BUDA (NYSEAMERICAN:BUDA), the company behind Buda Juice, reported record third-quarter 2026 revenue of $5.2 million, up 64% from a year earlier, as stronger sales at existing stores, expanded retail distribution and a new refrigerated dressings business contributed to growth.
Same-store sales in the company’s core beverage business increased 23% year over year, while net income was approximately $866,000, or $0.07 per share, essentially flat with the prior-year quarter. Net income rose 84% from the second quarter.
Co-founder and CEO Horatio Lonsdale-Hands said the same-store result indicated that consumers familiar with the company’s products were buying more. He identified sales velocity at existing stores, new distribution and additional product lines as Buda Juice’s three principal growth engines.
Margins improve sequentially
Gross profit rose 51% to $2.1 million, but gross margin declined to 40.8% from 44.5% a year earlier. Chief Financial Officer Clint Bowers said the year-over-year decline primarily reflected interim co-packing costs for refrigerated dressings and higher diesel fuel costs.
Gross margin improved by 417 basis points from the second quarter. Bowers said the normalization of elevated lime and other produce costs was the largest factor in the sequential improvement, while Lonsdale-Hands pointed to efficiencies from higher volume.
Operating expenses rose to $1.1 million, or 21.7% of revenue, from $0.5 million, or 17% of revenue, a year earlier. Bowers attributed the increase primarily to public-company costs and non-cash stock-based compensation, as well as higher distribution costs associated with diesel prices. He noted that Buda Juice did not record federal income tax or stock-based compensation expenses in the third quarter of 2025.
Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure, increased 35% year over year to $1.3 million, or approximately 25% of revenue, from about $1 million, or 30.5% of revenue. It rose approximately 80% from the second quarter.
Retail expansion and dressings production
The quarter was Buda Juice’s first full quarter of Buda Fresh distribution at Walmart, following an initial expansion to 246 stores across nine states. The company’s overall retail footprint grew from approximately 350 stores at the beginning of 2026 to about 600, Lonsdale-Hands said.
He said Buda Fresh Lemonade and Strawberry Lemonade were available at select Walmart stores in nine states for $1.28 per 12-ounce bottle. Asked about the rollout, he said the company was happy with its Walmart relationship and was working with Walmart and other customers on potential increases in products and stores, but did not provide specific plans.
Buda Juice also completed its first full quarter in refrigerated dressings, a business it acquired in the second quarter. The products are currently made by an outside manufacturer, but the company expects to begin transitioning production to its Dallas plant in the first quarter of 2027. Lonsdale-Hands said most equipment was in place and that moving production in-house should improve efficiency and recover a meaningful portion of co-packing costs.
During the question-and-answer session, Bowers said an earlier estimate of approximately 320 basis points remained a reasonable measure of the gross-margin effect associated with co-packing, though it had improved slightly. He clarified that the comparison assumed no ranch business, rather than the margin benefit the company would necessarily realize by bringing production in-house.
Cash and expansion plans
Buda Juice ended September with $19.3 million in cash and equivalents, no outstanding debt and an undrawn $3 million revolving credit facility. Third-quarter cash flow from operations was approximately $710,000. The increase in cash from $1.8 million at the end of 2025 primarily reflected net proceeds from the company’s January initial public offering, Bowers said.
Lonsdale-Hands said the company’s longer-term strategy contemplates regional production facilities in the eastern and western United States, but that customer demand would drive investment decisions. He said the company was discussing opportunities with existing and prospective customers, including on the East Coast, and hoped to expand there next year.
Asked about the fourth quarter, Lonsdale-Hands declined to provide guidance, saying the company would focus on discussing past performance and its longer-term vision.
About BUDA (NYSEAMERICAN:BUDA)
Buda Juice Inc. is a juice category for the supermarket fresh produce department with its cold-crafted, UltraFresh(TM) citrus juices. Buda Juice Inc. is based in DALLAS.
