UTZ Brands (UTZ) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $1.38B
• Dividend Yield: 2.51%
• Average Volume (3M): 1.68M
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 1054.9
• Beta (1Y): 0.07
• Revenue Growth: 1.22%
• EPS Growth: N/A
• Country: US
• Employees: 3,000
• Sector: Consumer Defensive
• Sector Strength: 42
• Industry: Packaged Foods
• EPS (TTM): 0.26
• Shares Outstanding: 88,432,910
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 2,261,680
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 1,680,415
• PEG Ratio: -11.86
• Price to Book (P/B): 1.27
• Price to Sales (P/S): 0.63
• P/FCF Ratio: 96.06
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 1.35
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 1.30
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 5.35
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 46.62
• 1Y Price Target: $13.13
• Price Target Upside: 40.13% Upside
• Rating Consensus: Strong Buy
• Number of Analyst Covering: 8
• EPS Forecast (FY): 0.79
• Revenue Forecast (FY): $1.50B

• Rating: 48 Neutral
• Price Target: $9.00 ▼(-3.95% Downside)
• Action: Reiterated Date: 02/19/26
• Date: Action: Reiterated 02/19/26

UTZ scores below-average primarily due to inconsistent profitability and weak free-cash-flow durability despite improved leverage and steady sales trends. Technicals are also bearish with the stock trading below major moving averages and negative MACD. Valuation is a major headwind given the extremely high P/E, partially offset by a moderate dividend yield. Earnings-call commentary is cautiously constructive (modest growth and margin expansion plans), but near-term inflation, leverage, and D&A/EPS headwinds temper the outlook.

Positive Factors

Improved capital structure (low debt)

Material debt reduction to roughly $52M and a ~0.07x debt/equity materially lowers financial risk and interest burden. This durable improvement increases flexibility for reinvestment, share repurchases, and targeted deleveraging toward the 2.5–3.0x goal without immediate refinancing stress.

Leading pure‑play salty snack market position

Being the largest pure‑play salty snack operator in the U.S. gives durable scale advantages: stronger shelf presence, bargaining power with retailers, and efficient marketing spend. Scale supports geographic expansion (e.g., California) and protects steady branded volume growth versus smaller competitors.

Productivity gains and innovation pipeline

Sustained ~$40M productivity and margin‑accretive product innovation create durable tailwinds to gross margins and reinvestment capacity. Combined, these initiatives can offset inflation, support modest EBITDA expansion, and help convert adjusted EBITDA into accelerating free cash flow over the medium term.

Negative Factors

Inconsistent profitability

A swing to GAAP net loss in 2025 highlights volatile underlying earnings power driven by margin swings. Persistent inconsistency undermines the company's ability to reliably fund deleveraging, returns, and capex from earnings, making medium‑term planning and investor returns more uncertain.

Thin, volatile free cash flow

Despite improved operating cash flow, FCF was only about $9M in 2025 and has swung materially in prior years. Limited and inconsistent FCF constrains sustainable deleveraging, capital returns, and strategic investments absent continued margin gains or one‑time adjustments.

Elevated leverage and below‑the‑line headwinds

Starting net leverage near 3.4x and significant D&A/interest/tax headwinds reduce EPS conversion of EBITDA and limit near‑term financial flexibility. Achieving target leverage relies on sustained EBITDA/FCF improvements, making the company sensitive to execution and cost pressures.

UTZ Brands Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Utz Brands, Inc. operates as a snack food manufacturing company. It offers a range of salty snacks, including potato chips, kettle chips, tortilla chips, pretzels, cheese snacks, veggie snacks, pork skins, pub/party mixes, salsa and queso, ready-to-eat popcorn, and other snacks under the Utz, Zapp's, ON THE BORDER, Golden Flake, Good Health, Boulder Canyon, Hawaiian, TGIF, TORTIYAHS!, and other brand names. The company distributes its products to grocery, mass, club, convenience, drug, and other retailers though direct shipments, distributors, and direct store delivery routes. Utz Brands, Inc. was founded in 1921 and is headquartered in Hanover, Pennsylvania.

How the Company Makes Money

UTZ Brands generates revenue through the sale of its snack products across multiple distribution channels, including grocery stores, convenience stores, and foodservice operators. The company employs a revenue model based on direct sales and distribution agreements, leveraging both its owned brands and private label offerings. Key revenue streams include the sale of packaged snacks and bulk products, with a significant portion of sales coming from their well-known brands in the salty snack category. Additionally, UTZ Brands has established strategic partnerships and alliances with major retailers to enhance distribution, which contributes to increased market penetration and brand visibility. The company's focus on innovation, new product launches, and effective marketing strategies further drives sales and profitability.

UTZ Brands Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Sales are relatively steady with an uptick in 2025, and balance-sheet risk improved materially with sharply lower debt. However, profitability is inconsistent (net income swung to a loss in 2025), margins compressed, and free cash flow is thin and volatile despite improved operating cash flow. KPIs also show growth concentrated in Branded Salty Snacks while other segments decline, increasing reliance on a single growth engine.

Income Statement

Revenue has been fairly steady with a modest uptick in 2025 (+8.1% YoY) after a small decline in 2024, but profitability is inconsistent. Net income swung from a profit in 2024 to a loss in 2025, and net margins remain thin overall (roughly breakeven to low-single-digit positive in better years). Gross margin also compressed materially in 2025 versus 2024, suggesting higher input costs and/or pricing/mix pressure. The result is a business showing resilience on sales, but limited and volatile earnings power.

Balance Sheet

Leverage improved sharply in 2025, with total debt dropping to about $52M and a low debt-to-equity level (~0.07x) versus ~1.3–1.5x in prior years, materially reducing financial risk. Equity is relatively stable (~$700M) and assets are steady (~$2.7–$2.8B). The main weakness is return on equity, which turned negative in 2025 alongside the net loss, indicating that despite the healthier capital structure, profitability is not yet consistently converting into shareholder returns.

Cash Flow

Operating cash flow is positive and has improved versus earlier years (about $112M in 2025 vs. ~$48M in 2022), but free cash flow remains very thin (about $9M in 2025) and has been volatile, including a sizable burn in 2022. Cash conversion also looks mixed: free cash flow is a small fraction of earnings in profitable periods and remains modest even when operating cash flow is strong, implying heavier reinvestment needs and/or working-capital swings. Overall, liquidity generation is acceptable, but free-cash-flow durability is a concern.

Breakdown	Dec 2025	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue	1.44B	1.41B	1.44B	1.41B	1.18B
Gross Profit	322.20M	494.78M	456.49M	449.06M	383.91M
EBITDA	180.90M	182.12M	99.25M	91.33M	127.67M
Net Income	800.00K	15.97M	-24.94M	-392.00K	20.55M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	2.79B	2.73B	2.75B	2.84B	2.72B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	120.40M	56.14M	52.02M	72.93M	41.90M
Total Debt	1.17B	940.82M	985.34M	992.46M	909.01M
Total Liabilities	1.45B	1.34B	1.36B	1.39B	1.28B
Stockholders Equity	713.70M	702.45M	669.50M	703.15M	679.71M
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	9.40M	7.53M	20.92M	-39.77M	14.89M
Operating Cash Flow	112.20M	106.17M	76.64M	48.19M	48.39M
Investing Cash Flow	-86.90M	74.96M	-48.49M	-76.07M	-136.10M
Financing Cash Flow	39.00M	-177.01M	-49.05M	58.91M	82.78M

UTZ Brands Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Negative
• Last Price: 9.37
• 50DMA: Negative
• 100DMA: Negative
• 200DMA: Negative
• MACD: Positive
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Neutral

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For UTZ, the sentiment is Negative. The current price of 9.37 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 10.03, below the 50-day MA of 10.19, and below the 200-day MA of 11.73, indicating a bearish trend. The MACD of -0.26 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 41.58 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 47.55 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Negative sentiment for UTZ.

UTZ Brands Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
NOMD	67 Neutral	$1.90B	8.94	7.39%	5.40%	1.44%	8.29%
JJSF	64 Neutral	$1.65B	27.69	6.60%	3.53%	0.54%	-24.42%
Sector *	62 Neutral	$20.33B	14.63	-3.31%	3.23%	1.93%	-12.26%
SMPL	62 Neutral	$1.60B	18.80	5.17%	―	8.98%	-26.29%
FLO	54 Neutral	$2.12B	25.38	6.18%	9.15%	0.26%	-19.45%
UTZ	48 Neutral	$1.38B	1,054.95	0.11%	2.51%	1.22%	―

UTZ Brands Corporate Events

Utz Brands Unveils Post-Transformation Growth and Margin Strategy

On February 18, 2026, Utz Brands used its appearance at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York conference to highlight its transition out of a capital‑intensive transformation phase and reaffirm its positioning as the largest pure‑play salty snack company in the U.S. Management emphasized a strategy focused on growing faster than the overall salty snack category, expanding margins and accelerating free cash flow to enhance shareholder value and reduce leverage.

The company laid out four strategic pillars and four growth differentiators, anchored by momentum in its Boulder Canyon brand, geographic expansion—particularly in California—strengthening core markets and stepped‑up innovation and marketing. Utz also detailed long‑term financial ambitions, including net sales potential of $1.9 billion, annual adjusted EBITDA growth of 6–8% with margin expansion to at least 17%, more than $100 million in adjusted free cash flow from 2027, and a path to lowering leverage to roughly 2.5 times over time.

The most recent analyst rating on (UTZ) stock is a Hold with a $9.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on UTZ Brands stock, see the UTZ Stock Forecast page.

Utz Brands Announces First Share Repurchase Program, Signals Confidence

On February 12, 2026, Utz Brands reported fiscal fourth-quarter 2025 net sales up 0.4% to $342.2 million and full-year 2025 net sales up 2.1% to $1.44 billion, with branded salty snacks organic growth of 2.5% in the quarter and 4.7% for the year. While GAAP net income turned to small losses for both the quarter and year and EBITDA declined, the company delivered double-digit gains in adjusted EBITDA and adjusted earnings, driven by significant adjusted gross margin expansion and productivity savings.

Utz ended 2025 with $240.1 million of liquidity and a net leverage ratio of 3.4x, supported by $112.2 million in operating cash flow and elevated capital spending to expand capacity and productivity. On February 10, 2026, the board approved the company’s first share repurchase program of up to $50 million, signaling confidence in its balance sheet progress and providing another avenue for capital returns alongside dividends as Utz targets further margin gains, modest organic sales growth and lower leverage in 2026.

The most recent analyst rating on (UTZ) stock is a Buy with a $13.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on UTZ Brands stock, see the UTZ Stock Forecast page.

Utz Brands Reports Strong 2025 Preliminary Results, Deleveraging

On January 12, 2026, Utz Brands announced preliminary, unaudited results for the fourth quarter and full year 2025, indicating modest top-line growth but stronger profit expansion and deleveraging. For Q4 2025, the company expects net sales of $342–343 million, reflecting organic net sales growth of 0.3%–0.6% year over year, while adjusted EBITDA is projected to rise 17%–21% to $62–64 million. For full year 2025, net sales are expected at $1,439–1,440 million, up 2.4%–2.5% in organic terms, with adjusted EBITDA increasing 8%–9% to $216–218 million and net leverage improving to about 3.4x on the back of stronger cash generation. Management highlighted that Q4 retail sales grew about 3.5% in a salty snack category that returned to 1.1% growth, with Utz outpacing the broader category on both retail sales and volumes and its “Power Four” brands growing 5.3% in the quarter and 5.0% for the year. Net sales lagged retail performance as channel partners reduced inventories in late 2025 due to factors such as SNAP payment delays and the government shutdown, though shipment trends normalized by year-end, and the company emphasized ongoing productivity, margin expansion, and growth initiatives, including a planned California expansion in early 2026.

The most recent analyst rating on (UTZ) stock is a Buy with a $15.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on UTZ Brands stock, see the UTZ Stock Forecast page.