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Side-by-side financial comparison of Lifeway Foods, Inc. (LWAY) and Vericel Corp (VCEL). Click either name above to swap in a different company.
Vericel Corp is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($92.9M vs $55.4M, roughly 1.7× Lifeway Foods, Inc.). Vericel Corp runs the higher net margin — 25.0% vs 4.6%, a 20.4% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Vericel Corp posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (23.3% vs 18.0%). Vericel Corp produced more free cash flow last quarter ($12.8M vs $-17.4M). Over the past eight quarters, Vericel Corp's revenue compounded faster (34.6% CAGR vs 11.4%).
Lifeway Foods is an Illinois-based health food company founded in 1986. They are a leading U.S. supplier of kefir and fermented probiotic products to support the microbiome.
Vericel Corporation is a publicly traded American biopharmaceutical company which was known prior to October 2014 as Aastrom Bio. Aastrom Bio was formed in 1989 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
LWAY vs VCEL — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $55.4M | $92.9M |
| Net Profit | $2.5M | $23.2M |
| Gross Margin | 27.8% | 78.7% |
| Operating Margin | 6.8% | 24.1% |
| Net Margin | 4.6% | 25.0% |
| Revenue YoY | 18.0% | 23.3% |
| Net Profit YoY | 1688.1% | 17.3% |
| EPS (diluted) | $0.15 | $0.46 |
Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.
8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend
Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.
| Q4 25 | $55.4M | $92.9M | ||
| Q3 25 | $57.1M | $67.5M | ||
| Q2 25 | $53.9M | $63.2M | ||
| Q1 25 | $46.1M | $52.6M | ||
| Q4 24 | $46.9M | $75.4M | ||
| Q3 24 | $46.1M | $57.9M | ||
| Q2 24 | $49.2M | $52.7M | ||
| Q1 24 | $44.6M | $51.3M |
| Q4 25 | $2.5M | $23.2M | ||
| Q3 25 | $3.5M | $5.1M | ||
| Q2 25 | $4.2M | $-553.0K | ||
| Q1 25 | $3.5M | $-11.2M | ||
| Q4 24 | $-160.0K | $19.8M | ||
| Q3 24 | $3.0M | $-901.0K | ||
| Q2 24 | $3.8M | $-4.7M | ||
| Q1 24 | $2.4M | $-3.9M |
| Q4 25 | 27.8% | 78.7% | ||
| Q3 25 | 28.7% | 73.5% | ||
| Q2 25 | 28.6% | 73.7% | ||
| Q1 25 | 23.9% | 69.0% | ||
| Q4 24 | 25.3% | 77.6% | ||
| Q3 24 | 25.7% | 71.9% | ||
| Q2 24 | 27.0% | 69.5% | ||
| Q1 24 | 25.8% | 68.9% |
| Q4 25 | 6.8% | 24.1% | ||
| Q3 25 | 8.8% | 5.1% | ||
| Q2 25 | 10.8% | -3.2% | ||
| Q1 25 | 3.4% | -24.3% | ||
| Q4 24 | 1.5% | 24.5% | ||
| Q3 24 | 9.1% | -4.3% | ||
| Q2 24 | 11.0% | -11.5% | ||
| Q1 24 | 8.0% | -10.7% |
| Q4 25 | 4.6% | 25.0% | ||
| Q3 25 | 6.2% | 7.5% | ||
| Q2 25 | 7.9% | -0.9% | ||
| Q1 25 | 7.7% | -21.4% | ||
| Q4 24 | -0.3% | 26.3% | ||
| Q3 24 | 6.5% | -1.6% | ||
| Q2 24 | 7.7% | -8.9% | ||
| Q1 24 | 5.4% | -7.5% |
| Q4 25 | $0.15 | $0.46 | ||
| Q3 25 | $0.23 | $0.10 | ||
| Q2 25 | $0.28 | $-0.01 | ||
| Q1 25 | $0.23 | $-0.23 | ||
| Q4 24 | $0.00 | $0.40 | ||
| Q3 24 | $0.19 | $-0.02 | ||
| Q2 24 | $0.25 | $-0.10 | ||
| Q1 24 | $0.16 | $-0.08 |
Balance Sheet & Financial Strength
Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | $5.6M | $137.5M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | — | — |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $85.8M | $354.6M |
| Total Assets | $105.6M | $488.0M |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | — | — |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $5.6M | $137.5M | ||
| Q3 25 | $23.0M | $135.4M | ||
| Q2 25 | $21.2M | $116.9M | ||
| Q1 25 | $19.4M | $112.9M | ||
| Q4 24 | $16.7M | $116.2M | ||
| Q3 24 | $20.6M | $101.7M | ||
| Q2 24 | $14.6M | $102.5M | ||
| Q1 24 | $12.0M | $110.6M |
| Q4 25 | — | — | ||
| Q3 25 | — | — | ||
| Q2 25 | — | — | ||
| Q1 25 | — | — | ||
| Q4 24 | — | — | ||
| Q3 24 | — | — | ||
| Q2 24 | — | — | ||
| Q1 24 | $2.5M | — |
| Q4 25 | $85.8M | $354.6M | ||
| Q3 25 | $82.8M | $321.9M | ||
| Q2 25 | $78.7M | $306.8M | ||
| Q1 25 | $74.2M | $295.5M | ||
| Q4 24 | $71.9M | $292.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $71.5M | $257.5M | ||
| Q2 24 | $68.0M | $243.0M | ||
| Q1 24 | $63.5M | $233.9M |
| Q4 25 | $105.6M | $488.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $109.5M | $453.3M | ||
| Q2 25 | $98.3M | $435.6M | ||
| Q1 25 | $93.7M | $424.6M | ||
| Q4 24 | $90.5M | $432.7M | ||
| Q3 24 | $91.3M | $390.4M | ||
| Q2 24 | $84.9M | $376.8M | ||
| Q1 24 | $82.8M | $356.7M |
| Q4 25 | — | — | ||
| Q3 25 | — | — | ||
| Q2 25 | — | — | ||
| Q1 25 | — | — | ||
| Q4 24 | — | — | ||
| Q3 24 | — | — | ||
| Q2 24 | — | — | ||
| Q1 24 | 0.04× | — |
Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency
How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash FlowLast quarter | $267.0K | $15.0M |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $-17.4M | $12.8M |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | -31.5% | 13.8% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | 31.9% | 2.4% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | 0.11× | 0.65× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | $-16.4M | $24.7M |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $267.0K | $15.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $6.9M | $22.1M | ||
| Q2 25 | $3.9M | $8.2M | ||
| Q1 25 | $-150.0K | $6.6M | ||
| Q4 24 | $-2.6M | $22.2M | ||
| Q3 24 | $7.5M | $10.2M | ||
| Q2 24 | $6.5M | $18.5M | ||
| Q1 24 | $1.5M | $7.2M |
| Q4 25 | $-17.4M | $12.8M | ||
| Q3 25 | $1.8M | $19.5M | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.6M | $81.0K | ||
| Q1 25 | $-2.4M | $-7.6M | ||
| Q4 24 | $-3.8M | $8.5M | ||
| Q3 24 | $5.9M | $-9.2M | ||
| Q2 24 | $5.1M | $1.8M | ||
| Q1 24 | $-923.0K | $-6.8M |
| Q4 25 | -31.5% | 13.8% | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.1% | 28.8% | ||
| Q2 25 | 3.0% | 0.1% | ||
| Q1 25 | -5.1% | -14.5% | ||
| Q4 24 | -8.2% | 11.2% | ||
| Q3 24 | 12.8% | -15.9% | ||
| Q2 24 | 10.4% | 3.4% | ||
| Q1 24 | -2.1% | -13.3% |
| Q4 25 | 31.9% | 2.4% | ||
| Q3 25 | 9.0% | 3.9% | ||
| Q2 25 | 4.3% | 12.9% | ||
| Q1 25 | 4.8% | 27.0% | ||
| Q4 24 | 2.7% | 18.3% | ||
| Q3 24 | 3.3% | 33.5% | ||
| Q2 24 | 2.9% | 31.8% | ||
| Q1 24 | 5.5% | 27.3% |
| Q4 25 | 0.11× | 0.65× | ||
| Q3 25 | 1.96× | 4.35× | ||
| Q2 25 | 0.92× | — | ||
| Q1 25 | -0.04× | — | ||
| Q4 24 | — | 1.12× | ||
| Q3 24 | 2.50× | — | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.73× | — | ||
| Q1 24 | 0.64× | — |
Financial Flow Comparison
Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
LWAY
| Drinkable Kefirotherthan Pro Bugs | $47.8M | 86% |
| Cheese | $4.7M | 8% |
| Cream And Other | $1.7M | 3% |
| Other | $1.2M | 2% |
VCEL
| MACI Implants And Kits | $84.1M | 90% |
| Other | $8.8M | 10% |
