Lamb Weston Holdings

Packaged Foods · Consumer Defensive

Price

$53.68

+0.21 (+0.39%)

Market Cap

$7.38B

Winston Score

Winston is serious

Below-average fundamentals — multiple weak pillars.

Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through May 31, 2026

How the score breaks down

Quality

Mixed

Growth

Weak

Cash Flow

Strong

Stability

Mixed

Valuation

Strong

Dividends

Mixed

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Share count falling — buybacks

−4.7% over 4y

The company has reduced its share count over this period, returning value to shareholders through buybacks.

Diluted shares outstanding: 145.9M (2022) → 139.1M (2026)

Winston Score History

The full picture

Lamb Weston makes frozen potato products — mainly french fries, but also potato wedges, hash browns, and other potato-based foods. Its customers are restaurants, fast food chains, and food service companies around the world, including major chains like McDonald's. It is one of the largest frozen potato producers in North America.

The company sells its products directly to restaurants and through food distributors, earning revenue each time a customer places an order. Lamb Weston operates primarily in North America but also sells internationally, with a growing presence in Europe and Asia. Its scale and long-term contracts with large restaurant chains give it a degree of pricing stability, but the business is exposed to potato crop prices and input costs like oil and energy, which can squeeze margins — and with gross margins already under 21%, any cost pressure is a meaningful risk to profitability.

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Growth Profile

For growth stock investors

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+5.6% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Slow revenue growth

EPS Growth

-5.9% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Earnings declining

R&D Spend

$0/ year

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (2%)

Research and development spending

Insider Activity

1.0%ownership

→ Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Runway

~6 months

$68M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↓ Burn rate worsening

Short runway — potential dilution ahead through share issuance

Cash watch

Lamb Weston Holdings has less than a year of cash at its current burn rate. Growth investors should watch for potential share dilution from future fundraising — that directly reduces your ownership.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

Each metric is explained in plain language so you know exactly what you're looking at. Start your free trial now.

Quality

Profit per sale

Gross Margin

20.4%

Thin — 20.4% gross margin

Profit after running costs

Operating Margin

9.5%

Modest — 9.5% operating margin

Return on the money invested

ROCE

10.3%

Below par — 10.3% return on capital

ROIC between 5% and 15%. They earn 5 to 15 cents back per year on every dollar invested.

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Growth

Sales growth

Sales YoY

+2.5%

Nearly flat sales (+2.5% YoY)

Profit growth

EPS YoY

-16.7%

Earnings shrinking (-16.7% YoY)

Earnings per share down more than 10%. Either a bad year, or a real decline.

How steady the profit is

EPS Consistency

2/8 quarters

Earnings rarely grow — volatile business

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash

Cash Conversion

358%

Turns 358% of profit into real cash

Spare cash per sale

FCF Margin

9.6%

Modest free cash flow (9.6%)

FCF margin between 0% and 10%. Some cash from sales, but not a lot.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns

Debt / Equity

2.15

Heavy debt load (2.15)

Covers its interest

Interest Cover

3.27x

Tight — interest eats into profit (3.3x)

Interest coverage between 3 and 8. Profits cover interest several times over.

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Valuation

Price vs profit

P/E Ratio (TTM)

25.6x

Growth-priced — P/E 25.6

P/E above the market average. People are paying up for expected growth.

Cheaper or dearer next year

P/E vs Forward

+10.1

GROWING

Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (25.6 → 15.5)

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Dividends

Dividend

Dividend Yield

2.85%

Moderate income — 2.85% yield

Standard yield zone for stable dividend payers. A meaningful piece of total return.

Dividend record

Dividend Growth

+2.7%

Dividend flat

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