 19, 2025, Mike Browne announced his retirement from Calavo Growers, Inc., where he served as Executive Vice President of Sales and Operations. His retirement will be effective December 1, 2025.

The most recent analyst rating on (CVGW) stock is a Hold with a $19.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Calavo Growers stock, see the CVGW Stock Forecast page.

Calavo Growers Announces CEO Retirement and Successor

On November 12, 2025, Calavo Growers announced the retirement of Lee E. Cole as President and CEO, effective December 8, 2025, after four decades of leadership. B. John Lindeman, a current board member and former CFO of Calavo, will succeed him. Lindeman’s appointment is expected to leverage his extensive industry knowledge and strategic insight to advance Calavo’s strategic priorities and create sustainable value for shareholders. The company is also evaluating strategic alternatives following a non-binding proposal to acquire all outstanding shares, with the review process ongoing.

The most recent analyst rating on (CVGW) stock is a Hold with a $24.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Calavo Growers stock, see the CVGW Stock Forecast page.