Cal-Maine Foods vs Universal
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Cal-Maine Foods and Universal side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Cal-Maine Foods is the larger business, with $2.9B of revenue in fiscal 2026 against $2.9B for Universal.
- Universal grew revenue faster (−1.3%, against −31.7%).
- Cal-Maine Foods kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (12.0% operating margin, against 5.8%).
- Cal-Maine Foods turned more of its sales into free cash flow (11.3% FCF margin, against 2.8%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Universal’s earnings: a P/E of 51.3x against 51.1x for Cal-Maine Foods.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 8 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Cal-Maine Foods
CALM
7/8
5-year growthGross marginOperating marginNet marginFCF marginReturn on equityShare count change
Universal
UVV
1/8
Revenue growth
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | CALM FY26 | UVV FY26 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $2.9B | $978M |
| Revenue | $2.9B | $2.9B |
| Free cash flow | $329M | $80.3M |
| Net income | $317M | $32.6M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | −31.7% | −1.3% |
| 5-year growth | 16.6% | 8.0% |
| Share count change | −2.3% | 0.2% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 23.1% | 16.4% |
| Operating margin | 12.0% | 5.8% |
| Net margin | 10.9% | 1.1% |
| FCF margin | 11.3% | 2.8% |
| Return on capital | — | 4.0% |
| Return on equity | 12.2% | 2.3% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | — | $842M |
| Net debt / EBITDA | — | 3.8x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $232M | $81.3M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 51.1x | 51.3x |
| Piotroski F-score | — | 5 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.