Company: LW
Filing Date: 2025-07-23
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001679273-25-000049
Chunk: 50

Company: Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-07-23
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 50
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 new products and create product extensions require significant research and development and marketing investments. If our products fail to meet consumer preferences or customer requirements, or we fail to introduce new and improved products on a timely basis, then the return on those investments will be less than anticipated, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

In addition, we compete against branded products as well as private label products. Our products must provide higher value and/or quality to our customers and consumers than alternatives, particularly during periods of economic uncertainty. Consumers may not buy our products if relative differences in value and/or quality between our products and private label products change in favor of competitors’ products or if consumers perceive this type of change. If consumers prefer private label products, which are typically sold at lower prices, then we could lose market share or sales volumes or shift our product mix to lower margin offerings. During an economic downturn, some of the effects of which are present in our current environment, factors such as increased unemployment, decreases in disposable income, inflation, and declines in consumer confidence could cause a decrease in demand for our overall product offerings, particularly higher priced products, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Distributors, restaurants, and retailers may also become more conservative in response to these conditions and seek to reduce their inventories. A change in consumer preferences could also cause us to increase capital, marketing, and other expenditures, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Financial and Economic Risks

Our substantial debt may limit cash flow available to invest in the ongoing needs of our business and could prevent us from fulfilling our debt obligations.

We have incurred substantial indebtedness. As of May 25, 2025, we had approximately $4.1 billion of debt, including current portion, and short-term borrowings, recorded on our Consolidated Balance Sheet. Our level of debt could have important consequences. For example, it could: 

•make it more difficult for us to make payments on our debt;

•require us to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to the payment of debt service, reducing the availability of our cash flow to fund working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, and other general corporate purposes; 

•increase our vulnerability to adverse economic or industry conditions; 

•limit our ability to obtain additional financing in the future to enable us to react to changes in our business; or 

•place us at a competitive disadvantage compared to businesses in