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Simply Good Foods (SMPL)
NASDAQ:SMPL

Simply Good Foods (SMPL) AI Stock Analysis

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SMPL

Simply Good Foods

(NASDAQ:SMPL)

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Neutral 65 (OpenAI - 5.2)
Rating:65Neutral
Price Target:
$22.00
▲(6.49% Upside)
The score is driven primarily by solid financial footing (notably balance sheet strength and operating cash generation) but tempered by deteriorating margins and weaker free cash flow trends. The earnings call reinforces near-term pressure (Q2 weakness and gross margin compression) despite a planned second-half rebound and strong buybacks. Technically, the stock shows only a short-term recovery within a broader downtrend, and valuation (P/E 23.01 with no dividend yield provided) is not a clear tailwind.
Positive Factors
Balance Sheet & Liquidity
Strong liquidity and low net leverage give the company durable financial flexibility to fund marketing, innovation, and operations while absorbing commodity or tariff shocks. This balance sheet position supports capital allocation choices like M&A or continued buybacks without immediate refinancing stress.
Brand Strength — Quest
A rapidly growing, high‑penetration brand provides a durable growth engine. Quest's rising household penetration and particularly strong salty snacks adoption indicate sticky consumer demand and retail momentum, supporting sustainable revenue and easier reallocation of shelf space versus lower‑growth SKUs.
Productivity & Cost Programs
An ongoing multi‑quarter productivity program that is already lowering G&A and driving cost synergies creates durable operating leverage. If sustained, these structural efficiency gains can help offset inflation, restore margins over time, and improve the company’s ability to convert EBITDA into cash.
Negative Factors
Gross Margin Compression
Material margin deterioration reflects lasting exposure to tariffs, commodity cost shifts, and promotional/realignment pressures. Persistent margin loss reduces free cash flow and investment capacity, and requires sustained pricing, productivity or mix improvements to reverse — a multi‑quarter execution challenge.
Free Cash Flow & Profitability Trend
A recent decline in free cash flow, despite strong operating cash generation, signals pressure on the company’s ability to fund capex, marketing, or buybacks without drawing on liquidity. If margins or working capital trends don’t normalize, FCF weakness could constrain strategic initiatives over multiple quarters.
Atkins Consumption & Distribution Losses
A steep, sustained decline in a legacy brand due to lost retail distribution reduces portfolio diversification and puts more performance reliance on fewer brands. Distribution erosion can be slow to reverse, pressuring overall net sales and requiring costly trade investment or assortment changes to reclaim shelf presence.

Simply Good Foods (SMPL) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)

Simply Good Foods Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company DescriptionThe Simply Good Foods Company operates as a consumer packaged food and beverage company in North America and internationally. The company develops, markets, and sells snacks and meal replacements. It offers protein bars, ready-to-drink shakes, sweet and salty snacks, cookies, pizza, protein chips, recipes, and confectionery products, as well as licensed frozen meals under the Atkins, Atkins Endulge, and Quest brand names. The company distributes its products to various retail channels, such as mass merchandise, grocery and drug channels, club stores, convenience stores, gas stations, and other channels. It also sells its products through e-commerce channels, including atkins.com, questnutrition.com, and amazon.com. The Simply Good Foods Company is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.
How the Company Makes MoneySimply Good Foods generates revenue primarily through the sale of its branded products across various distribution channels, including grocery stores, club stores, convenience stores, and online platforms. Key revenue streams include direct sales from retail partners, e-commerce sales through their own website and third-party platforms, and partnerships with health and fitness retailers. The company benefits from strategic partnerships with distributors and retailers, which enhance its market reach. Additionally, Simply Good Foods invests in marketing and promotional activities to drive brand awareness and customer engagement, contributing to its overall sales growth.

Simply Good Foods Earnings Call Summary

Earnings Call Date:Jan 08, 2026
(Q1-2026)
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% Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Apr 08, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Neutral
The call balanced notable operational and strategic positives—clear strength in Quest (notably salty snacks), OWYN growth potential, progress on productivity, favorable cocoa supply actions, strong cash flow and an aggressive buyback program—against meaningful near-term financial pressures including significant gross margin compression, declines in adjusted EBITDA, net income and EPS, product quality-related destocking at OWYN, and a substantial decline in Atkins consumption driven by distribution losses. Management reaffirmed its full-year outlook and expects a second-half rebound, but Q2 is expected to be the weakest quarter. Given the mix of solid execution and long-term initiatives offset by near-term margin and top-line headwinds, the tone is cautious but constructive.
Q1-2026 Updates
Positive Updates
Reaffirmed Full-Year Outlook
Company reaffirmed fiscal 2026 guidance: net sales growth in the range of -2% to +2% and adjusted EBITDA year-over-year in the range of -4% to +1%, with management confident in a stronger second half and Q4 profit expansion.
Overall Consumption and Brand Concentration
Total consumption grew 2% in Q1, led by Quest and OWYN which together generated 71% of net sales.
Quest Brand Strength and Salty Snacks Surge
Quest consumption +12% and net sales nearly +10%; Quest household penetration ~20% (up 200 bps YoY and up 50 bps QoQ). Quest Salty consumption +40%, household penetration for Quest Salty surpassed 10% (up 220 bps YoY); ACV for Quest Salty up ~5 points and average items per store up 34%.
OWYN Growth and Distribution Opportunity
OWYN consumption +18% with household penetration up 100 bps to ~4.5% and brand awareness ~20%. Powders growing ~50% and RTD/powders benefited from distribution-led growth; management plans double-digit marketing spend to drive awareness and penetration.
Productivity Program Delivering Results
Company cites a robust productivity program (18 months running) that is reducing costs and expected to drive margin recovery in the second half; G&A (ex specified items) declined ~4.4% to $28.3 million driven by cost synergies (OWYN) and cost management.
Commodity and Supply Actions (Cocoa)
Secured incremental cocoa supply at sequentially more favorable prices which will begin flowing into the P&L late Q4 and into fiscal 2027, providing a modest tailwind to margins.
Strong Cash Flow, Balance Sheet and Aggressive Buybacks
Cash of $194.1 million, net debt ~0.8x trailing 12-month adjusted EBITDA. Cash flow from operations $50.1 million (up from ~ $32 million prior year). Company repurchased ~5 million shares for $100 million in Q1 and has repurchased >7% of shares year-to-date (~$150 million); Board approved an additional $200 million buyback authorization.
Innovation Pipeline and New Product Traction
New product initiatives include Quest Overload platform, Quest Taste Forward Crispy line, 45g Protein Milkshake (ACV +8 points in quarter), new high-protein donut launch and Atkins 4-pack and meal bar SKUs; innovation expected to help reaccelerate core bar business and expand OWYN footprint.
Negative Updates
Gross Margin Compression and Inflationary Pressures
Q1 gross profit $109.9 million, down 15.8% YoY; GAAP gross margin 32.3%, a decline of 590 bps YoY (adjusted gross margin ~33.1%, down ~540 bps). Management expects full-year gross margins to decline ~100–150 bps and Q2 gross margins down ~300 bps YoY before recovery in H2.
Decline in Adjusted EBITDA, Net Income and EPS
Adjusted EBITDA $55.6 million, down 20.6% YoY. Net income $25.3 million, down 34% YoY. Diluted EPS $0.26 vs $0.38 prior year; adjusted diluted EPS $0.39 vs $0.49 prior year.
Atkins Consumption Decline and Distribution Losses
Atkins consumption declined 19% in Q1 (company expects ~20% consumption decline for the brand full year), largely driven by lost distribution at several key retailers (accounted for ~2/3 of the headwind). Company is rightsizing assortment and shifting space toward Quest and OWYN.
OWYN Product Quality Issues and Retail Destocking
OWYN net sales lagged consumption meaningfully due to lingering product quality issues and elevated retailer inventory levels; ERP cutover and previous quality issues contributed to destocking and slower shipments despite consumption +18%.
Near-Term Q2 Weakness and Modest Full-Year Top-Line Growth
Management expects Q2 to be the weakest quarter: net sales decline of ~3.5% to 4.5% in Q2. Full-year net sales guidance is a narrow range (-2% to +2%), indicating modest growth expectations despite H2 inflection hopes.
Tariffs and Commodity Cost Volatility
Q1 tariffs contributed approximately $4 million headwind; management still sees tariff and commodity (notably whey) pressures even as cocoa costs become more favorable. These factors pressured margins in Q1 and remain risks.
Underperformance in Core Quest Bars
Quest Bars were flat in Q1 (core bar business not growing), indicating legacy SKUs underperformance; management acknowledges bars must reaccelerate and plans additional innovation, merchandising and marketing to address this.
One-Time and Integration Costs Impacting Results
Q1 included one-time OWYN integration expenses (~$2.6 million) and prior year had $1 million noncash purchase accounting step-up; refinancing-related costs (~$2.8 million) were included in G&A. These items weighed on adjusted results and comparisons.
Company Guidance
Management reaffirmed FY2026 guidance, calling for net sales growth of -2% to +2% (with Quest and OWYN growth offsetting Atkins), full‑year gross margin down ~100–150 bps, and adjusted EBITDA down ~4% to up 1% year‑over‑year; they expect Q2 to be the weakest quarter with net sales down ~3.5–4.5% and Q2 gross margin down ~300 bps (adjusted EBITDA down double‑digits), followed by a stronger second half (Q3 gross margin roughly flat y/y, Q4 gross margin +~200 bps y/y and Q4 EBITDA up double‑digits); below the line items were updated to net interest expense $19–21M, diluted share count ~96M, effective tax rate 25%, and CapEx $30–40M, with tariff and cocoa tailwinds expected to begin easing in H2/Q4.

Simply Good Foods Financial Statement Overview

Summary
Strong cash generation (TTM operating cash flow ~$197M and free cash flow ~$174M with ~1.9x OCF-to-net-income) and a generally manageable leverage profile support financial flexibility. Offsetting this, TTM revenue is down (-7.4%) and margins/returns have compressed versus 2023–2024, indicating weaker near-term operating momentum.
Income Statement
Revenue growth has been solid over the last several annual periods, but TTM (Trailing-Twelve-Months) shows a revenue decline (-7.4%), signaling a near-term slowdown. Profitability has also stepped down from the stronger 2023–2024 levels: gross margin and operating margin are lower in TTM, and net margin has compressed to ~6.3% versus ~10% in 2023–2024. The business remains profitable with positive operating profit, but the trajectory is weaker recently.
Balance Sheet
Leverage appears manageable with debt modest relative to equity across the annual periods (debt-to-equity generally in the ~0.17–0.38 range), and equity has grown over time, supporting balance sheet resilience. Returns on equity are positive but have cooled in TTM (~5.0%) versus mid-to-high single digits previously, consistent with the recent earnings slowdown. One data point shows debt-to-equity as 0.0 in TTM, which looks inconsistent with the presence of debt and should be treated cautiously.
Cash Flow
Cash generation is a clear strength: operating cash flow remains strong in TTM (~$197M) and supports healthy free cash flow (~$174M). Cash flow conversion is solid with operating cash flow comfortably exceeding net income (about 1.9x in TTM), indicating good earnings quality. Free cash flow has been volatile year-to-year (including a decline in the latest annual period), but TTM shows a sharp rebound in free cash flow growth, reinforcing strong cash-producing fundamentals.
BreakdownDec 2025Dec 2024Dec 2023Dec 2022Dec 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue1.45B1.33B1.24B1.17B1.01B
Gross Profit508.85M494.65M436.00M428.28M392.78M
EBITDA182.91M240.06M232.74M198.37M135.64M
Net Income103.61M139.31M133.57M108.57M40.88M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets2.40B2.48B2.13B2.12B2.08B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments98.47M132.53M87.72M67.49M75.34M
Total Debt304.43M437.31M327.70M454.17M500.23M
Total Liabilities589.21M756.58M553.92M684.09M891.48M
Stockholders Equity1.81B1.73B1.57B1.44B1.19B
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow157.91M208.03M156.24M104.34M125.38M
Operating Cash Flow178.46M214.50M168.42M110.09M132.09M
Investing Cash Flow-20.93M-286.88M-12.19M-8.16M-2.51M
Financing Cash Flow-191.21M117.10M-135.84M-109.49M-150.05M

Simply Good Foods Technical Analysis

Technical Analysis Sentiment
Positive
Last Price20.66
Price Trends
50DMA
19.59
Positive
100DMA
22.66
Negative
200DMA
28.10
Negative
Market Momentum
MACD
0.19
Negative
RSI
57.91
Neutral
STOCH
66.87
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For SMPL, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 20.66 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 19.73, above the 50-day MA of 19.59, and below the 200-day MA of 28.10, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of 0.19 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 57.91 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 66.87 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for SMPL.

Simply Good Foods Risk Analysis

Simply Good Foods disclosed 44 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Simply Good Foods reported the most risks in the "Finance & Corporate" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks

Simply Good Foods Peers Comparison

Overall Rating
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (62)
Financial Indicators
Name
Overall Rating
Market Cap
P/E Ratio
ROE
Dividend Yield
Revenue Growth
EPS Growth
73
Outperform
$1.88B12.7210.38%-2.23%57.16%
69
Neutral
$1.80B28.276.82%3.53%0.54%-24.42%
67
Neutral
$2.94B13.7616.05%-10.17%
65
Neutral
$1.98B23.025.17%8.98%-26.29%
62
Neutral
$20.33B14.63-3.31%3.23%1.93%-12.26%
51
Neutral
$449.21M-827.452.23%11.31%99.83%
* Consumer Defensive Sector Average
Performance Comparison
Ticker
Company Name
Price
Change
% Change
SMPL
Simply Good Foods
20.66
-13.44
-39.41%
CENT
Central Garden Pet
32.47
-3.33
-9.30%
JJSF
J & J Snack Foods
94.87
-46.19
-32.74%
STKL
SunOpta
4.22
-3.12
-42.51%
BRBR
BellRing Brands
23.10
-49.58
-68.22%

Simply Good Foods Corporate Events

Business Operations and StrategyPrivate Placements and Financing
Simply Good Foods Amends Credit Agreement for $150M
Neutral
Nov 20, 2025

On November 19, 2025, Simply Good Foods USA, Inc. amended its Credit Agreement to establish a $150 million incremental term facility for working capital and corporate purposes. The amendment also extended the maturity dates for its revolving and term loan facilities, impacting the company’s financial flexibility and operational strategy.

The most recent analyst rating on (SMPL) stock is a Buy with a $35.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Simply Good Foods stock, see the SMPL Stock Forecast page.

Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.

Disclaimer

This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.Date of analysis: Jan 09, 2026