Cal-Maine Foods vs Flowers Foods
Flowers Foods reported revenue of $5.3 billion in fiscal 2025, 1.8 times Cal-Maine Foods' $2.9 billion in fiscal 2026. Cal-Maine Foods' revenue fell 31.7% in its latest year, and Flowers Foods' grew 3.0%. Cal-Maine Foods had an operating margin of 12.0%, against 3.3% at Flowers Foods. Free cash flow was $329 million at Cal-Maine Foods and $319 million at Flowers Foods. Their fiscal years end in different months (May 30 and January 3), so the periods don't line up exactly.
Side by side
| Cal-Maine Foods | Flowers Foods | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest fiscal year | FY2026, May 30, 2026 | FY2025, Jan 3, 2026 |
| Revenue | $2.9B | $5.3B |
| Revenue growth | −31.7% | 3.0% |
| Revenue growth a year, last 5 years | 16.6% | 3.7% |
| Gross margin | 23.1% | — |
| Operating margin | 12.0% | 3.3% |
| Net margin | 10.9% | 1.6% |
| Free cash flow | $329M | $319M |
| Free cash flow margin | 11.3% | 6.1% |
| Return on capital | — | 4.6% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | — | 5.1x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $232M | $215M |
| Change in diluted share count | −2.3% | −0.0% |
| Last close | $62.32 | $6.14 |
| P/E at the last close | 51.1× | 22.7× |
| Insider trades, last 12 months | — | bought $42,522, sold $4.0 million |
| Piotroski F-score | — | 5 of 8 |
Amounts in each company's own currency, US$ unless marked (a foreign company may report in another), each company's latest fiscal year from its 10-K, or 20-F or 40-F for a foreign company. Growth rates compare with the year before; the five-year rate is the average a year. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business; P/E is the last close over the latest earnings per share. Banks are measured differently (return on equity, efficiency ratio), so some rows apply to one company only.
Ten years
Revenue
US$ billions, fiscal years
Cal-Maine FoodsFlowers Foods
Operating margin
Percent of revenue
Cal-Maine FoodsFlowers Foods
Free cash flow
US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure.
Cal-Maine FoodsFlowers Foods
Source: the companies' Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR, and the last close. For information only, not investment advice: the figures describe results, not which company is the better investment. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with either company. Full figures on the Cal-Maine Foods and Flowers Foods pages.