Sow Good Inc (SOWG) 2025 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for participating in today's conference call to discuss Sow Good's financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2025. Joining us today are Sow Good's Co-Founder and CEO, Claudia Goldfarb; and Chief Financial Officer, Donna Guy. (Operator Instructions)

Before we go further, I would like to turn the call over to Mr. Slach as he reads the company's safe harbor statement within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that provides important cautions regarding forward-looking statements.

Cody, please go ahead.

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us on today's conference call to discuss Sow Good's financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2025. Certain statements made during this call are forward-looking statements, including those concerning our financial outlook, our competitive landscape, market opportunities and the impact of the global economic environment on our business.

These statements are based on currently available information and assumptions, and we undertake no duty to update this information, except as required by law. These statements are also subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including those highlighted in today's earnings release and our filings with the SEC. Additional information concerning these statements and the risks and uncertainties associated with them is highlighted in today's earnings release and in our filings with the SEC.

Copies are available on the SEC's website or on our Investor Relations website. Furthermore, we will discuss adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP financial measure on today's call. A reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA to net income or loss, the nearest comparable non-GAAP financial measures discussed on today's call is available in our earnings press release at our Investor Relations website.

With that, I will turn the call over to Claudia.

Thank you, Cody. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. Q3 2025 was a quarter of steady progress and operational strengthening as we continue positioning Sow Good for long-term sustainable growth. Over the past several months, we've made strategic decisions to align our cost structure with current demand, streamline operations and enhance efficiency across every part of the business.

These initiatives have simplified our footprint, reduced fixed cost and reinforce our foundation for scalability. While our results reflect a transitional period, they also highlight the meaningful strides we've made towards becoming a leaner, stronger and more agile company, one that is well prepared to capture the opportunities ahead.

We completed lease amendments on our Mockingbird and Rock Quarry facilities, resulting in more than $5 million in annualized rent savings while maintaining full production capacity through automation and improved workflow design. We have completely vacated our Mockingbird facility, reducing our footprint by over 50,000 square feet and delivering immediate cost savings.

In addition, we will fully vacate our Rock Quarry facility by the end of January, which will further reduce our footprint by more than 320,000 square feet. Together, these consolidations represent a major step forward in optimizing our operations, driving efficiency, eliminating redundant costs and positioning us for long-term scalability.

We also implemented payroll efficiencies that lowered monthly costs by approximately $40,000 while still preserving our consistent quality and innovation. Together, these actions have strengthened our path toward profitability and positioned Sow Good to scale efficiently as new growth initiatives come online. Importantly, the operational groundwork we've laid in 2025 provides a direct bridge to a return to profitability in 2026.

Positioning us to leverage increased capacity, broaden retail reach and expand into new high-margin product categories. Beyond our operational progress, in March of 2026, we are launching two new SKUs with a national retailer in our branded displays that will also feature 10 more of our top SKUs. Our international distribution partners remain excited with our performance and are substantially expanding influencer marketing and retailer marketing partnerships for 2026 to continue supporting the Sow Good brand.

We also reached an exciting milestone in our retail strategy, securing our first private label partnership with the 600-store national retailer for our new Caramel Crunch SKU with shipments beginning in the second quarter of 2026. Caramel Crunch will be our first fully vertically integrated product made with no artificial dyes, flavors or preservatives, and produced using our proprietary long-cycle freeze-drying process.

It features real caramel made in-house from scratch, with naturally derived colors and flavors, aligning perfectly with the industry-wide movement toward cleaner, simpler ingredient decks. This innovation not only strengthens our leadership in the clean snacking space, but also opens the door to a wider range of retail opportunities as buyers increasingly prioritize clean label confectionery products.

It reflects where the market is headed and where Sow Good excels. At the same time, we're seeing a slowdown in traditional SKUs that mirror the broader category softening, while growth and retailer demand are shifting toward our new innovative SKUs, particularly those featuring proprietary textures, novel flavors and clean ingredients.

This shift reinforces our commitment to continuous innovation and to leading the next generation of freeze-dried snacking. Furthermore, we're engaged in ongoing discussions with several national retailers regarding additional private label opportunities, including potential expansion into freeze-dried yogurt melts and other innovative product formats.

While these conversations are still early, they demonstrate the growing interest in Sow Good's manufacturing capabilities, innovation expertise, product quality and vertically integrated platform. As the freeze-dried category continues to mature, Sow Good remains an innovation leader, combining unmatched product quality with proprietary technology and vertical integration that sets us apart in taste, texture and efficiency.

Finally, to support our working capital needs, we have received commitments for additional capital with insiders personally committing $1 million. This continued insider support underscores our leadership's confidence in Sow Good strategy, execution and long-term potential.

With that, I'll turn it over to Donna to walk through the financials. Donna?

Thank you, Claudia. It's a pleasure to be here with all of you today. Diving into our financial performance for the third quarter. Revenue in the third quarter of 2025 was $1.6 million compared to $3.6 million for the same period in 2024. The decrease is primarily due to lower average selling prices associated with the closeout of discontinued SKUs.

Gross loss for the third quarter of 2025 was $8.9 million compared to gross profit of $0.6 million for the same period in 2024. Gross margin was negative 576% in the third quarter of 2025 compared to 16% in the year ago period. The decline was primarily attributable to approximately $8.5 million and non-cash charges to inventory associated with discontinued SKUs as the company executes its strategy to streamline its product portfolio and focus on its more innovative upcoming offerings.

Operating expenses in the third quarter of 2025 were $3.7 million compared to $3.8 million for the same period in 2024. The year-over-year improvement in operating expenses was driven by lower payroll costs and professional fees as we continue to optimize operations. Net loss in the third quarter of 2025 was $10.9 million or negative $0.90 per diluted share compared to a net loss of $3.4 million or negative $0.33 per diluted share for the prior year period.

The decrease was largely attributable to lower revenues, coupled with noncash inventory reserve charges, partially offset by a noncash gain of $1.7 million upon the exit of two leases. Adjusted EBITDA in the third quarter of 2025 was negative $10.9 million compared to negative $1.9 million for the same period in 2024. The decreased adjusted EBITDA is predominantly due to the inventory charges previously mentioned, partially offset by increased non-cash compensation. Moving to the balance sheet.

We ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $387,300 compared to $3.7 million as of December 31, 2024. We ended the quarter with a stronger and more efficient cost structure. The actions we've taken to streamline operations, lower fixed costs and optimize payroll, are setting the stage for better leverage as demand grows.

Our systems are stable, retail momentum is building, and we're seeing encouraging progress in new product categories. As we close out the year, we're focused on driving growth with discipline and maintaining the financial rigor that's now embedded in how we operate.

This concludes my prepared remarks. I will now turn the call back to Claudia. Claudia?

Thank you, Donna. Sow Good is entering the next phase of its growth journey with strong operational discipline and a focused path towards returning to profitability. The foundational work we've completed has made us more efficient, more resilient and better positioned for sustained profitability. Our focus remains clear and consistent. Optimizing our cost structure and conserving cash, expanding retail distribution and private label partnerships, executing with discipline to deliver long-term growth and a return to profitability.

With our facility consolidations and payroll optimizations now complete, we're moving into 2026 leaner, focused and ready to scale profitably. Our private label expansion, beginning with the Caramel Crunch and the potential addition of yogurt melts represents a powerful opportunity to diversify revenue while deepening relationships with key national retailers.

We also expect the actions we've taken, combined with automation, SKU rationalization and vertical integration to drive gradual margin improvement beginning in mid-2026, further supporting our path to profitability. In parallel, we are advancing a number of forward-looking strategic initiatives, including digital asset and partnership strategies, designed to strengthen our balance sheet diversify our funding base and enhance long-term shareholder value.

These initiatives reflect our ongoing commitment to innovation, not just in product development, but also in how we think about capital formation, value creation and financial resilience. We are actively meeting with a range of partners and advisers to explore opportunities that can help unlock new sources of liquidity, improve capital efficiency and position Sow Good at the forefront of responsible financial innovation.

We are approaching these discussions with disciplined prudence and a clear focus on shareholder alignment, ensuring that any steps we take are accretive, transparent and supportive of our long-term strategy. The level of engagement and interest we're seeing reinforces our belief that Sow Good's next chapter has the potential to be both transformative and value driven.

As we head into 2026, we do so with optimism and confidence. Sow Good is leaner, more agile and more efficient and better aligned for sustainable growth, supported by exceptional retail partnerships, category-defining innovation and a culture built on excellence. The work we've done this year positions us to translate operational progress into financial performance, and we're committed to delivering measurable results that drive shareholder value in 2026 and beyond.

We appreciate the continued trust and support of our shareholders, partners and team members, and we look forward to sharing our progress in the months ahead. Operator, we will now open the call for Q&A.

(Operator Instructions) Peter Sidoti, Sidoti & Company.

Claudia, just some quick questions, please. Can you provide any more details on the financial commitments that you have in hand at this point?

So it is $1 million and it's me and Ira.

I got that. All right. And what do you expect your current cash burn is on a monthly basis at this point?

It's going to decrease pretty significantly after January, once Rock Quarry comes off. So this $1 million gives us the runway we need to put into effect the private label, some of the debt strategies that we're looking at. So we feel comfortable that this will get us through the short term.

Okay. And is this $1 million coming in equity debt or it's not formal yet at this point.

It's not formal yet at this point. It should be within the next week.

All right. Good luck. And on revenue, when do you think you need to do revenue to breakeven at this point or after January.

That's a really good question. A lot of it's going to depend on the yields and throughput for the Caramel Crunch SKU. And so I think that we're going to have much more visibility as to what our breakeven point is going to be probably starting March or April. But right now, we're getting our cost down significantly to where we're probably going to be at about $4.50 million to $5.50 million range on a monthly expense.

That's great. And the Caramel Crunch business, are the economics very similar to your other products? Or is it higher --

It is going to be very similar. So in the advantage to the Caramel Crunch and I think that in the later half of the year, we'll start seeing improved margins on the Caramel Crunch as we just start fine-tuning the manufacturing process because it's super exciting. We're making it from scratch. And so we just expect to see some raw material savings in that and just really good margins once we get fully operational.

Okay. And one last question, I'll get off the phone. I know you've expanded your sales effort quite a bit, can you talk about how effective that's been and how happy you are with the results so far?

Sorry, I missed the first part of that, Peter.

You've expanded your sales effort, the sales team there. Can you tell me how --

Yes. I think that they've done a great job in a very trying time. And I think that we're seeing that in the private label space. Landing this customer was definitely a big deal, and it's going to be a significant achievement for next year. ACE, Orgill, expanding to non-traditional retail environments I think just really speaks to their dedication and determination to find great retail partners for us.

So I'm very happy with the work they've done. We're looking at private label yogurt melts and other opportunities in adjacent categories. And so they're grinding it out. And so --

Okay. So it sounds like everybody is grinding it out. I appreciate it.

(Operator Instructions) And at this time, this concludes our question-and-answer session. I would now like to turn the call back over to Claudia for any closing remarks.

Thank you, everyone, for your continued support. We're entering 2026 leaner, more efficient and well positioned for sustainable growth that we really believe will set the stage for a return to profitability next year. We remain disciplined and energized and committed and want to thank you again for joining us, and we really look forward to updating you on our progress in the quarters ahead.

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.