How does Utz Brands, Inc. make money?

Utz Brands, Inc. generates $1.41B in annual revenue (FY2024 net sales · first nine months 2025 $1,096.6M (+2.7% vs prior-year nine months)).

What is UTZ's XVARY composite score?

Utz Brands, Inc. (UTZ) has an XVARY composite score of 51/100, rated below average. This combines growth, value, risk, and momentum factors.

UTZ — Utz Brands, Inc. stock analysis

Start here if you're new

what it is

Utz makes and ships salty snacks like potato chips, pretzels, cheese snacks, and tortilla chips across the U.S.

how it gets paid

FY2024 net sales were $1,409.3M per the FY2024 results materials. Segment rows below are illustrative—use the 10-K for audited product mix.

why it's growing
For the thirty-nine weeks ended Sept 28, 2025, net sales were $1,096.6M vs $1,068.2M prior (+2.7%). Q3 2025 net sales $377.8M (+3.4% YoY).

what just happened

Q3 2025: GAAP net loss $(20.2)M; adjusted net income $33.5M; adjusted diluted EPS $0.23 vs $0.21 prior year quarter (Oct 30, 2025 release).

At a glance

B balance sheet — gets the job done, barely

25/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises

label GAAP vs adjusted before quoting any snack “P/E”

2.4% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter

3.5% return on capital — nothing to write home about

xvary composite: 51/100 — below average

What they do

Utz makes and ships salty snacks like potato chips, pretzels, cheese snacks, and tortilla chips across the U.S.

If you sell snacks, shelf space is oxygen. Utz runs roughly 2,500 direct store delivery routes and operates eight manufacturing facilities, which means your bag of chips can show up fast and stay stocked. Distribution → getting products onto shelves yourself → so what: retailers reorder what is already moving, and smaller brands get boxed out.

consumer small-cap snacks branded-food distribution

How they make money

$1.41B FY2024 net sales · first nine months 2025 $1,096.6M (+2.7% vs prior-year nine months)

potato chips

$0.49B

pretzels

$0.24B

cheese snacks

$0.21B

tortilla chips and dips

$0.18B

pork skins and other snacks

$0.28B

The products that matter

manufactures and sells salty snacks

Branded Salty Snacks

FY2024 ~$1.41B net sales · Q3’25 momentum +3.4%

Branded salty snacks are the core—Q3 2025 organic net sales grew 3.4% with branded salty up 5.8% in the headline tables. The debate is whether adjusted earnings can outrun GAAP noise from expansion spend.

entire story

Key numbers

16.0%

Q3 adj. EBITDA / sales

Q3 2025 adjusted EBITDA $60.3M on $377.8M net sales (~16.0%) in the release—compare to GAAP EBITDA when the quarter is loss-making after charges.

$841M

long-term debt

That is 48% of capital, which is a lot for a company expected to do about $1B of 2026 revenue.

$(0.17)

Q3 GAAP diluted EPS

GAAP was red in Q3 2025 while adjusted EPS was $0.23—do not mix them when you sanity-check multiples at ~$10.43.

2,500

delivery routes

Direct store delivery means Utz controls shelf replenishment itself, which is a real edge in snacks.

Financial health

B

strength

balance sheet grade B — adequate — nothing special
risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
price stability 50 / 100
long-term debt $841M (48% of capital)
net profit margin 3.5% — keeps 4 cents of every dollar in revenue
return on equity 6% — $0.06 profit for every $1 investors have put in

B — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.

Total return vs. market

You invested $10,000 in UTZ 3 years ago → it's now worth $6,950.

The index would have given you $13,920.

same period. same starting point. UTZ trailed the market by $6,970.

source: institutional data · total return

What just happened

Q3 2025

Q3 net sales $377.8M (+3.4%); GAAP diluted EPS $(0.17); adjusted diluted EPS $0.23.

The old “$1.1B quarterly revenue +190% growth +8.1% gross margin” block was corrupted scrape data. In the Oct 30, 2025 release, adjusted gross profit margin expanded ~210 bps YoY while SD&A as a percent of sales increased on expansion costs—net income is GAAP-noisy, adjusted earnings were up double digits.

$377.8M

Q3 net sales

$0.23

Q3 adj. diluted EPS

$1,096.6M

9M 2025 net sales

the number that mattered

Adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EPS still grew YoY in Q3 even as GAAP net income went negative—your model has to pick a lane.

P0: Utz Brands Q3 2025 results (Oct 30, 2025) — Utz news post · FY2024 net sales $1,409.3M — investors.utzsnacks.com

utz brands posted mixed results in the recent third quarter.
net sales increased 3.4% vs. prior year, to $378 million, reflecting a 4.5% contribution from volume and mix that more than offset lower pricing.
branded salty snacks posted mid-single-digit growth and the company continued to gain retail share despite secular category declines.
profitability, however, deteriorated.

the gross margin weakened, and utz reported a net loss of $0.17 per share, due to higher operating expenses and interest costs tied to its multi-year investment in expansion and its supply chain. business in late 2025 and into 2026 should be supported by distribution gains and incremental expansion. however, we expect ongoing spending on trucks, drivers, and route sales will weigh on near-term results.
management raised its 2025 organic sales growth outlook to about 3%, pointing to fourth-quarter sales of just over $350 million.

in 2026, capital spending is expected to step down, to approximately $60 million to $70 million, down from an estimated $100 million last year.

source: company earnings report, 2026

What could go wrong

the #1 risk is margin repair failing while debt stays heavy. Utz can grow volume and still disappoint you if gross profit does not widen from here.

∘

med

profit recovery still has not shown up

Latest-quarter EPS was a loss of $0.17 even with sales up 3.4% and volume plus mix up 4.5%. That is the clearest sign the company is winning units faster than dollars.

With a 2.6% net margin, another quarter like that keeps the turnaround story theoretical and makes the 34.8x trailing multiple harder to defend.

∘

med

$841M of long-term debt keeps the clock running

Long-term debt equals 48% of capital, and management already pointed to interest costs as part of the recent earnings pressure.

That matters more when the business keeps about 3 cents of every revenue dollar. Thin profits and debt are a bad pairing.

∘

med

share gains in a slow aisle may not be enough

Utz is taking share, but the category backdrop is not giving away easy growth. The company still described secular pressure in parts of the aisle.

If share gains slow, you are left with the weak part of the story — 2.6% net margins and heavy debt — without the clean demand offset.

∘

med

lower capex has to become better margins

Management expects 2026 capex to step down to about $60M–$70M from roughly $100M last year. Investors are already treating that as future relief.

If spending falls and gross margin stays around 23.6%, the market will have to rethink what it is paying for a snack stock that still is not converting growth into profit.

A business with $1.4B in revenue, a 2.6% net margin, and $841M of long-term debt does not get many unproductive quarters.

source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis

Pay attention to

metric

gross margin after the spending cycle

The latest quarter printed 23.6% gross margin. If that number does not improve as capex falls toward $60M–$70M, the recovery story starts looking borrowed.

trend

share gains versus aisle pressure

Branded salty snacks are still gaining retail share. You want that to continue, because the broader aisle is not handing Utz easy growth.

calendar

2026 capex reset

Management expects capex to drop to about $60M–$70M from roughly $100M last year. That is when the margin thesis is supposed to get help from spending discipline.

risk

debt still near half the capital structure

Long-term debt sits at $841M, or 48% of capital. That is manageable only if profits stop staying thin.

Analyst rankings

short-term outlook

average

outlook rank 3. in human-speak, analysts see a middle-lane setup rather than a clear short-term edge.

risk profile

average

risk rank 3 — not a safe haven, not a disaster, but the debt and margin profile keep this from feeling defensive.

chart momentum

bottom 5%

momentum rank 5 — even after the recent bounce, the chart has been weaker than most stocks.

source: institutional data

Institutional activity

institutions have been net buying for 3 consecutive quarters — 127 buyers vs. 103 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 78.7M shares. net buying for 3 quarters.

source: institutional data · 1q2025-3q2025

source: institutional data

Price targets

3-5 year target range

$8 $18

$10 current price

$13 target midpoint · +25% from current · 3-5yr high: $20 (+90% · 20% ann'l return)

source: institutional data · analyst targets

The deep dive

UTZ

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