Overview

• U.S. fresh pet food maker's Q1 net sales rose 13%, beating analyst expectations

• Company raised 2026 net sales growth guidance to 8%-11%

• Net income increased due to equity investment gain and lower non-recurring SG&A charges

Outlook

• Freshpet raises 2026 net sales growth guidance to 8%-11% from 7%-10%

• Company maintains 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance at $205 mln to $215 mln

• Freshpet expects positive free cash flow in 2026 with capital expenditures of ~$150 mln

Result Drivers

• VOLUME GAINS - Net sales increase was primarily driven by a 14.6% rise in sales volume

• LOWER INPUT COSTS - Gross margin improvement was mainly due to lower input costs and better leverage on plant expenses

• NON-RECURRING SG&A CHARGES - SG&A as a percentage of net sales decreased due to lower non-recurring charges compared to prior year

Company press release: ID:nGNX1F5pYk

Key Details

Metric	Beat/Miss	Actual	Consensus Estimate
Q1 Sales	Beat	$297.60 mln	$291.90 mln (14 Analysts)
Q1 EPS		$0.91
Q1 Net Income		$48.50 mln

Analyst Coverage

• The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 12 "strong buy" or "buy", 4 "hold" and 1 "sell" or "strong sell"

• The average consensus recommendation for the food processing peer group is "buy"

• Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Freshpet Inc is $80.00, about 33% above its May 5 closing price of $60.17

• The stock recently traded at 38 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 47 three months ago

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