EDGAR 10-K Filing

Company CIK: 1005286
Filing Year: 2025
Filename: 1005286_10-K_2025_0001005286-25-000108.json

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ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Item 1. Business
The Company
Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. and its subsidiaries (“Lifecore”, the “Company”, “we” or “us”), located in Chaska, Minnesota, is a fully integrated contract development and manufacturing organization (“CDMO”) that offers highly differentiated clinical and commercial capabilities in the development, cGMP manufacturing and aseptic filling of complex formulations and highly viscous sterile injectable pharmaceutical drug or medical device products in syringes, vials and cartridges, across a wide variety of modalities. Lifecore has become a leading U.S. manufacturer of pharmaceutical-grade, non-animal-sourced hyaluronic acid (“HA”) using our proprietary, fermentation-based HA process that we developed in 1981. We manufacture HA in bulk form as well as for use in formulated and filled syringes and vials for our customers’ injectable products used in treating a broad spectrum of medical conditions and procedures, including ophthalmic and orthopedic applications. We have leveraged this expertise in HA fermentation, manufacturing and aseptic formulation and filling to also develop highly viscous non-HA-based sterile injectable products with our customers for multiple applications.
Lifecore’s product development service capabilities include analytical method development and validation, formulation development, sterile filtration, process scale-up, pilot studies, stability studies, process validation and production of materials for clinical studies. We also operate semi-automated Restricted Access Barrier Systems (“RABS”) and fully automated aseptic filling lines with isolators. These systems support efficient and safe aseptic processing of both synthetic and biologic drug products. Manufacturing takes place across our three cGMP facilities, where we produce FDA-approved (as defined below) commercial drug and device products. We have earned multiple certifications from regulatory agencies in Europe, Japan, Brazil and the International Organization for Standardization (“ISO”).
Lifecore’s predecessor business commenced in the mid-1960’s with a primary focus on microbial diagnostic devices, but Lifecore developed its HA capabilities in the early 1980’s. From 2010, when it was acquired by Landec Corporation, until 2023, our CDMO business was operated through the Lifecore subsidiary of lower-margin food businesses. In 2022, we changed our corporate name from Landec Corporation to Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. to reflect the growing focus on the CDMO business. In May 2023, Lifecore completed the divestiture of these food businesses, and beginning with fiscal year 2024, we operate as a stand-alone integrated CDMO.
During fiscal year 2025, Lifecore continued to execute on the previously announced strategic initiatives to support higher performance as a CDMO. We have made significant improvements to our revenue generating capacity, financial position, management team, governance, financial reporting and stock exchange compliance, and business development efforts, including:
•In September 2024, we doubled our revenue-generating capacity (to support up to approximately $300 million in annual revenue-generating capacity) through the installation of a new fully automated high-speed, multi-purpose 5-head aseptic isolator filler;
•We strengthened our financial position through, among other actions, (i) raising $24.3 million in a private placement of Lifecore common stock in October 2024, (ii) a three-year term extension of our existing asset-based lending revolving credit facility with BMO Harris Bank N.A. (“BMO”) in November 2024, (iii) the sale of certain excess capital equipment for $17 million in January 2025, and (iv) the implementation of operational cost reductions, including overhead costs and professional fees associated with legal, accounting and consulting spend;
•We made key executive officer appointments, including a new CEO in May 2024 and a new CFO in September 2024, as well as other senior leadership appointments thereafter, to join the existing, talented Lifecore team;
•In June 2024, we reached a cooperation agreement with 22NW, LP pursuant to which we agreed to the appointment of certain Board members who we believe will reinforce alignment between the full Board and our stockholders;
•In August 2024, we completed required filings of our periodic reports with the SEC, held our 2023 annual meeting of stockholders and regained compliance with the listing requirements of the Nasdaq Stock Exchange (“Nasdaq”), resulting in Nasdaq ceasing potential action to delist the Company’s common stock; and
•We enhanced our business development strategy, increased our investment in sales and marketing to support brand visibility, and expanded our business development team with new sales talent who will focus on key drug development geographies in the United States and internationally.
In addition, we also implemented various process improvements to ensure improved productivity and discipline in key areas of our business. Based on all of these improvements, together with our competitive advantages and our strategic plan described below, we believe that we are well-positioned for future growth.
The Company was incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware under its prior corporate name in 2007. The Company’s principal executive offices are located at 3515 Lyman Boulevard, Chaska, Minnesota 55318, and the telephone number is (952) 368-4300.
Competitive advantages
Lifecore believes that we have developed and are maintaining certain advantages that we expect to enable us to succeed in a competitive CDMO marketplace, including:
Strong relationships with market leaders
Through our history of successfully developing and manufacturing highly viscous HA and HA-based products, Lifecore has established long-term relationships with global and emerging biopharmaceutical and biotechnology companies who have marketing, sales and distribution capabilities to end-user markets across multiple therapeutic categories. Lifecore has multiple customer relationships ranging from 20 years to nearly 40 years. We intend to continue leveraging these relationships to attract new, long-term relationships and expand into additional pharmaceutical modalities and medical device applications.
Ability to expand medical applications for HA
Due to the growing knowledge of the unique characteristics of HA and Lifecore’s capabilities in cross-linking, we are continuing to identify and pursue opportunities for the use of HA in other medical applications beyond ophthalmic and orthopedics, such as wound care, aesthetic surgery, drug delivery, and next generation orthopedics and device coatings, and through sales to academic and corporate research customers. Further applications may involve expanding process development activity.
Manufacturing capabilities and expertise with respect to highly complex and viscous injectables
Lifecore has made strategic capital investments in its CDMO business focusing on extending its aseptic filling capacity and capabilities with respect to highly complex and viscous programs to meet increasing customer demand and to attract new opportunities outside of HA markets. Most recently, in September 2024, Lifecore installed a new fully automated high-speed, multi-purpose 5-head aseptic isolator filler, which has significantly expanded our available capacity and the range of project opportunities we can support.
Vertically integrated CDMO capabilities
Lifecore’s vertically integrated development and manufacturing capabilities allow us to establish a variety of contractual relationships with customers globally. Lifecore’s role in these relationships extends from supplying HA raw materials to providing technology transfer and development services to manufacturing aseptically filled, finished sterile injectable products, and assuming full supply chain responsibilities.
Regulatory and quality expertise
Lifecore has built a strong multi-compendial quality and regulatory system and team that is demonstrated in its results, processes and customer relationships. With an over 40-year track record with global regulatory bodies (FDA (as defined below), EMA, ANVISA, etc.), Lifecore is a strong partner for companies looking for proven experience in delivering QbD, cGMP compliance, and manufacturing excellence. In March 2025, the FDA completed a general drug product good manufacturing practices inspection of Lifecore, and in May 2025 it closed its inspection without further required action.
Our strategy
As a trusted partner to our customers and the patients they serve, we are dedicated to supporting them in improving healthcare outcomes through the highest standards of quality and service. We provide innovative, value-added solutions for sterile development and manufacturing, driven by our talented team. Our mission drives our commitment to excellence, quality, performance and culture. To accomplish our mission, we have implemented the following growth strategies and sustaining objectives.
Growth strategies
1) Maximizing Existing Customer Business: Maximize and expand our scope of work for each customer by driving more robust relationships while ensuring our customers understand our capabilities and prioritize us for additional opportunities.
2) Advancing Programs Towards Commercialization: Continue to seek out opportunities to advance customers’ early-to-mid stage and late-stage product development activities by supporting their clinical programs and commercial process scale-up activities.
3) Driving New Business: Implement a new sales strategy to strategically expand our target market to increase our focus on large multinational pharmaceutical companies, capitalizing on investments we have made in technology and creating a more agile organization to support our expanding pipeline.
Sustaining objectives
1) Reduced Operational Expenses: Focus on value creation initiatives by eliminating low-return activities, optimizing key processes, and having a culture of continuous improvement in order to drive sustainable savings across the Company.
2) Performance-Driven Culture: Commitment to a high-performance culture driven by exceptional talent, one where we are data-driven, have top talent in all strategic roles, and where incentives are aligned with our stockholders.
3) Commitment to Quality: Maintain the highest level of quality in every aspect of our work and in our relationships with customers and regulatory agencies alike.
Reportable segments
The Company’s chief operating decision maker, as defined by U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”), manages CDMO and HA manufacturing operations on the basis of a single integrated segment.
Sales and marketing
Historically, Lifecore has leveraged its deep technical expertise, long-standing customer relationships, strong brand recognition and word-of-mouth referrals to support its leadership in HA, development and manufacturing experience and expertise. We are focused on better aligning our internal resources to lead and manage existing and new clinical and commercial customer relationships in order to free up our business development team. We believe our business development team is well-positioned to strategically expand our target market by increasing focus on: large multinational pharmaceutical companies; later-stage clinical development programs; technology transfers of existing commercial programs; and a broader range of modalities. These efforts are aimed at driving new development programs into our organization. To support this strategy, we have increased our investment in sales and marketing to enhance brand visibility. Additionally, we have expanded our business development team by adding experienced sales talent focused on key drug development geographies in the United States and internationally.
Manufacturing and processing
Lifecore has three state-of-the-art facilities with a combined 250,000 square feet in Chaska, Minnesota that are all located within two miles of one another and regulated under one FDA establishment identifier number. These facilities support the HA manufacturing process and sterile manufacturing services, including formulation, aseptic filling of syringes, vials and cartridges, analytical testing, secondary packaging, warehousing of raw materials and finished goods, and distribution. Lifecore maintains exceptional versatility in the manufacturing of various finished product formats. We supply HA in a powder form at a variety of molecular weights. We also supply several different forms of HA and non-HA finished drug or device products in a variety of solutions and gels, and in a variety of bulk and single-use finished packages.
The commercial production of HA requires fermentation, separation, purification and aseptic processing capabilities. HA can primarily be produced in two ways, either through bacterial fermentation or through extraction from rooster combs. Lifecore produces HA only from bacterial fermentation, using an efficient microbial fermentation process and an effective purification operation.
In September 2024, Lifecore installed a new fully automated high-speed, multi-purpose 5-head aseptic isolator filler, which has significantly expanded our available capacity and the range of project opportunities we can support.
The Company believes that its current manufacturing capacity plan will be sufficient to allow it to meet the needs of its current customers for the foreseeable future.
Competition
The contract development and manufacturing industry for pharmaceuticals is intensely competitive and highly regulated. Lifecore’s competition in the CDMO market includes a number of full-service contract manufacturers and larger pharmaceutical, biotechnology and specialty companies that have the ability to insource manufacturing. Also, some pharmaceutical companies have been seeking to divest all or portions of their manufacturing capacity, and any such divested assets may be acquired by our competitors. Some of our significantly larger and global competitors have substantially greater financial, marketing, technical and other resources than we do.
Seasonality
Lifecore is not significantly affected by seasonality. However, the timing of customer orders, the scale, scope, mix and the duration of our fulfillment of such customer orders can result in variability in our revenues.
Government regulation
The Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) regulates and/or approves the clinical trials, commercial production, manufacturing, labeling, distribution, import, export, sale and promotion of medical devices and drug products in or from the United States. Most of our customers’ products are regulated by the FDA and similar agencies in other countries. These products are often classified as medical devices or drugs and usually require FDA approval or clearance before they can be sold in the United States. Beyond approval, there are strict rules for how these products are designed, made, packaged, labeled, and distributed. Our customers must keep detailed records, follow quality control standards, and are considered the product’s “Sponsor”. During commercialization of the product, the Sponsor must submit annual reports and get approval for major changes to the product or its labeling. The FDA also requires reporting of any adverse events and imposes other post-market responsibilities. Lifecore provides support to the Sponsor as requested.
In addition, Lifecore is subject to extensive and continuing regulation by the FDA, including compliance with current Good Manufacturing Practices, or cGMP, which impose procedural and documentation requirements. The FDA or other regulatory agencies can delay approval of a drug if our manufacturing facilities are not able to demonstrate compliance with cGMPs, pass other aspects of pre-approval inspections (i.e., compliance with filed submissions) or properly scale-up to produce commercial supplies. Drug manufacturers and their subcontractors, and those supplying products, ingredients and components of them, are required to register their establishments with the FDA and state agencies and are subject to periodic announced and unannounced inspections by the FDA and state agencies for compliance with cGMP and other regulations. In addition, changes to the manufacturing process are strictly regulated, and, depending on the significance of the change, may require prior FDA approval before being implemented. FDA regulations also require investigation and correction of any deviations from cGMP and impose reporting and documentation requirements. Accordingly, manufacturers like Lifecore must continue to expend time, money and effort in the area of production and quality control to maintain compliance with cGMPs and other aspects of regulatory compliance. Failure to comply with applicable requirements may result in restrictions on a product, manufacturer or holder of an approved NDA, including withdrawal of product approval, recall or seizure of the product or other voluntary, FDA-initiated or judicial action that could delay or prohibit further operations.
Human capital
Our employees
In the first quarter of fiscal year 2025, we completed an initiative to strategically optimize our cost structure, which included optimizing our workforce. We also recast our executive leadership team, which we believe has the requisite background and experience to support Lifecore’s transformation into a standalone CDMO with enhanced technical and regulatory strengths. As of May 25, 2025, the Company had 406 full-time employees, of whom 194 were dedicated to manufacturing, 97 to quality and regulatory affairs, 83 to general operations, and 32 to sales, marketing and administrative activities. All of our employees are located in the United States. None of our employees are represented by labor unions or collective bargaining agreements.
Our human capital focus
We believe that the strength of our team and our workplace culture is essential to our ability to achieve our strategic and operational goals. Lifecore maintains an active strategy of recruitment, development and retention aligned to our growth strategies described under “Strategy” above. We closely monitor employee turnover rates, as our success depends upon retaining and investing in our team, particularly our highly trained manufacturing and technical staff. Lifecore aims to decrease employee-initiated voluntary turnover and increase employee retention through a combination of an engaging culture and opportunities for individual developmental and personal career growth.
Our culture and employee development
Lifecore invests in creating a differentiated culture for our team that enables continuous innovation at scale. Our team is passionate about our mission to enable the success of our customers, and together we are building a performance-focused, engaged and inclusive culture.
Our hiring process has been designed to provide an equitable candidate experience, facilitate the inclusion of new perspectives and foster innovation and creativity.
We provide training to our employees in the areas of safety, compliance, leadership and human resources along with individualized, job specific training. Individual training plans for continued growth are developed between employees and supervisors or managers. Frontline leaders are provided improvement tools for training, as well as employee interface training.
We seek to empower our employees to own their career path and seek out training programs to take them to the next level. We maintain strong programs focused on growth opportunities, performance and learning, and career development.
Available information
Lifecore’s website is www.lifecore.com. Lifecore makes available free of charge copies of its Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and all amendments to these reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, as soon as reasonably practicable after filing such material electronically with, or otherwise furnishing it to, the SEC. In addition, these materials may be obtained at the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov. The reference to the Company’s website address does not constitute incorporation by reference of the information contained on the website, and the information contained on the website is not part of this document.

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Item 1A. Risk factors
Our business faces significant risks and uncertainties. Certain important factors may have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations, any of which could subsequently have an adverse effect on the trading price of our common stock, par value $0.001 per share (“Common Stock”), and you should carefully consider them. Accordingly, in evaluating our business, we encourage you to consider the following discussion of risk factors in its entirety, in addition to other information contained in or incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K and our other public filings with the SEC. Additional risks not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial also may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations in future periods.
Risk factor summary
Our business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including those highlighted in this section titled “Risk Factors” and summarized below. We have various categories of risks, including risks related to our internal controls and financial reporting, our financial and cash position, our business and operations, and ownership of our Common Stock, and general risks, which are discussed more fully below. As a result, this risk factor summary does not contain all of the information that may be important to you, and you should read this risk factor summary together with the more detailed discussion of risks and uncertainties set forth following this summary, as well as elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. These risks include, but are not limited to, the following:
Risks related to our internal controls and financial reporting
•We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting that have affected the reliability of our financial statements and have had, and may continue to have, other adverse consequences.
Risks related to our financial and cash position
•We are highly leveraged and subject to significant interest, volatile fair market value fluctuations, and certain credit agreement obligations, some of which are expected to grow. These may negatively impact our results and limit cash flow available to invest in the ongoing needs of our business, as well as our operational flexibility, or otherwise adversely affect our results of operations.
•We have a history of losses. We may need additional capital and any additional capital we seek may not be available in the amount we need, at the time we need it or on terms favorable to us.
Risks related to our business and operations
•If we are unable to retain existing customers, attract new customers and sell additional products and services to our existing and new customers, our revenue growth and profitability will be adversely affected.
•Our success as a stand-alone CDMO will be subject to customer demand based on factors beyond our control.
•A significant portion of our revenue has been concentrated on a few large customers, including Alcon, one of our primary lenders, and terminations of agreements or cancellations or delays of orders by these customers may adversely affect our business.
•We may be adversely impacted by the terms of our refinancing transactions with Alcon and by Alcon’s concentrated relationship with us as a significant customer of ours and as our lender.
•We are subject to increasing competition in the marketplace.
•Our profitability is dependent upon our ability to obtain appropriate pricing for our products and to control our cost structure or to pass along costs to our customers.
•Our CDMO services are highly complex, and our failure to provide quality and timely services to our CDMO customers could adversely impact our business.
•Our customers’ failure to receive or maintain regulatory approval for product candidates or products could negatively impact our revenue and profitability.
•Our business is highly regulated and our operations are subject to laws, regulations and standards that directly impact our business.
•Loss or compromise of our HA bacterial cell bank assets could materially impact our business operations, product quality and competitive position.
•Our development and manufacturing activities may expose us to product liability claims.
•We have a concentration of facilities and unforeseen events could materially disrupt our ability to provide services and manufacture products for our customers.
•Our dependence on single-source suppliers and service providers may cause disruption in our operations should any supplier fail to deliver materials.
•Changes to U.S. trade policy, tariff and import/export regulations may have a material adverse effect on our business.
•We may need to consider new business acquisitions to achieve our growth strategy, and any such acquisition would involve substantial effort and costs to complete and uncertainty relating to integration.
Risks related to ownership of our Common Stock
•Future resales, or the perception of future resales, of our Common Stock may cause the market price of our Common Stock to drop significantly, even if our business is doing well.
•Our stock price may fluctuate in response to various conditions, many of which are beyond our control.
•Our Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock has rights, preferences, and privileges that are not held by, and are preferential to, the rights of holders of our Common Stock.
•Our stockholders will experience significant dilution as a result of the issuance of shares of our Common Stock upon conversion of the Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock.
•Our corporate organizational documents and Delaware law have anti-takeover provisions that may inhibit or prohibit a takeover of us and the replacement or removal of our management.
General risks
•The outcome of existing and future litigation and regulatory proceedings and the related fees, costs and penalties could have a material adverse effect on our business.
•We are dependent on our key employees and if one or more of them were to leave, we could experience difficulties in replacing them or effectively transitioning their replacements and our operating results could suffer.
•Our reputation and business may be harmed if our computer network security or any of the databases containing our trade secrets, proprietary information or the personal information of our employees, or those of third parties, are compromised.
•We are implementing a new enterprise resource planning system, and challenges with the implementation of the system may impact our business and operations.
•Third parties may claim that our services or our customers’ products infringe their intellectual property rights.
•We have access to certain intellectual property and information of our customers and suppliers, and failure to protect that intellectual property or information could adversely affect our future growth and success.
•We may be unable to protect our intellectual property and proprietary processes from infringement or claims of ownership or rights by third parties, which could materially and adversely affect the Company.
Risks related to our internal controls and financial reporting
We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting that have affected the reliability of our financial statements and have had, and may continue to have, other adverse consequences.
As discussed in “Part IV, Item 9A. - Controls and Procedures,” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting as of May 25, 2025. A “material weakness” is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal controls over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.
The material weaknesses we identified led to errors in prior year consolidated financial statements as of and for the fiscal years ended May 29, 2022 and May 30, 2021 and certain interim periods. While these errors were corrected through restatements of our consolidated financial statements, the material weaknesses underlying those restatements have not yet all been remediated. We have adopted a plan to remediate these material weaknesses, and we are taking actions to achieve our remediation, but those actions are not yet complete. The material weaknesses and the remediation thereof have caused us to incur significant accounting, legal, and other advisory costs and expenses, and substantial time from our management and employees, and may cause us to incur additional costs and time in the future.
The actions we are taking in accordance with our remediation plan may not successfully remediate the identified material weaknesses. In addition, other material weaknesses may be identified in the future. If we are unable to correct material weaknesses in a timely manner or prevent other material weaknesses from occurring in the future, we may be unable to report our financial results accurately and/or on a timely basis, which could result in the loss of investor confidence in our reported financial information, subject us to civil and criminal investigations and penalties, as well contractual penalties, make us a target for activists, result in the delisting of our Common Stock from Nasdaq, and/or cause the liquidity of and the market price for our Common Stock to decline.
See “Part IV, Item 9A. - Controls and Procedures” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information regarding the identified material weaknesses and our actions to date to remediate the material weaknesses.
Risks related to our financial and cash position
We are highly leveraged and subject to significant interest, volatile fair market value fluctuations, and certain credit agreement obligations, some of which are expected to grow. These may negatively impact our results and limit cash flow available to invest in the ongoing needs of our business, as well as our operational flexibility, or otherwise adversely affect our results of operations.
We are highly leveraged. As of May 25, 2025, we had approximately $176.0 million in total indebtedness with Alcon Research, LLC (“Alcon”), with $173.5 million outstanding under our Credit and Guaranty Agreement (the “Term Loan Credit Facility”). We also had $2.5 million outstanding and $27.3 million available for borrowing under our revolving credit agreement (“Revolving Credit Facility”) with BMO.
The degree to which we are leveraged now and/or in the future (including due to the payable-in-kind interest accruing on our outstanding debt under the Term Loan Credit Facility) could have important adverse consequences, including the following:
•our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in the markets in which we compete may be limited;
•our ability to obtain additional financing or refinancing in the future for working capital or other purposes may be limited;
•we may be at a competitive disadvantage relative to our competitors with less indebtedness; and
•we are rendered more vulnerable to general adverse economic and industry conditions.
The Term Loan Credit Agreement contains various features for early prepayment of the term loans at stated premiums above par if certain future events were to occur, including a change in control or upon any uncured material default of the supply agreement with Alcon, as further described in “Note 10 - Debt - Term Loan Credit Facility” to our consolidated financial statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. These features could require the Company to pay substantial amounts of cash in excess of the stated principal amount of the term loans, and could limit or prevent us from refinancing our indebtedness or engaging in mergers and acquisitions that could benefit shareholders.
These features meet the definition of an embedded derivative, which we record on our balance sheet as the debt derivative liability. This derivative requires accounting at fair value with changes recorded in earnings. The measurement of fair value depends upon various assumptions determined by management, including the annual probability that the specified future events discussed above will occur, and that the corresponding prepayment options are exercised. Changes to those assumptions have previously caused us to report significant fluctuations in our results, and may continue to cause us to report additional fluctuations in future periods. For example, during the fiscal years ended May 25, 2025 and May 26, 2024, the Company recorded gains of $0.4 million and $39.5 million, respectively, related to changes in fair value of the debt derivative liability. The degree of volatility caused by accounting for the debt derivative liability in our earnings could hamper investor confidence in our results, and if the volatility takes the form of a loss, could significantly reduce our future financial results. Our interest expense and cash payable for interest are rapidly growing, and even though the Term Loan Credit Facility bears interest at a fixed 10% rate:
•Interest is currently payable-in-kind, but beginning in May 2026, a portion of the interest will become payable in cash at a rate of 3% per year through maturity of the Term Loan Credit Facility in May 2029;
•If the Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock has not converted into Common Stock by June 29, 2026 (or by an earlier “Applicable Date” as defined below), the holders may elect to redeem their holdings in cash by providing 180-day advance notice anytime on or after such date. If we are unable to fund such a redemption by the end of the notice period, the Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock will automatically convert into an interest-bearing instrument with principal in the amount of the redemption price at a rate of 12% per annum payable in cash; and
•The accounting method for the embedded derivative described above required us to discount our term loan to approximately half of its stated principal value at inception. As the discount amortizes, and as the stated principal of the debt grows from interest payable-in-kind, we anticipate that interest expense will nearly triple by the time the term loans mature, which will negatively impact our reported financial results.
Cash paid for interest, net, was $1.9 million for the fiscal year ended May 25, 2025. Should any or all of the above events occur, the Company may not have the capital necessary to fulfill these obligations or will be required to dedicate a substantial portion of cash flows from operations, if available, to the payment of principal and interest on applicable indebtedness which, in turn, reduces funds available for operations, capital expenditures and growth.
In addition, our two credit agreements contain a number of covenants that limit our ability and our subsidiaries’ ability to, among other things, incur additional indebtedness, pay dividends, create liens, engage in transactions with affiliates, merge or consolidate with other companies, or sell substantially all of our assets. The Term Loan Credit Facility, under which Alcon is the lender, also contains certain operational requirements and limitations, including that any material uncured breach by us of our Amended and Restated Supply Agreement relating to the supply of HA to Alcon (the “Alcon Supply Agreement”) would constitutes an event of default. The terms of our credit agreements may restrict our current and future operations and could adversely affect our ability to finance our future operations or capital needs or to execute preferred business strategies. In addition, complying with these covenants may make it more difficult for us to successfully execute our business strategy and compete against companies who are not subject to such restrictions. Our credit agreements also contain covenants related to maintaining current financial reporting and going concern maintenance.
A failure by us to comply with the covenants specified in our credit agreements could result in an event of default under the agreements, which would give the lenders the right to terminate their commitments to provide additional loans under our credit agreements and to declare all borrowings outstanding, together with accrued and unpaid interest (including the payable-in-kind interest under our Term Loan Credit Facility), to be immediately due and payable. In addition, the lenders would have the right to proceed against the collateral we granted to them, which consists of substantially all of our assets. As previously disclosed, we have been in noncompliance with our credit agreements in the past, and we cannot guarantee that we will be able to remain in compliance with all applicable covenants under the credit agreements in the future, that our lenders will elect to provide waivers or enter into amendments in the future, or, if the lenders do provide waivers, that those waivers will not be conditioned upon additional costs or restrictions that could materially or adversely impact our business, cash flows, results of operations, and financial condition. In addition, if the debt under our credit agreements were to be accelerated, we may not have sufficient cash or be able to borrow sufficient funds to refinance the debt or sell sufficient assets to repay the debt, which could immediately, materially and adversely affect our business, cash flows, results of operations, and financial condition, and there would be no guarantee that we would be able to find alternative financing. Even if we were able to obtain alternative financing, it may not be available on commercially reasonable terms or on terms that are acceptable to us.
We have a history of losses. We may need additional capital and any additional capital we seek may not be available in the amount we need, at the time we need it or on terms favorable to us.
We incurred a net loss of $38.7 million for the year ended May 25, 2025, and as of May 25, 2025 we had an accumulated deficit of $205.2 million. We do not anticipate reporting net income in any future periods. We have been financing our operations through the issuance of debt and equity and through operations.
We anticipate the ongoing need for additional capital to execute on our strategies for growth and to fund our operations and capital expenditures. Our capital needs are based upon management estimates as to future revenue and expense. Future capital expenditures, our development, production and manufacturing activities, and our administrative requirements (including salaries, insurance expenses and legal compliance costs) have required, and are anticipated to continue to require, a substantial amount of additional capital and cash flow. In addition, each holder of our Series A Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock”) has the right to require us to redeem all or any part of such holder’s Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock on or after the “Applicable Date” for an amount equal to the liquidation preference, which is equal to the purchase price paid by the purchaser at issuance, plus all accrued and unpaid dividends with dividends accruing at a rate of 7.5% per annum, payable in-kind. The “Applicable Date” is the earlier of June 29, 2026, or the termination or waiver of the restriction on cash dividends and/or redemptions that is set forth in our credit agreements, and at June 29, 2026, we estimate that the accrued and unpaid liquidation preference for all shares of Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock, assuming no earlier conversions or redemptions, will be $50.2 million, which does not include $4.5 million for registration rights monetary penalties that have accrued as of May 25, 2025. If we are not able to increase revenue, if our expenses are higher than anticipated or do not correspond to our rate of revenue growth, or if holders of our Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock demand redemption, we may require additional capital sooner than we expect or in a greater amount than we currently expect. As discussed above, if we are unable to raise sufficient capital or otherwise fund the redemption of the Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock, we will be required to pay substantial additional cash interest.
We may pursue sources of additional capital through various financing transactions or arrangements, including equity financing, debt financing, collaborations, sale of assets or real estate, strategic alliances or licensing arrangements, or other means. We may not be successful in identifying suitable financing transactions in the time period required or at all, and we may not obtain the capital we require (on acceptable terms or at all. Also, our efforts to raise additional funds may be hampered by the terms of our Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock. The holders of our Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock are entitled to certain anti-dilutive protections and participation rights with respect to any equity financing and certain consent rights related to further increases in indebtedness or other material transactions, in each case, as further described under the applicable documents related thereto.
If we raise additional equity financing, our common stockholders may experience significant dilution of their ownership interests and the value of shares of our Common Stock could decline. In addition, the terms of securities we issue in future capital transactions may be more favorable to our new investors and equity securities we issue in the future may carry rights, preferences, or privileges that are senior to those of the Common Stock.
Our efforts to raise funds by incurring additional indebtedness may be hampered by our current high leverage, by the covenants and restrictions of our existing outstanding indebtedness, and the fact that our assets are pledged to our lenders to secure existing debt. In addition, we may face challenges in securing additional debt financing if our future cash flow from operations is not sufficient to support debt service payments. Debt financing from third parties, if available, would result in increased fixed payment obligations, may be subject to consent requirements from our lenders and holders of Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock and may involve agreements that include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions such as incurring debt or making capital expenditures.
If we raise additional funds through collaborations, strategic alliances or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may be required to agree to economic or other terms or covenants that are not favorable to us, including relinquishing certain rights to intellectual property or future revenue streams.
Regardless of the type of future capital financing, we may incur substantial costs and expenses to obtain such financing, which depending on the financing could include original discount issue fees, warrants, investment banking fees, legal fees, accounting fees, securities law compliance fees, printing and distribution expenses and other costs. We may incur these costs even if we do not obtain the additional capital.
If we cannot timely raise any needed funds, we may be forced to make substantial reductions in our operating expenses, which could limit our sales and marketing efforts, adversely affect our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel, limit our ability to enhance our CDMO capabilities, undermine our efforts to retain and expand customer relationships, make it more difficult for us to respond to competitive pressures or unanticipated working capital requirements, and otherwise adversely affect our ability to pursue our growth objectives. If we cannot timely raise any needed funds, third parties may be reluctant to provide the goods and services we need in order to operate and fulfill our obligations to customers. We also may be forced to divest our assets at unattractive prices in order to obtain additional capital. Our ability to raise additional capital will depend on financial, economic and market conditions, our business performance and other factors, many of which are beyond our control.
Risks related to our business and operations
If we are unable to retain existing customers, attract new customers and sell additional products and services to our existing and new customers, our revenue growth and profitability will be adversely affected.
During fiscal year 2025, Lifecore continued to execute on its previously announced strategic initiatives in an effort to support higher performance as a CDMO and bring stability to the Company. Key measures taken include the appointment of key leaders, the completion of a private placement of our Common Stock, a nearly three-year term extension of our Revolving Credit Facility, the sale of excess capital equipment and regaining compliance with our continuing SEC reporting obligations and continued listing standards of Nasdaq. However, our historical financial results have been, and our future financial results may be, subject to fluctuations. Our ability to make payments on our debt, fund our other liquidity needs, and make planned capital expenditures will depend on our ability to generate cash in the future. Our ability to generate cash is reliant on our ability to maintain existing and enter into new customer arrangements. If we are unable to retain existing customers, attract new customers and sell additional products and services to our existing and new customers, our revenue growth, profitability and cash generation will be adversely affected.
If we are unable to continue to demonstrate that we have stabilized the business, including that we are able to fund liquidity needs and execute on our strategic objectives, we may cause concern to our current or potential customers, which may result in the loss of both existing and potential business opportunities and make it more difficult to attract and retain customers. Additionally, if we are not able to retain our personnel, particularly our executive and technical personnel, we may risk the loss of the relationships and expertise that are important to attracting, retaining and growing customer relationships.
Our success as a stand-alone CDMO will be subject to customer demand based on factors beyond our control.
The amount that our customers spend on the development and manufacture of their products or product candidates, particularly the amount our customers choose to spend on outsourcing these services to us, substantially impacts our revenue and profitability. Our success as a stand-alone fully integrated CDMO will require strong customer demand for our services and capabilities. In particular, we expect that our ability to meet our future growth objectives will depend in large part on our existing and potential customers’ demand for and ability to market to consumers various HA-based products and non-HA products that we are able to manufacture for them. In September 2024, we substantially expanded our production capacity and capabilities through the installation of a new fully-automated, high-speed and multi-purpose 5-head aseptic isolator-filler. If we are not able to fill this additional capacity through existing or new customer demand, our margins could be adversely affected.
The amount that our customers or potential customers are willing or able to spend on our development and manufacturing services may vary greatly depending on factors beyond our control, including broad factors, such as industry or general economic and financial market conditions, or on more customer-specific factors, such as the success of development programs or the size and resources of the customer. Our smaller customers or potential customers with early-stage programs may have limitations on willingness to spend or access to capital, especially during times of economic uncertainty, and so may not be able to engage or pay for our services or otherwise be required to delay or cancel our services. Regardless of size, our customers or potential customers determine the amounts that they will spend on our services based upon, among other things, the success of clinical studies, market acceptance of their products, available resources, internal capabilities and their need to develop new products. The extent to which, and rate at which, our customers achieve market acceptance of their products, including consumer preferences and trends, and penetration of their current and new products, is a function of many variables including, but not limited to price, safety, efficacy, reliability, conversion costs, regulatory approvals, intellectual property rights, competition, marketing and sales efforts, and general economic conditions affecting purchasing patterns.
In particular, our ability to maintain and grow our business is highly reliant on and subject to the success of our customers in obtaining regulatory approvals and commercial success of these products in the marketplace. Our development customers may experience a delay in, or a failure to receive, regulatory approval of their products or fail to maintain regulatory approval of their products, and we therefore are not able to manufacture these products. In addition, if we are not able to, or a customer perceives a risk that we will not be able to, maintain the regulatory approvals for our facilities, our customers may choose to seek an alternative supplier of our services.
Furthermore, increasing consolidation in the pharmaceutical industry may impact customer demand for our services, especially if our customers choose to develop or acquire integrated manufacturing operations, or otherwise reduce spending on our services.
A significant portion of our revenue has been concentrated on a few large customers, including Alcon, one of our primary lenders, and terminations of agreements or cancellations or delays of orders by these customers may adversely affect our business.
During the fiscal year ended May 25, 2025, the Company had sales concentrations of 10% or greater from three customers, including Alcon, which is also one of our primary lenders. Alcon and the other customers accounted for 44%, 18% and 10%, respectively, of our revenue during the fiscal year ended May 25, 2025. We expect that, for the foreseeable future, a limited number of customers may continue to account for a substantial portion of our revenues as we work to expand and diversify our customers and revenue sources.
The reduction, delay or cancellation of orders from one or more major customers for any reason or the loss of one or more of our major customers, whether through termination of existing agreements in accordance with their terms, competition, consolidation, development of other sources of supply, or otherwise, could materially and adversely affect our revenue. For some of our products and services, our major customers do not have minimum purchase obligations. Our major customers may not continue to place orders, orders by existing major customers may be canceled or may not continue at the levels of previous periods, or we may not be able to obtain orders for additional products or services.
We may be adversely impacted by the terms of our refinancing transactions with Alcon and by Alcon’s concentrated relationship with us as a significant customer of ours and as our lender.
In May 2023, we entered into various financing transactions with Alcon, a significant customer of the Company, pursuant to which Alcon agreed to become the Company’s lender under the Term Loan Credit Facility, the Company’s largest form of indebtedness with a principal balance of $173.5 million as of May 25, 2025. Also in May 2023, we entered into an equipment sale and leaseback transaction with Alcon relating to equipment we use for manufacture of product for Alcon, as well as the Alcon Supply Agreement, and in December 2023, we entered into an amended and restated contract manufacturing agreement with Alcon (“Alcon CMA”), which amended and restated the agreement relating to our manufacture and supply of aseptic products to Alcon. As a result of these transactions, the Company may be subject to risks related to the nature and significance of this relationship. For example, given the scope of the customer relationship and the relative customer concentration, the Company’s revenues and operational results currently are significantly reliant on the success and health of that relationship, including on Alcon’s continued ability and desire to use the Company for the manufacture and supply of HA and aseptic products. These relationships give Alcon greater influence over our operations generally. The Alcon Supply Agreement includes annual committed capacity obligations on the Company without minimum purchase obligations on Alcon, and the Alcon CMA also includes annual committed capacity obligations on the Company, and both agreements permit Alcon to source from other third parties.
Additionally, Alcon has not traditionally acted as a lender, and, as a result, the Company may be subject to risks related to the unique nature of the relationship between the Company and Alcon, including the fact that Alcon may not have the same motivations, incentives and practices as a traditional lender. For example, pursuant to the terms of the Term Loan Credit Facility, any material uncured violation of the Alcon Supply Agreement constitutes an event of default under the Term Loan Credit Facility. Any of those effects could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
We are subject to increasing competition in the marketplace.
We operate in a market that is highly competitive. Our competition in the contract manufacturing market includes full-service contract manufacturers and large pharmaceutical companies offering third-party manufacturing services. We also may compete with the internal operations of pharmaceutical companies that choose to perform the services that we offer internally or that choose to produce products internally. We also compete with other manufacturers of HA, which either produce HA as a raw material for others or as a component in their own products or both.
The demand for our development and manufacturing services may change over time in ways that we do not anticipate due to changes in industry or regulatory standards, customer needs, the introduction by competitors of alternative offerings and technologies, or other reasons. Competitors may succeed in developing alternative technologies and products that are more effective, easier to use or less expensive than those which have been or are being developed by us or that would render our technology and products or services obsolete and non-competitive. New developments are expected to continue at a rapid pace and additional competition may emerge, particularly in lower-cost geographies. Many of these competitors have substantially greater financial and technical resources and development, production and manufacturing capabilities than we do, and may have substantially greater experience in conducting critical services that our customers require or may require in the future. Competition may result in price reductions, lower gross profit margins, increased discounts to customers, loss of market share and customer opportunities, which could require increased spending by us relating to our operations and capabilities, technical personnel, quality assurance, and sales and marketing.
Our profitability is dependent upon our ability to obtain appropriate pricing for our products and to control our cost structure or to pass along costs to our customers.
Our profitability and success depends on our ability to obtain appropriate pricing for our products and services. In many cases, our contractual arrangements with customers establish pricing terms and mechanics for price increases that will govern the relationship for long periods of time (including, in certain cases, up to several years), and therefore well in advance of our delivery of the products and services. Accordingly, our profitability is heavily reliant on accurately predicting our costs, which is dependent upon assumptions and estimates that may not ultimately be correct, and our ability to pass along cost increases to our customers. In addition, to the extent these pricing arrangements limit our inability to pass along cost increases, we may experience unanticipated increases in our cost structure, including with respect to raw material and labor costs, facility and equipment costs, unanticipated inefficiencies, product loss, or shipping and storage costs. Competition in our industry can also put downward pressure on pricing, which, in turn, can decrease our margins and increase the pressure placed on our ability to accurately predict or pass along our costs.
Our attempts to offset increased costs through pricing actions for our products and services or to pass along such increased costs to our customers may not be sufficient or successful, particularly in light of the limitations created by our existing arrangements and competitive pressures. In addition, our efforts to constrain the cost of our operations may not be effective, or may be inadequate to offset pricing pressures or any unanticipated increases in costs. If we are unable to obtain adequate pricing for our products and services and/or to pass along cost increases, our profitability, results of operations and financial position could be materially adversely affected.
Our CDMO services are highly complex, and our failure to provide quality and timely services to our CDMO customers could adversely impact our business.
The CDMO services we offer can be highly complex, due in part to strict regulatory requirements and the inherent complexity of the services provided. Timely operations within our facilities could be impacted by a variety of unforeseen matters, including equipment malfunction, contamination, failure of our employees to follow our required standard instructions, protocols and operating procedures, problems with raw materials and environmental factors. Such issues could affect production of a single manufacturing run or entire manufacturing campaigns, requiring the destruction of products, or could halt manufacturing operations altogether. In addition, any failure to meet required quality standards may result in our failure to deliver products timely to our customers which, in turn, could damage our reputation for quality and service. Any such incident could, among other things, lead to increased costs, lost revenue, reimbursement to customers for lost product, damage to and possibly termination of customer relationships, time and expense spent investigating and remediating the cause and, depending on the cause, similar losses with respect to other manufacturing runs. In addition, such issues could subject us to litigation, the cost of which could be significant.
Our customers’ failure to receive or maintain regulatory approval for product candidates or products could negatively impact our revenue and profitability.
Lifecore’s existing products and the products that Lifecore is developing for its customers are considered to be medical devices, drug products, or combination products, and therefore require clearance or approval by the FDA before commercial sales can be made in the United States. These products also require the approval of foreign government agencies before sales may be made in many other countries. The process for our customer to obtain these clearances or approvals varies according to the nature and use of the product. As a result, our business depends upon FDA or other regulatory approval of the products we manufacture for customers. If our customers experience a delay in, or failure to receive, approval for any of the products that we manufacture, our revenue and profitability could be adversely affected.
After approval by the FDA or other regulatory agencies, these products are generally subject to continued regulation by the FDA, various state agencies and foreign regulatory agencies, including regulation of the design, nonclinical and clinical research studies, manufacturing, labeling, distribution, post-marketing product modifications, advertising, promotion, import, export, adverse event and other reporting, and record-keeping procedures for such products. If our customers fail to maintain regulatory approval of products that we manufacture for them, lose the ability to market the products we manufacture for them, or if the regulatory agencies otherwise limit or prevent the manufacture or distribution of Lifecore’s products or change the manufacturing requirements relating to such products, our revenue and profitability could be adversely affected.
Our business is highly regulated and our operations are subject to laws, regulations and standards that directly impact our business.
Our business is highly regulated. We are required to maintain compliance with cGMP and applicable product tracking and tracing requirements, and our manufacturing facilities are subject to inspections by the FDA and other global regulators and customers to confirm such compliance. We produce multiple products and so we face increased risks associated with cGMP compliance. In March 2025, the FDA completed a general drug product good manufacturing practices inspection of Lifecore. While it closed its inspection in May 2025 without further required action, future inspections by the FDA, other regulators or customers may result in observations not acceptable by them.
Our inability to demonstrate ongoing cGMP compliance could require us to engage in lengthy and expensive remediation efforts, withdraw or recall products and/or interrupt our supply of any products or provision of services. Delays or other issues that arise in the development, manufacture, fill/finish, packaging, or storage of any drug product as a result of a failure of our facilities to pass any regulatory agency inspection or maintain cGMP compliance could significantly impair our relationships with our customers, which would substantially harm our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition. Any ongoing or additional findings of non-compliance could also increase our costs and cause us to lose revenue from products or services, which could be seriously detrimental to our business, prospects, operating results and financial condition.
In addition, if we, or a regulatory authority, discover previously unknown problems with a product, such as adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, or problems with a facility where the product is manufactured, a regulatory authority may impose restrictions relative to that product or the manufacturing facility, including requiring recall or withdrawal of the product from the market, suspension of manufacturing, or other FDA action or other action by the equivalent regulatory authorities in other countries.
Furthermore, compliance with other foreign, federal, state, and local laws, regulations and standards applicable to our business is costly and time-consuming, and we may be required to incur significant compliance costs and capital expenditures in the future.
Loss or compromise of our HA bacterial cell bank assets could materially impact our business operations, product quality and competitive position.
We produce HA using microbial fermentation and purification processes, the starting point of which is reliant on our HA bacterial cell bank assets. While we maintain redundant storage backups of these assets, including one maintained at a third party site, any failure, including due to natural disasters, equipment failures, network failures or cyberattacks, that causes a material interruption or discontinuance in our storage of the assets could result in stored assets being damaged and unable to be utilized. As living organisms, bacterial strains are inherently sensitive to environmental conditions, and so improper handling and variations in temperature, pH, nutrient composition, or other process parameters can lead to contamination, mutation, or loss of desired bacterial traits or performance, quality deviations and production inefficiencies. In addition, the expertise required to manage and maintain our cell bank assets is highly specialized and departures of key personnel or inadequate knowledge transfer may result in procedural errors, loss of proprietary know-how, or diminished operational continuity. We have implemented robust controls, including SOPs and multiple physical storage sites to mitigate these risks, but any failure in our HA bacterial cell bank management could materially and adversely affect our HA manufacturing operations, regulatory standing, reputation and competitive advantage.
Our development and manufacturing activities may expose us to product liability claims.
We develop and manufacture products intended for use in humans, so our activities involve an inherent risk of allegations of product liability. Product liability claims might be brought against us by consumers, health care providers, pharmaceutical companies or others selling or otherwise coming into contact with our products. If any of the products that we manufacture are determined or alleged to be contaminated or defective or to have caused an illness, injury or harmful accident to a consumer, we could incur substantial costs in responding to complaints or litigation regarding our products, and our brand image could be materially damaged. Such events may have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition. In addition, we may be required to participate in product recalls, even if a product that we manufacture is not alleged to be contaminated or defective.
Although we have taken and intend to continue to take what we consider to be appropriate precautions to minimize exposure to product liability claims, we may not be able to avoid significant liability. We seek to reduce our potential liability through measures such as contractual indemnification provisions with customers (the scope and limitations of which may vary by customer and are subject to the financial viability of the customer) and product liability insurance maintained by us and our customers. Our contractual indemnification provisions and product liability insurance may not be adequate or, in the case of product liability insurance, may not continue to be available at an acceptable cost, if at all. A product liability claim, product recall or other claim with respect to liabilities not covered by or in excess of insurance coverage or indemnification rights could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.
We have a concentration of facilities and unforeseen events could materially disrupt our ability to provide services and manufacture products for our customers.
We have three facilities that are all located within two miles of one another in Chaska, Minnesota that use specialized manufacturing equipment to operate our business. Any prolonged disruptions in our primary manufacturing operations due to unforeseen events, including power outages or natural disasters, in or around this area would reduce our ability to provide our CDMO services and conduct our manufacturing operations given that we would not be able to shift manufacturing capabilities to alternative locations. Accordingly, such events would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Our dependence on single-source suppliers and service providers may cause disruption in our operations should any supplier fail to deliver materials.
Several of the raw materials we use to manufacture our products are currently purchased from a single source, including raw materials for our HA products. Any interruption of our relationship with single-source suppliers or service providers could delay product shipments and materially harm our business. We may experience difficulty acquiring materials or services for the manufacture of our products or we may not be able to obtain substitute vendors on a timely basis or at all. In addition, we may not be able to procure comparable materials at similar prices and terms within a reasonable time, if at all, all of which could materially harm our business.
Changes to U.S. trade policy, tariff and import/export regulations may have a material adverse effect on our business.
Changes in U.S. or international social, political, regulatory and economic conditions or in laws and policies governing foreign trade, manufacturing, development and investment in the territories or countries where we currently sell our products or conduct our business, as well as any negative sentiment toward the U.S. as a result of such changes, could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. For example, the U.S. has recently imposed significant tariffs on imports from other countries, which have prompted retaliatory measures from several countries, which may further escalate, and impact our cost of doing business. It is not yet clear whether or when tariffs may be imposed on pharmaceutical imports, but the imposition of adopted, new or proposed tariffs, or trade restrictions or sourcing requirements could result in increased costs for raw materials, components or finished goods, disruptions to our supply chain, change in manufacturing locations, manufacturing delays and/or adverse impacts to clinical trials. These cost increases, disruptions, delays and adverse impacts may reduce our revenues and margins, require us to raise prices, or make our products less competitive in the marketplace. In addition, we may be restricted in our ability to adapt to these impacts and challenges due to, among other things, the terms of our existing arrangements. If we are unable to mitigate these risks through supply chain adjustments, pricing strategies, cost containment or pass-through, or other measures, our financial performance and growth prospects could be negatively affected.
The impact of any adopted, new or proposed tariffs, trade restrictions or sourcing requirements on our business is subject to a number of factors that we cannot predict, including, but not limited to, the scope, nature, amount, effective date and duration of any such measures. Furthermore, the general uncertainty relating to such measures have the potential to adversely impact the U.S. economy or certain sectors thereof, our industry and the global demand for our products, and as a result, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We may need to consider new business acquisitions to achieve our growth strategy, and any such acquisition would involve substantial effort and costs to complete and uncertainty relating to integration.
We may need to consider acquisitions of businesses to achieve our growth strategy. The completion and then successful integration of new business acquisitions would require substantial effort from the Company’s management, as well as substantial cost and expense. The diversion of the attention of management and any difficulties encountered in the acquisition and transition process could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the acquisitions. The successful combination of new businesses also requires coordination of research and development activities, manufacturing, sales and marketing efforts. In addition, the process of combining organizations located in different geographic regions could cause the interruption of, or a loss of momentum in, the Company’s activities. There can be no assurance that the Company will be able to retain key management, technical, sales and other key personnel, or that the Company will realize the anticipated benefits of any acquisitions, and the failure to do so would have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, results of operations and financial condition
Risks related to ownership of our Common Stock
Future resales, or the perception of future resales, of our Common Stock may cause the market price of our Common Stock to drop significantly, even if our business is doing well.
Sales of a substantial number of shares of our Common Stock in the public market could occur at any time, including shares of Common Stock issuable upon conversion of our Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock. Each holder of Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock is entitled to convert all or any portion of their Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock into Common Stock at any time. Additionally, Lifecore may from time to time, at its option, require conversion of all or any portion of the outstanding shares of Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock to Common Stock if, for at least 20 consecutive trading days during the respective measuring period the closing price of the Common Stock was at least $10.50. Sales of our Common Stock, or a perception in the market that such sales may occur, could reduce the market price of our Common Stock, increase the volatility in the market price of our Common Stock, and adversely affect our ability to raise equity capital.
Our stock price may fluctuate in response to various conditions, many of which are beyond our control.
The market price of our Common Stock may fluctuate significantly in response to numerous factors, many of which are beyond our control, including the following:
•technological innovations applicable to our products;
•customer demand for our services;
•fluctuations in our operating results;
•our attainment of (or failure to attain) milestones in the development of products for our customers;
•the development of new products by our competitors or competitors of our customers;
•our acquisition of new businesses or the sale or disposal of a part of our business;
•development of new collaborative arrangements by us, our competitors, or other parties;
•changes in government regulations, interpretation, or enforcement applicable to our business;
•changes in investor perception of our business;
•securities litigation and stockholder activism;
•conversions or redemptions of the Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock;
•changes in financial estimates and recommendations by securities analysts;
•the operating and stock price performance of other companies that investors may deem comparable to us; and
•changes in the general market conditions in our industry.
These broad market and industry fluctuations may adversely affect the price of our Common Stock, regardless of our operating performance. Further, any failure by us to meet or exceed the expectations of financial analysts or investors is likely to cause a decline in our Common Stock price. Further, recent macroeconomic conditions have resulted in significant fluctuations in stock prices for many companies, including Lifecore, and it is not possible to predict when the stock markets may stabilize. In addition, although our Common Stock is listed on Nasdaq, our Common Stock has at times experienced low trading volume in the past. Limited trading volume subjects our Common Stock to greater price volatility and may make it difficult for our stockholders to sell shares at an attractive price.
Our Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock has rights, preferences, and privileges that are not held by, and are preferential to, the rights of holders of our Common Stock.
We have issued Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock, which have rights, preferences and privileges that are not held by, and are preferential to, the Company’s Common Stock, including with respect to dividends, distributions and payments on liquidation, winding up and dissolution, which could adversely impact the rights of the holders of the Company’s Common Stock. In addition, subject to the terms of the Certificate of Designations, the holders of Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock are entitled to designate two members of the Board, to vote on an as-converted basis with the Company’s Common Stock, and to separate consent rights over certain matters. These rights, combined with the fact that ownership of the Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock is highly concentrated, provide the holders of the Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock with significant influence over the Company. This influence may increase over time, as the Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock entitles the holders thereof to dividends that are paid-in-kind (“PIK”), which increases the holders’ ownership of Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock, and thus, beneficial ownership of the Company. The holders of the Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock may have interests that are different from those of the holders of Common Stock, and could adversely impact the Company’s ability to effectuate its strategic initiatives and operate its business.
In addition, the conversion price of the Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock has been, and in the future may be, adjusted in connection with certain dilutive events, including in the event of subsequent equity offerings at a price below the current conversion price. For example, as a result of our private placement of Common Stock on October 3, 2024, the conversion price was adjusted from the initial price of $7.00 per share to approximately $6.53 per share. These rights could adversely impact the Company’s access to equity capital, and otherwise compound the dilutive effects of future equity raises by the Company.
Further, on or after the Applicable Date, each holder of our Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock has the right to require us to redeem all or any part of such holder’s Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock for an amount equal to the liquidation preference, which is equal to the purchase price paid by the purchaser at issuance, plus all accrued and unpaid dividends with dividends accruing at a rate of 7.5% per annum, payable in-kind. The “Applicable Date” is the earlier of June 29, 2026, or the termination or waiver of the restriction on cash dividends and/or redemptions that is set forth in our credit agreements. If some or all of the holders of the Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock demand redemption of their shares, we may need to obtain additional capital to fund such redemptions and there can be no assurance that we will be able to do so on favorable terms, or at all.
The holders of the Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock also entered into a registration rights agreement with the Company. This agreement required the Company to file an initial registration statement covering sufficient shares of Common Stock into which the Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock may be converted, which the Company filed in 2023. The agreement contains monetary penalties if the Company fails to maintain the effectiveness of that registration statement, including the timely filing of our periodic reports with the SEC, which the Company has failed to file timely in the past and could fail to maintain in the future, potentially subjecting the Company to even additional penalties. See “Note 11 - Equity - Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock - Registration rights” to our consolidated financial statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for information regarding monetary penalties and interest that we have incurred and accrued.
The Board may issue additional preferred stock in the future, or could authorize the issuance of new securities with priority as to dividends, distributions and payments on liquidation, winding up and dissolution over the rights of the holders of our Common Stock, all of which could further enhance or expand the risks described above.
Our stockholders will experience significant dilution as a result of the issuance of shares of our Common Stock upon conversion of the Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock.
Our outstanding shares of Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock were initially convertible into an aggregate of over 5.5 million shares of common stock, subject to increase pursuant to applicable anti-dilution adjustments. In April 2025, we held a Special Meeting of Stockholders at which stockholders approved the removal of the 19.99% “Exchange Cap” on the issuance of Common Stock underlying the Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock. Furthermore, the Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock accrues dividends on a quarterly basis at a rate of 7.5% per annum, thereby increasing the number of shares of common stock issuable upon conversion. The conversion of some or all of the Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock will result in the issuance of a substantial number of shares of common stock and, as a result, the percentage ownership and voting power held by our existing stockholders will be significantly reduced and our stockholders will experience significant dilution. As of May 25, 2025, an aggregate of 7,000,626 shares of Common Stock were issuable upon conversion of the then-outstanding Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock, including all PIK dividends accrued as of such date.
Our corporate organizational documents and Delaware law have anti-takeover provisions that may inhibit or prohibit a takeover of us and the replacement or removal of our management.
The anti-takeover provisions under Delaware law, as well as the provisions contained in our corporate organizational documents, may make an acquisition of us more difficult. In addition to the consent rights of the holders of Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock with an anti-takeover effect, other examples of anti-takeover provisions include:
•our certificate of incorporation includes a provision authorizing our Board of Directors to issue blank check preferred stock without stockholder approval, which, if issued, would increase the number of outstanding shares of our capital stock and could make it more difficult for a stockholder to acquire us;
•our amended and restated bylaws limit the number of directors that may serve on the Board of Directors without the majority approval of all of the outstanding shares of our Common Stock;
•our amended and restated bylaws require advance notice of stockholder proposals and director nominations;
•our Board of Directors has the right to implement additional anti-takeover protections in the future, including stockholder rights plans and other amendments to our organizational documents, without stockholder approval; and
•Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law may prevent large stockholders from completing a merger or acquisition of us.
These measures could discourage or prevent a takeover of us or changes in our management, even if an acquisition or such changes would be beneficial to our stockholders. This may have a negative effect on the price of our Common Stock.
General risks
The outcome of existing and future litigation and regulatory proceedings and the related fees, costs and penalties could have a material adverse effect on our business.
As previously disclosed, we were delinquent in filing certain of our past periodic reports with the SEC, and we have restated previously issued financial statements for several periods, which have subjected us to, and may in the future, subject us to further, governmental or regulatory investigations or stockholder litigation. For example, on February 16, 2024, the Chicago Regional Office of the SEC issued a subpoena to the Company seeking documents and information concerning the restatements. Also, on July 29, 2024, shareholder David Carew filed a putative class action complaint on behalf of our stockholders in the United States District Court of Minnesota alleging that statements made to our shareholders between October 7, 2020 and March 19, 2024 regarding our financial results, internal controls, remediation efforts, periodic reporting, and financial prospects were false and misleading in violation of Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act. In addition, in December 2024, 22NW, LP (“22NW”), filed a complaint in the Commercial Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County alleging, among other things, material misrepresentations by us in connection with its acquisition of economic interests in the Company, including its investment in the Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock. Both the Carew securities class action complaint and the 22NW complaint seek compensatory damages, court costs, and attorneys’ fees, among other remedies. We have incurred, and may be required in future to incur further, significant legal fees and other expenses related to the SEC investigation and these lawsuits. In addition, any adverse determination in any of these matters could expose us to significant liabilities. See “Note 9 - Commitments and Contingencies” to our consolidated financial statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information regarding the SEC investigation and these lawsuits.
In addition, from time to time, we may be subject to claims or lawsuits during the ordinary course of business regarding, but not limited to, employment matters, safety standards, product liability, security of customer and employee personal information, contractual matters, and compliance with laws.
Litigation to defend ourselves against claims by third parties or enforcement actions by regulators, or to enforce any rights that we may have against third parties, has been and may continue to be necessary, which has resulted and in the future could result in substantial costs, penalties, limitations on our business and diversion of our resources, causing a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.
We are dependent on our key employees and if one or more of them were to leave, we could experience difficulties in replacing them or effectively transitioning their replacements and our operating results could suffer.
We made key executive officer appointments, including a new CEO in May 2024 and a new CFO in September 2024, as well as other senior leadership appointments thereafter. The success of our business depends to a significant extent on the continued service and performance of this senior leadership team, as well as our ability to attract and retain qualified scientific, technical, sales and marketing personnel. These employees may voluntarily terminate their employment with us at any time. The loss of any of our key personnel for an extended period may cause hardship for our business. In addition, competition for senior level personnel with knowledge and experience in our business is intense. If any of our key personnel were to leave, we would need to devote substantial resources and management attention to replacing them. As a result, management attention may be diverted from managing our business, and we may need to pay higher compensation to replace these employees.
Our reputation and business may be harmed if our computer network security or any of the databases containing our trade secrets, proprietary information or the personal information of our employees, or those of third parties, are compromised.
Cyberattacks or security breaches could compromise our confidential business information, cause a disruption in the Company’s operations or harm our reputation. We maintain numerous information assets, including intellectual property, trade secrets, banking information and other sensitive information critical to the operation and success of our business on computer networks, and such information may be compromised in the event that the security of such networks is breached. We also maintain confidential information regarding our employees and job applicants, including personal identification information. The protection of employee and company data in the information technology systems we utilize (including those maintained by third-party providers) is critical. Despite the efforts by us to secure computer networks utilized for our business, security could be compromised, confidential information, such as Company information assets and personally identifiable employee information, could be misappropriated, or system disruptions could occur, and there can be no assurance that our cybersecurity risk management program and processes, including our policies, controls or procedures, will be fully implemented, complied with or effective in protecting our systems and information.
In addition, cyberattacks on our customers or vendors could disrupt our ability to procure product from our vendors or our customers’ ability to order our products, and may negatively impact our reputation. Any of these occurrences could disrupt our business, result in potential liability or reputational damage, or otherwise have an adverse effect on our financial results.
In addition, we may not have the resources or technical sophistication to anticipate or prevent rapidly evolving types of cyberattacks. Attacks may be targeted at us, our customers, or others who have entrusted us with information. Actual or anticipated attacks may cause us to incur increasing costs, including costs to deploy additional personnel and protection technologies, train employees, and engage third-party experts and consultants. Advances in computer capabilities, new technological discoveries or other developments may result in the technology used by us to protect sensitive Company data being breached or compromised. Furthermore, actual or anticipated cyberattacks or data breaches may cause significant disruptions to our network operations, which may impact our ability to deliver shipments or respond to customer needs in a timely or efficient manner.
Data and security breaches could also occur as a result of non-technical issues, including an intentional or inadvertent breach by our employees or by persons with whom we have commercial relationships that result in the unauthorized release of confidential information related to our business or personal information of our employees. Any compromise or breach of our computer network security could result in a violation of applicable privacy and other laws, costly investigations and litigation, and potential regulatory or other actions by governmental agencies. As a result of any of the foregoing, we could experience adverse publicity, the compromise of valuable information assets, loss of sales, the cost of remedial measures and/or significant expenditures to reimburse third parties for resulting damages, any of which could adversely impact our brand, our business and our results of operations.
We are implementing a new enterprise resource planning system, and challenges with the implementation of the system may impact our business and operations.
We are implementing a new enterprise resource planning system (“ERP”). ERP implementations are complex, time-consuming, labor intensive, and involve substantial expenditures. The new ERP is critical to our ability to gather important information, obtain and deliver products, send invoices, fulfill contractual obligations, maintain books and records, provide accurate, timely and reliable reports on our financial and operating results, and otherwise operate our business. ERP implementations also require transformation of internal processes. Any such implementation involves risks, including loss of information and potential disruption in operations. The implementation and maintenance of the new ERP system may be subject to delays and cost overruns.
Any disruptions, delays or deficiencies in the implementation of the new ERP system could affect our ability to process orders, ship products, send invoices, fulfill contractual obligations, accurately maintain books and records, provide accurate, timely and reliable reports on our financial and operating results, including reports required by the SEC such as the evaluation of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, and otherwise operate our business. Additionally, if we do not implement the new ERP as planned, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting could be adversely affected.
Third parties may claim that our services or our customers’ products infringe their intellectual property rights.
We may receive notices from third parties, including some of our competitors, claiming that our services infringe their patent or other proprietary rights. Regardless of their merit, responding to any such claim could result in costly litigation and may divert the efforts and attention of our management and technical personnel. If a successful claim is made against us and we fail to develop or license a substitute technology or process, we could be required to alter our processes and/or cease manufacturing a particular product. In addition, our customers’ products may be subject to claims of intellectual property infringement, which could require us to cease our development or manufacturing services for the customer.
We have access to certain intellectual property and information of our customers and suppliers, and failure to protect that intellectual property or information could adversely affect our future growth and success.
We have access to sensitive intellectual property and confidential information of our customers and suppliers, including formulations used and processes developed by us in the manufacture of our customers’ products. We rely on nondisclosure agreements with our employees, information technology security systems and other measures to protect certain customer and supplier information and intellectual property that we have in our possession or to which we have access. Our efforts to protect such intellectual property and proprietary rights may not be sufficient, which could subject us to judgments, penalties and significant litigation costs, reputational harm, or temporarily or permanently disrupt our sales and marketing of the affected products or services, which could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position, results of operations, cash flows or financial condition.
We may be unable to protect our intellectual property and proprietary processes from infringement or claims of ownership or rights by third parties, which could materially and adversely affect the Company.
We rely upon trade secrets, technical know-how and continuing technological innovation to develop and maintain our competitive position, and we typically require our employees, consultants and advisors to execute confidentiality and/or assignment of inventions agreements in connection with their employment, consulting or advisory relationships. In addition, we include provisions in our agreements with customers seeking to preserve our rights to the technology we utilize. There can be no assurance, however, that these agreements will not be breached, third parties or our contractual counterparties will not claim ownership or rights to technology we utilize, our agreements will adequately protect our proprietary processes, our proprietary processes will not be infringed or misappropriated or that we will have adequate remedies for any breaches. The loss of protection of our intellectual property, technology or proprietary processes and assets, our inability to secure or enforce such protections or the development by third parties of intellectual property or processes competitive to ours would impact our ability to remain competitive as a CDMO.

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ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
Item 1B. Unresolved staff comments
None.

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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
Item 2. Properties
As of May 25, 2025, the Company owned or leased the following principal physical properties:
Location
Ownership Facilities
Chaska, MN Owned 148,200 square feet of office, laboratory and manufacturing space
Chaska, MN Leased 80,950 square feet of office, manufacturing and warehouse space
Chanhassen, MN Leased 21,384 square feet of warehouse and office space
Leases for the facilities in Chaska and Chanhassen expire on September 2034 and March 2033, respectively. For additional information about lease terms, see “Part IV, Item 15. Note 16 - Leases” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Our owned real property is subject to a mortgage in favor of the lenders under our revolving credit agreement, as amended, with BMO as administrative agent.
The Company does not anticipate experiencing significant difficulty in retaining occupancy of any of our manufacturing, laboratory, or office facilities through lease renewals prior to expiration or through month-to-month occupancy, or in replacing them with equivalent facilities. We believe our existing facilities, both owned and leased, are in good condition and suitable for the conduct of our business.

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ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Item 3. Legal proceedings
In the ordinary course of business, the Company is involved in various legal proceedings and claims. The information relating to material pending legal proceedings contained in “Part IV, Item 15. Note 9 - Commitments and contingencies” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K is incorporated herein by reference.

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ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE
Item 4. Mine safety disclosures
Not applicable.
PART II

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ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY
Item 5. Market for registrant’s common equity, related stockholder matters and issuer purchases of equity securities
Market information
The Common Stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “LFCR”.
Holders
As of August 6, 2025, there were approximately 55 holders of record of our Common Stock. Since certain holders are listed under their brokerage firm’s names, the actual number of stockholders is higher. As of August 6, 2025, there were approximately 13 holders of record of the Convertible Preferred Stock.
Dividends
The Company has not paid any dividends on the Common Stock since its inception. The Company presently intends to retain all future earnings, if any, for its business and does not anticipate paying cash dividends on its Common Stock in the foreseeable future. Under the terms of its credit agreements, the Company currently is prohibited from making cash dividends, distributions or payments on its capital stock. Additionally, payments on dividends on the Common Stock is subject to preferential dividends payable on the Convertible Preferred Stock.
Recent sales of unregistered equity securities
During the fiscal year ended May 25, 2025, the Company issued a restricted stock unit (“RSU”) award with respect to 45,000 shares of Common Stock, an option for 210,000 shares of Common Stock, an RSU for 170,000 shares of Common Stock, and a performance stock unit (“PSU”) award for up to 370,000 shares of Common Stock to Thomas D. Salus under the Company’s Equity Inducement Plan, as amended. The stock option grant, RSU awards and PSU award were granted in reliance upon the exemption from registration afforded by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). The securities have not been registered under the Securities Act, and may not be offered or sold without registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements.
Issuer repurchases of equity securities
In connection with the cross-complaint filed by the Company on November 3, 2020 described in “Part IV, Item 15. Note 9 - Commitments and contingencies - Compliance Matters” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K against former equity holders who were cross-defendants in that matter, the Company reached a settlement with one cross-defendant who agreed to release 76,514 previously escrowed shares to the Company, which the Company received and retired on April 28, 2025.
In connection with vesting of RSUs and PSUs awarded to our CEO and CFO since May 20, 2024 through May 25, 2025, certain tax withholding obligations were satisfied by forfeiting a total of 62,500 outstanding unregistered shares held by those individuals.
Securities authorized for issuance under equity compensation plans
Other information about our equity compensation plans is incorporated herein by reference to Part II, Item 12 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
Item 6. [Reserved]

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Item 7. Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations
The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the Company’s consolidated financial statements and notes contained in Part IV, Item 15 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In addition to historical information, this discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those made, projected or implied in the forward-looking statements. Please see “Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Note About Forward-Looking Statements” contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Overview
Lifecore is a fully integrated CDMO that offers highly differentiated clinical and commercial capabilities in the development, cGMP manufacturing and aseptic filling of complex formulations and highly viscous sterile injectable pharmaceutical drug or medical device products in syringes, vials and cartridges, across a wide variety of modalities. We manufacture HA in bulk form as well as for use in formulated and filled syringes and vials for our customers’ injectable products used in treating a broad spectrum of medical conditions and procedures, including ophthalmic and orthopedic applications. We also offer product development service capabilities to our customers that include analytical method development and validation, formulation development, sterile filtration, process scale-up, pilot studies, stability studies, process validation and production of materials for clinical studies.
During fiscal year 2025, Lifecore continued to execute on the previously announced strategic initiatives to support higher performance as a CDMO. We have made significant improvements to our revenue generating capacity, financial position, management team, governance, financial reporting and stock exchange compliance, and business development efforts. In addition, we implemented various process improvements to ensure improved productivity and discipline in key areas of our business. Based on all of these improvements, together with our competitive advantages and our strategic plan described below, we believe that we are well-positioned for future growth.
For additional information, see “Part I, Item 1. Business” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Financial overview
Lifecore generates revenues from two activities within a single, integrated segment: CDMO and HA manufacturing. CDMO includes aseptic formulation and filling of syringes, vials and cartridges for injectable products used for medical purposes and product development services to assist its customers in obtaining regulatory approval for the commercial sale of their device or drug product. HA manufacturing includes the production and sale of pharmaceutical-grade, non-animal-sourced HA using our proprietary, fermentation-based HA process in bulk form.
The following costs are included in cost of goods sold: raw materials (including packaging, syringes, fermentation supplies and purification supplies), direct labor, overhead (including indirect labor, depreciation, and facility-related costs), and shipping and shipping-related costs.
Numerous factors can influence gross profit, including product mix, customer mix, manufacturing costs, timing of production, production yields, volume, sales discounts, contractual provisions, and charges for excess or obsolete inventory, among others. Many of these factors influence or are interrelated with other factors.
R&D expenses consist primarily of product development and commercialization initiatives.
SG&A expenses consist of salaries and related costs for administrative, public company and business development functions as well as legal fees, and consulting fees. Public company costs include compliance, audit, tax, insurance and investor relations.
The debt derivative liability, related party, is a set of embedded derivatives recorded at fair value each period. The derivatives represent certain call and put premiums contained in the credit facility that can be exercised upon qualifying events of default or changes in control. Changes in the fair value are recorded as non-operating income or expense.
Results of operations - Fiscal year ended May 25, 2025 compared to year ended May 26, 2024
Revenues and gross profit
Year ended Change
(in thousands)
May 25, 2025 May 26, 2024 Amount %
Revenues:
CDMO
$ 90,095 $ 96,616 $ (6,521) (7) %
HA manufacturing
38,772 31,645 7,127 23 %
Total revenues
128,867 128,261 606 - %
Cost of goods sold 88,569 86,411 2,158 2 %
Gross profit 40,298 41,850 (1,552) (4) %
Gross profit percentage 31.3 % 32.6 % (1.3) %
The increase in revenues was due to a $7.1 million increase in HA manufacturing demand primarily due to our largest customer's supply chain initiatives. The HA manufacturing revenue increase was partially offset by the $6.5 million decline in CDMO revenues that is primarily due to $6.2 million lower development revenue due to completion of a discrete development project in the prior comparable period, timing of customer project lifecycles, $4.3 million of reduced volumes primarily driven by a customer working down inventory levels built in the prior fiscal year period, and $3.2 million of lower sales volume from a customer termination, partially offset by $5.4 million of value focused customer pricing initiatives and $1.8 million from a contractual take-or-pay arrangement recognized in fiscal year 2025.
The $1.6 million decrease in gross profit is due to a $5.9 million decrease in CDMO gross profit, partially offset by a net $4.3 million increase in HA manufacturing gross profit due to increased volumes and manufacturing variances. There were a combination of factors within CDMO gross profit including a $3.3 million fluctuation on the adjustment of inventories to their net realizable value primarily due to the absence of a favorable adjustment in the prior fiscal year due to an improvement in sales prices, a $2.1 million decrease due to a customer termination that also resulted in a write-off of inventory and equipment, and an otherwise consistent overall sales mix that included a contractual take-or-pay arrangement and pricing improvements that offset the margin on lower development revenues described above.
Operating expenses
Year ended Change
(in thousands)
May 25, 2025 May 26, 2024 Amount %
Research and development $ 8,258 $ 8,575 $ (317) (4) %
Selling, general and administrative 44,046 40,463 3,583 9 %
Loss on sale or disposal of assets, net of portion classified as cost of sales
6,986 - 6,986 n/m
Restructuring (recovery) costs
(1,747) 1,656 (3,403) (205) %
Total operating expenses $ 57,543 $ 50,694 $ 6,849 14 %
Research and development (“R&D”)
The decrease of $0.3 million in R&D expenses was primarily due to fewer headcount for the fiscal year ended May 25, 2025 compared to the prior period.
Selling, general, and administrative (“SG&A”)
The increase of $3.6 million in SG&A expenses was primarily due to a $3.7 million increase in stock-based compensation, the majority of which was related to new hire performance stock unit grants to our executive officers. Also included in SG&A expenses for the current period is $11.6 million primarily related to legal expenses related to legacy matters including the SEC subpoena, an activist investor and a securities class action claim, as well as costs associated with the legacy financial restatement. The prior period included $10.2 million primarily related to incremental audit and consulting fees for the legacy financial restatement, expenses related to strategic alternatives and the divestiture of Curation Foods, and $1.7 million of other one-time costs associated with becoming a standalone CDMO.
Loss on sale or disposal of assets
The $7.0 million loss on sale or disposal of assets was primarily due to a $6.4 million loss on the sale of certain excess equipment that was primarily related to the write-off of historically capitalized interest costs, as well as $0.6 million related to capital projects that were abandoned.
Restructuring costs
The $1.7 million net recovery for the current fiscal year includes a recovery of $3.2 million following the favorable reversal of a historical lease obligation of the divested Curation Foods business, for which we recorded $1.0 million of expense in the prior fiscal year. The current fiscal year recovery was partially offset by $1.4 million of severance expense related to the transformation of the finance and accounting department.
Non-operating income or expense
Year ended Change
(in thousands)
May 25, 2025 May 26, 2024 Amount %
Interest expense, net $ (21,835) $ (18,090) $ (3,745) 21 %
Change in fair value of debt derivative liability, related party 409 39,500 (39,091) (99) %
Other expense, net (3) (3,052) 3,049 (100) %
Income tax expense (43) (183) 140 (77) %
Interest expense, net
The increase in interest expense, net of interest income, was primarily from $3.8 million more interest related to the Alcon term loans, which will continue to grow due to accumulating interest paid-in-kind and amortization of the debt discount.
Change in fair value of debt derivative liability, related party
The change in the fair value of debt derivative liability, related party, in fiscal year 2025 was primarily caused by the absence of significant changes recognized in fiscal year 2024. Those changes were primarily due to changes in the probability factors related to the timing of a change in control event. Management moved back the estimated timing of that event following the conclusion of a strategic review process at the end of fiscal year 2024.
Other expense, net
The decrease of $3.0 million in other expense was primarily driven by a $2.7 million decrease compared to the prior fiscal year for monetary penalties associated with late filings accrued under the registration rights agreement with the preferred stockholders (see “Part IV, Item 15. Note 11 - Equity” elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K).
Income tax expense
Neither income tax expense nor its changes were material to the periods presented.
Liquidity and capital resources
As of May 25, 2025, the Company had cash of $8.3 million and, based on the borrowing base at May 25, 2025, the Company had approximately $27.3 million available for borrowing under the Revolving Credit Facility of the $40 million maximum committed amount. Under the Revolving Credit Facility, the Company is subject to a springing fixed charge ratio covenant of 1:1 generally in the event that the Company's available liquidity under the Revolving Credit Facility falls below $2.5 million. As of May 25, 2025, the Company was in compliance with all financial covenants under the Term Loan Credit Facility and Revolving Credit Facility. See “Part IV, Item 15. Note 10 - Debt” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a summary of the Term Loan Credit Facility and Revolving Credit Facility.
Cash outflows of $0.2 million during the fiscal year ended May 25, 2025 improved by $10.4 million compared to cash outflows of $10.6 million during the fiscal year ended May 26, 2024 for the following reasons:
•Financing proceeds, net, of $23.9 million from the issuance of common stock in October 2024 and $2.4 million from a lease amendment in the fiscal year 2025 period were used to repay a net $17.2 million of borrowings under our revolving credit facility, $0.9 million of other borrowings and $1.3 million related to employee stock plans, compared to $5.0 million of financing proceeds from a customer deposit and net borrowings under the revolving credit facility of $2.9 million received in the fiscal year 2024 period;
•We received investing proceeds of $7.0 million from the sale of excess equipment in January 2025, and we reduced capital spending by $5.0 million in fiscal year 2025 compared to fiscal year 2024;
•Net working capital investments required $1.0 million more cash in fiscal year 2025 compared to fiscal year 2024, partially offset by a $0.5 million increase in earnings as adjusted for non-cash items.
Contractual and other cash obligations
The Company’s material contractual obligations for the next five years mainly relate to its debt and lease obligations.
The Company’s future capital requirements will depend on numerous factors, including our future capital expenditure requirements; development, production and manufacturing activities; administrative requirements (including salaries, insurance expenses and legal compliance costs); ability to establish and maintain new and existing customer arrangements; the costs associated with any legal proceedings and claims; any decision to pursue acquisition opportunities; the timing and amount of amounts payable or payments owed under customer agreements; the ability to comply with regulatory requirements; the emergence of competitive technology and market forces; the effectiveness of customers’ activities and arrangements; payment of the accrued and unpaid liquidation preference on shares of the Convertible Preferred Stock, if required; payments required under the Term Loan Credit Facility and Revolving Credit Facility; and other factors. If the Company’s currently available funds, together with the internally generated cash flow from operations are not sufficient to satisfy its capital needs, the Company would be required to seek additional funding through various financing transactions or arrangements, including equity financing, debt financing, collaborations, strategic alliances or licensing arrangements, or other means. There can be no assurance that additional funds, if required, will be available to the Company on favorable terms, if at all.
The Company’s principal sources of liquidity consist of its existing cash, cash generated by operations (if any), proceeds from the sale of certain excess equipment, and availability under its Revolving Credit Facility. The Company expects these sources will be sufficient to finance its current operational and capital requirements for at least the next twelve months.
There is no assurance that our cash, cash generated from operations, if any, and available borrowing under the Revolving Credit Facility will be sufficient to fund our anticipated capital needs and operating expenses, particularly if we do not generate revenues in the amounts currently anticipated or if our operating costs are greater than anticipated.
Indebtedness
Refer to “Part IV, Item 15. Note 10. - Debt” elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a description of the terms of outstanding indebtedness, including the Term Loan Credit Facility and Revolving Credit Facility, which is incorporated herein by reference.
As of May 25, 2025 the Company had $173.5 million in borrowings outstanding under the Term Loan Credit Facility at an effective annual interest rate of 20.9%, which includes the amortization of the debt discount. The stated annual interest rate is 10%, which is payable-in-kind until May 2026, following which interest is payable at a fixed rate of 3% per annum in cash with the remainder payable-in-kind. The obligations under the Term Loan Credit Facility mature on May 22, 2029. Interest paid-in-kind under the Term Loan Credit Facility in fiscal year 2025 was $16.3 million.
As of May 25, 2025, the Company had $2.5 million in borrowings outstanding under the Revolving Credit Facility, at an effective annual interest rate of 8.69%. The Company repaid those borrowings in June 2025 and this repayment was a condition to the Company being able to access any other borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility. The obligations under the Revolving Credit Facility mature on November 26, 2027. Interest paid under the Revolving Credit Facility in fiscal year 2025 was $0.9 million.
Critical accounting policies and estimates
This management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes.
We have determined that certain accounting policies and estimates are critical to the preparation of the financial statements. We have prepared the following additional disclosures to supplement our summary of significant accounting policies located in note 1 to the consolidated financial statements in “Part IV, Item 15” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Valuation of debt derivative liability
The Company reported a fair value of its debt derivative liability of $25.0 million, and recorded income from changes in the fair value of its debt derivative liability of $0.4 million and $39.5 million for the fiscal years ended May 25, 2025 and May 26, 2024, respectively.
The debt derivative liability represents the fair value of various features in the Term Loan Credit Agreement that require bifurcation and accounting as a derivative instrument. Its fair value is estimated using a discounted cash flow method that includes annually weighted probabilities that certain call and put premiums are exercised upon qualifying events of default or changes in control. Management makes key judgments and estimates that are input into the valuation model, the most sensitive of which is the probability and timing of a change in control event occurring over the remaining term of the debt. Changes in these assumptions could result in a significant increase to our liabilities and expenses. For example, if all other assumptions were held equal, a one year acceleration of the most likely date of a change in control would have increased the fair value of the debt derivative liability and increased our net loss by $3.2 million for the year ended May 25, 2025.
Revenue recognition for development services
The Company recognized revenues for development services of $23.2 million and $29.4 million for the fiscal years ended May 25, 2025 and May 26, 2024, respectively. Revenue for these services is recognized over time based on highly subjective measures of progress. To measure progress, management uses a proportion of labor hours incurred compared to the total estimated hours at the individual development project level.
Individual development projects can be unique, complex and/or novel. Determining the total estimated hours to complete any given project is highly subjective, and so the total amount of development revenue recognized by the Company is sensitive to changes in those hours. To mitigate the risk of such changes, management utilizes several data points to estimate total project hours, including project quotations and periodic status updates from project managers. If total project hours were underestimated by 10% on $10 million of development projects that were halfway complete at the end of the year, we would overstate development revenue by $0.5 million.
Qualitative impairment reviews of goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets
The Company reported goodwill of $13.9 million and indefinite-lived intangible assets of $4.2 million as of May 25, 2025. We are required to review these assets on an annual basis to determine whether impairment may exist. The impairment analysis consists of an optional qualitative assessment potentially followed by a quantitative analysis. If we determine that the carrying value of these assets exceeds their fair value, an impairment charge is recorded for the excess.
The critical judgments involved in our annual qualitative testing include an assessment of unfavorable events, an analysis of prior year valuation assumptions and their sensitivity to change, and in the case of goodwill, a comparison of its carrying value against its fair value based on our market capitalization, derived from quoted stock prices, and balance sheet carrying values. We make judgments about whether any of that information puts our goodwill or other indefinite-lived intangible assets at enough risk of impairment to warrant the performance of more rigorous quantitative testing.
In fiscal year 2025, the Company’s qualitative assessment indicated a minimal risk of impairment. For example, with respect to our qualitative testing of goodwill, even a 50% decrease in our quoted stock price would not have caused the carrying value of our goodwill to exceed its fair value. We observed a similar amount of sensitivity to changes in assumptions for our indefinite-lived intangible assets.

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ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Item 7A. Quantitative and qualitative disclosures about market risk
The Company is a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act and is not required to provide the information required under this item.

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ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
Item 8. Financial statements and supplementary data
The information contained in Part IV, Item 15 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K is incorporated herein by reference.

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ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS
Item 9. Changes in and disagreements with accountants on accounting and financial disclosure
Not applicable.

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ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Item 9A. Controls and procedures
Evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures
As required by Rule 13a-15(b) under the Exchange Act, we have evaluated, under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) as of the end of the period covered by this Form 10-K. Based upon such evaluation, our principal executive officer and principal financial officer concluded that, due to material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting as described in the “Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting,” our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of May 25, 2025.
Management’s report on internal control over financial reporting
Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining an adequate system of internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 13(a)-15(f) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended). Our internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and presentation of consolidated financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements and even when determined to be effective, these controls can only provide reasonable assurance with respect to financial statement preparation and presentation. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that the internal controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions or because the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Under the supervision and with the participation of management, including the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, our management assessed the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of May 25, 2025, based on the framework set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO”) in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013). Based on this assessment, management concluded that the Company’s internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of May 25, 2025, due to the material weaknesses described below.
As reported in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended May 26, 2024, we identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting that existed as of May 26, 2024 due to deficiencies that aggregated to material weaknesses relating to the following components of the COSO framework:
•Control Environment - maintaining a sufficient complement of personnel to timely support the Company’s internal control objectives and ensuring personnel conduct internal control related responsibilities;
•Risk Assessment - identification and assessment of risks and changes in the business model resulting from recent disposition activities that impacted the design of control activities, including the precision of management review controls, and the completeness of controls required to support the financial reporting framework;
•Information and Communication - design of controls to validate the completeness and accuracy of information used in the performance of control activities;
•Monitoring - as a result of the material weaknesses described above, the Company failed to design and implement certain monitoring activities that were responsive to timely identification and remediation of control deficiencies; and
•Control Activities - as a result of the material weaknesses in the COSO components identified above, the control activities were ineffective and represent a material weakness.
The material weaknesses identified above that existed at May 26, 2024 encompass, and are inclusive of, the previously identified material weaknesses that existed as of May 28, 2023 and May 29, 2022 relating to matters such as the accounting for and classification of certain non-standard transactions, inventory valuation, the capitalization of interest on assets under construction, recording of development revenue and related cost of sales, the presentation of certain operating costs and expenses of continuing operations and discontinued operations, and the write off of other receivables of the Company’s former Curation Foods businesses. In management’s view, remediation of the material weaknesses relating to components of the COSO framework would necessarily remediate the specifically identified material weaknesses existing in prior periods.
Management concluded that, as of May 25, 2025, there continued to be deficiencies in the internal control over financial reporting that aggregated to material weaknesses relating to the COSO components of, Information and Communication, Control Activities and Monitoring.
Notwithstanding such material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K present fairly, in all material respects, the Company’s financial position, results of operations, and cash flows for the periods presented in conformity with U.S. GAAP.
Our independent registered public accounting firm, BDO USA, P.C., has issued an attestation report on our internal control over financial reporting which appears in Part IV, Item 15 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and is incorporated in this Item 9A by reference.
Management’s plan for remediation of material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting
Management, with the oversight of the Audit Committee, is committed to remediating the identified control deficiencies. As described in our Annual Reports on Form 10-K for the fiscal years ended May 26, 2024 and May 25, 2025, management adopted and executed upon a plan to both address the identified material weaknesses and to enhance our overall control environment as described above.
During fiscal year 2025, our management made progress in executing the remediation plan, narrowing the scope of material weaknesses to only three remaining COSO components; Information and Communication, Control Activities, and Monitoring. We continue to strengthen the Monitoring component by establishing a system of ongoing evaluations, improving the communication of control deficiencies, and implementing corrective actions to strengthen the overall effectiveness of internal controls.
During fiscal year 2026, management expects to continue to implement the previously described remediation plan and make further progress toward remediating the control deficiencies in the Information and Communication, Control Activities, and Monitoring components of the COSO framework. Specific remediation activities will include the following:
•Undertake a comprehensive ERP system implementation, targeted for the first quarter of calendar year 2026, which is expected to improve the reliability and consistency of financial data and reporting, and support continued enhancements to the internal control over financial reporting environment.
•Test and monitor the design and operating effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting following the ERP implementation.
•Establish and maintain ongoing evaluations to assess the effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting, particularly following the ERP implementation.
As we continue to evaluate the design and operating effectiveness of new and enhanced controls and execute on our remediation plan, we may modify the remediation plan described above in order to make further progress toward remediation of the identified material weaknesses, to respond to changes in the internal control environment, and to preserve the effectiveness of existing internal controls.
Changes in internal control over financial reporting
Except for the remediation planning efforts described above, there have been no changes in our system of internal control over financial reporting during the three months ended May 25, 2025 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

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ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
Item 9B. Other information
Fiscal year end change
On August 1, 2025, the Company’s Board of Directors approved a change in the Company’s fiscal year from 52- or 53-week periods that end on the last Sunday of May to calendar years ending on December 31. The Company will report its financial results for a transition period from May 26, 2025 to December 31, 2025 on a Transition Report on Form 10-K/T. Thereafter, the Company plans to file annual reports for twelve-month periods ending December 31 beginning with the year ending December 31, 2026. Prior to filing the transition report, the Company will file a Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ending September 30, 2025.
The Company will be moving its fiscal year end to align with the calendar year, effective for the December 31, 2025 calendar period. This decision to move its fiscal year-end, which had been based on the legacy businesses seasonality, will allow Lifecore to report in a timely manner with the majority of its peer companies, customers and other stakeholders, which the company believes is an important factor in evaluating operational and financial performance. It also aligns with the launch of the new ERP system and expected associated benefits.
2025 bonus plan payouts
As previously reported, on July 18, 2024, the Company’s Board of Directors approved a cash incentive award plan for the Company’s fiscal year 2025 (the “2025 Bonus Plan”) which was recommended by the Compensation Committee. Under the 2025 Bonus Plan, eligible participants, including Paul Josephs, the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer, and Ryan Lake, the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, were eligible to earn cash bonuses based on the Company’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“Adjusted EBITDA”) for fiscal year 2025 and four business objectives, weighted at 80% and 20%, respectively. Additionally, if minimum fiscal year 2025 Adjusted EBITDA was not achieved, the 2025 Bonus Plan provided that no bonus amounts would be earned. Adjusted EBITDA for purposes of the 2025 Bonus Plan was based on the Company’s fiscal year 2025 EBITDA which excluded changes in the fair value of debt derivatives, financing fees, restructuring and reorganization costs, state franchise taxes, amounts paid in settlement of governance matters, and stock-based compensation expense, but includes the cost of bonuses under the 2025 Bonus Plan.
Based upon the Company’s results for fiscal year 2025, the Company achieved two of the four business objectives under the 2025 Bonus Plan, but 2025 Adjusted EBITDA failed to meet the minimum amount, primarily due to unexpected legal, auditing and related costs associated with legacy matters. However, the Compensation Committee approved and the Board of Directors, on the recommendation of the Compensation Committee, approved the exercise of discretion to permit payouts under the 2025 Bonus Plan. In determining to exercise their discretion, the Compensation Committee and the Board considered the steps taken by the Company to actively mitigate the unexpected expenses and to improve the Company’s overall expense structure, and the initiatives implemented to position the Company well for sustainable growth, including measures to ensure compliance with SEC and Nasdaq listing requirements, enhance the leadership team, recalibrate the Company’s workforce, improve investor relations, and mitigate legal and operational risk.
Messrs. Josephs and Lake were eligible to participate in the 2025 Bonus Plan at 100% and 60% at the target level of achievement as a percentage of their respective annual base salaries. Based upon the discretion exercised by the Board and in light of their achievements and high performance in their respective roles, the Board of Directors approved payouts under the 2025 Bonus Plan of 50% of the target bonus amount for each of Messrs. Josephs and Lake effective August 1, 2025. Accordingly, the payouts under the 2025 Bonus Plan to Mr. Josephs and Mr. Lake will be 50% and 30% of their respective annual base salaries, or $275,000 and $141,000, respectively.

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ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Item 10. Directors, executive officers and corporate governance
Information with respect to this item is incorporated by reference to the Company’s definitive proxy statement for the 2025 annual meeting of stockholders to be filed no later than 120 days after the end of fiscal year 2025 (the “2025 Proxy Statement”) under the headings “Proposal No. 1 - Election of Directors - Director and Director Nominee Biographies,” “Corporate Governance and Board Matters,” “Executive Officers of the Company,” “Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports,” “Board of Directors Meetings and Committees,” and “Audit Committee Report.”
Insider trading compliance policy
The Company has adopted an insider trading compliance policy governing the purchase, sale, and/or any other disposition of its securities that applies to its directors, officers and employees, and other covered persons. The Company believes its insider trading policy is reasonably designed to promote compliance with insider trading laws, rules and regulations, and listing standards applicable to the Company. A copy of the insider trading compliance policy is filed as Exhibit 19.1 to this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Item 11. Executive compensation
Information with respect to this item is incorporated by reference to 2025 Proxy Statement under the headings “Executive Compensation and Related Information,” “Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation,” and “Compensation of Directors.”

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ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS
Item 12. Security ownership of certain beneficial owners and management and related stockholder matters
Information with respect to this item is incorporated by reference to the 2025 Proxy Statement under the heading “Stock Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management.”
The following table provides information as of May 25, 2025, with respect to our shares of Common Stock that may be issued under the Company’s 2019 Stock Incentive Plan, as amended (the “2019 Plan”), which was approved by our stockholders, and our Equity Inducement Plan, as amended (the “Inducement Plan”), which was adopted and approved without stockholder approval pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4), to provide for grants of equity awards as an inducement material to the individual’s entry into employment with the Company. The terms and conditions of the Inducement Plan are substantially similar to the Company’s stockholder-approved 2019 Stock Incentive Plan, subject to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4).
Equity compensation plan information
Number of securities to be issued upon exercise of outstanding options, warrants and rights
(a)
Weighted-average exercise price of outstanding options, warrants and rights ($)
(b) (1)
Number of securities remaining available for future issuance under equity compensation plans (excluding securities reflected in column (a))
Equity compensation plans approved by security holders (1) 1,572,973 (2)
$9.19 2,030,822
Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders 3,751,613 (3)
$6.54 298,387
Total 5,324,586 $8.57 2,329,209
(1) Represents the weighted-average exercise price of outstanding stock options and does not include RSUs or PSUs.
(2) Consists of outstanding options to purchases 966,324 shares of Common Stock and RSUs covering an aggregate of 606,649 shares of Common Stock.
(3) Consists of outstanding options to purchases 293,975 shares of Common Stock, RSUs covering an aggregate of 912,638 shares of Common Stock and PSUs covering an aggregate of 2,545,000 shares of Common Stock.

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ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS
Item 13. Certain relationships and related transactions and director independence
Information with respect to this item is incorporated by reference to the 2025 Proxy Statement under the headings “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions,” “Board of Directors Meetings and Committees,” and “Director Independence.”

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ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
Item 14. Principal accountant fees and services
Information with respect to this item is incorporated by reference to the 2025 Proxy Statement under the headings “Fees Paid to Independent Registered Accounting Public Accounting Firm” and “Audit Committee Pre-Approval Policies.”
PART IV

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ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
Item 15. Exhibits and financial statement schedules
(a)
Page
1. Consolidated financial statements of Lifecore Biomedical, Inc.
Reports of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (BDO USA, P.C., PCAOB ID: 243)
Consolidated Balance Sheets at May 25, 2025 and May 26, 2024
Consolidated Statements of Operations for the Years Ended May 25, 2025 and May 26, 2024
Consolidated Statements of Convertible Preferred Stock and Stockholders' Equity (Deficit) for the Years Ended May 25, 2025 and May 26, 2024
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the Years Ended May 25, 2025 and May 26, 2024
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
2. All schedules provided for in the applicable accounting regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission have been omitted since they pertain to items which do not appear in the financial statements of Lifecore and its subsidiaries or to items which are not significant or to items as to which the required disclosures have been made elsewhere in the financial statements and supplementary notes and such schedules.
3. Index of exhibits
The exhibits listed in the accompanying Index of Exhibits are filed or incorporated by reference as part of this report.
(b)Index of exhibits.
Exhibit
number
Exhibit title
3.1 Certificate of Incorporation of the Registrant, incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on November 7, 2008.
3.2 Certificate of Amendment to Certificate Incorporation of the Registrant, incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on November 16, 2022.
3.3 Certificate of Amendment, effective August 15, 2024, to Certificate Incorporation of the Registrant, incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on August 21, 2024.
3.4 Amended and Restated By-Laws of the Registrant, as amended through October 11, 2012, incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on October 16, 2012.
3.5 Amendment No. 1 to By-Laws of the Registrant, effective May 6, 2019, incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on May 7, 2019.
3.6 Amendment No. 2 to By-Laws of the Registrant, effective May 23, 2019, incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on May 24, 2019.
3.7 Amendment No. 3 to By-Laws of the Registrant, effective October 14, 2020, incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on October 19, 2020.
3.8 Amendment No. 4 to By-Laws of the Registrant, effective November 14, 2022, incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on November 16, 2022.
3.9 Certificate of Designations, Preferences and Rights of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock of the Registrant, effective January 9, 2023, incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on January 10, 2023.
4.1+ Description of Capital Stock of Lifecore Biomedical, Inc.
10.1* Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. 2019 Stock Incentive Plan, as amended through March 20, 2024, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on August 21, 2024.
10.2* Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. Equity Inducement Plan, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on March 21, 2024.
Exhibit
number
Exhibit title
10.3* Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. First Amendment to Equity Inducement Plan adopted April 11, 2025, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on April 16, 2025.
10.4* Landec Corporation Executive Change in Control Severance Plan incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.33 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended May 31, 2020.
10.5* Amendment dated April 27, 2023 to the Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. (f/k/a Landec Corporation) Executive Change in Control Severance Plan, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on May 2, 2023.
10.6 Securities Purchase Agreement, dated January 9, 2023, by and between Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. and the purchasers named therein, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on January 10, 2023.
10.7 Registration Rights Agreement, dated January 9, 2023, by and between Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. and the other parties thereto, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on January 10, 2023.
10.8 Cooperation Agreement, effective as of June 28, 2024, by and among Lifecore Biomedical, Inc., Jason Aryeh, Matthew Korenberg and certain 22NW Investors specified therein, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on July 1, 2024.
10.9 Cooperation Agreement, effective as of June 28, 2024, between Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. and certain Legion Investors specified therein, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on July 1, 2024.
10.10 Cooperation Agreement, effective as of June 28, 2024, between Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. and certain Wynnefield Investors specified therein, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on July 1, 2024.
10.11 Credit and Guaranty Agreement, dated May 22, 2023, by and among Lifecore Biomedical, Inc., Curation Foods, Inc. and Lifecore Biomedical Operating Company, Inc., as borrowers, certain other subsidiaries of Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. party thereto, as guarantors, and Alcon Research, LLC, as lender, administrative agent and collateral agent, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on May 23, 2023.
10.12 Pledge and Security Agreement, dated May 22, 2023, by and among Lifecore Biomedical, Inc., Curation Foods, Inc., Lifecore Biomedical Operating Company, Inc. and certain other subsidiary parties thereto, as grantors, and Alcon Research, LLC, as collateral agent, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on May 23, 2023.
Exhibit
number
Exhibit title
10.13 Limited Waiver and First Amendment dated December 31, 2023 to that certain Credit and Guaranty Agreement, dated May 22, 2023, by and among Lifecore Biomedical, Inc., Curation Foods, Inc. and Lifecore Biomedical Operating Company, Inc., as borrowers, certain other subsidiaries of Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. party thereto, as guarantors, and Alcon Research, LLC, as lender, administrative agent and collateral agent, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on January 5, 2024.
10.14+ Limited Waiver and Second Amendment dated August 8, 2024 to that certain Credit and Guaranty Agreement, dated May 22, 2023, by and among Lifecore Biomedical, Inc., Curation Foods, Inc. and Lifecore Biomedical Operating Company, Inc., as borrowers, certain other subsidiaries of Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. party thereto, as guarantors, and Alcon Research, LLC, as lender, administrative agent and collateral agent.
10.15 Limited Waiver Under and Third Amendment dated November 26, 2024, to that certain Credit and Guaranty Agreement, dated May 22, 2023, by and among Lifecore Biomedical, Inc., Curation Foods, Inc. and Lifecore Biomedical Operating Company, Inc., as borrowers, certain other subsidiaries of Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. party thereto, as guarantors, and Alcon Research, LLC, as lender, administrative agent and collateral agent, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on November 26, 2024.
10.16 Credit Agreement, dated December 31, 2020, by and among Landec Corporation, Curation Foods, Inc. and Lifecore Biomedical, Inc., as borrowers, certain other subsidiary parties thereto, as guarantors, and BMO Harris Bank., N.A., a slender and administrative agent, incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on January 5, 2021.
10.17 Pledge and Security Agreement, dated December 31, 2020, by and among Landec Corporation, Curation Foods, Inc., Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. and certain other subsidiary parties thereto, as grantors, and BMO Harris Bank., N.A., as administrative agent, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on January 5, 2021.
10.18 First Amendment to Credit Agreement, dated as of April 19, 2021, by and among Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. (formerly known as Landec Corporation), Curation Foods, Inc., Lifecore Biomedical Operating Company, Inc. (formerly known as Lifecore Biomedical, Inc.) and BMO Harris Bank, N.A.
10.19 Second Amendment to Credit Agreement, dated as of December 22, 2021, by and among Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. (formerly known as Landec Corporation), Curation Foods, Inc., Lifecore Biomedical Operating Company, Inc. (formerly known as Lifecore Biomedical, Inc.) and BMO Harris Bank, N.A.
10.20 Third Amendment to Credit Agreement, dated as of February 22, 2022, by and among Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. (formerly known as Landec Corporation), Curation Foods, Inc., Lifecore Biomedical Operating Company, Inc. (formerly known as Lifecore Biomedical, Inc.) and BMO Harris Bank, N.A.
Exhibit
number
Exhibit title
10.21 Limited Waiver and Fourth Amendment to Credit Agreement, dated January 9, 2023, by and among Lifecore Biomedical, Inc., Curation Foods, Inc., Lifecore Biomedical Operating Company, Inc., as borrowers, certain other subsidiaries of Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. party thereto, as guarantors, and BMO Harris Bank N.A., as lender and administrative agent, incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on January 10, 2023.
10.22 Limited Waiver and Fifth Amendment to that certain Credit Agreement, dated May 22, 2023, by and among Lifecore Biomedical, Inc., Curation Foods, Inc. and Lifecore Biomedical Operating Company, Inc., as borrowers, certain other subsidiaries of Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. party thereto, as guarantors, and BMO Harris Bank, N.A., as lender and administrative agent, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on May 23, 2023.
10.23 Limited Waiver and Sixth Amendment to that certain Credit Agreement, dated December 31, 2020, by and among Lifecore Biomedical, Inc., Curation Foods, Inc. and Lifecore Biomedical Operating Company, Inc., as borrowers, certain other subsidiaries of Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. party thereto, as guarantors, and BMO Harris Bank, N.A., as lender and administrative agent, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on January 5, 2024.
10.24 Seventh Amendment to Credit Agreement, dated May 10, 2024, by and among Lifecore Biomedical, Inc., Curation Foods, Inc., Lifecore Biomedical Operating Company, Inc., and BMO Bank N.A, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on May 14, 2024.
10.25+ Eighth Amendment to Credit Agreement, dated August 8, 2024, by and among Lifecore Biomedical, Inc., Curation Foods, Inc., Lifecore Biomedical Operating Company, Inc., and BMO Bank N.A.
10.26 Limited Waiver Under and Ninth Amendment to that certain Credit Agreement, dated December 31, 2020, by and among Lifecore Biomedical, Inc., Curation Foods, Inc. and Lifecore Biomedical Operating Company, Inc., as borrowers, certain other subsidiaries of Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. party thereto, as guarantors, and BMO Bank, N.A., as lender and administrative agent, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on November 26, 2024.
10.27 Equipment Sale and Leaseback Agreement, dated May 22, 2023, by and between Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. and Alcon Research, LLC, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on May 23, 2023.
10.28 Equipment Lease Agreement, dated May 22, 2023, by and between Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. and Alcon Research, LLC, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on May 23, 2023.
10.29# Amended and Restated Supply Agreement, dated May 3, 2023, by and between Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. and Alcon Research, LLC, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.6 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on May 23, 2023.
Exhibit
number
Exhibit title
10.30# Amendment No. 1 to that certain Amended and Restated Supply Agreement, dated May 3, 2023, by and between Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. and Alcon Research, LLC, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on January 5, 2024.
10.31# Amended and Restated Contract Manufacturing Agreement, dated December 31, 2023, by and between Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. and Alcon Research, LLC, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on January 5, 2024.
10.32# Amendment No. 1 effective as of May 2, 2024, to Amended and Restated Contract Manufacturing Agreement, by and between Alcon Research, LLC and Lifecore Biomedical, LLC., incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on May 8, 2024.
10.33#+ Amendment No. 2 effective June 13, 2025, to Amended and Restated Contract Manufacturing Agreement, by and between Alcon Research, LLC and Lifecore Biomedical, LLC.
10.34 Form of Indemnification Agreement incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on October 17, 2018.
10.35* Offer Letter, dated March 20, 2024, by and between the Company and Paul Josephs, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on March 21, 2024.
10.36* Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement dated May 20, 2024 to Paul Josephs under Lifecore Biomedical Inc. Equity Inducement Plan., incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on May 22 2024.
10.37* Performance Stock Unit Award Agreement dated May 20, 2024 to Paul Josephs under Lifecore Biomedical Inc. Equity Inducement Plan., incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on May 22 2024.
10.38* Participation Notice with Paul Josephs dated May 20, 2024 under the Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. Executive Change in Control Severance Plan., incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on May 22 2024.
10.39*+ Amendment to Offer Letter dated March 20, 2024 between Paul Josephs and Lifecore Biomedical, Inc.
10.40* Employment agreement, dated August 28, 2024, by and between the Company and Ryan D. Lake, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant's Current Report on Form 8-K filed on August 29, 2024.
10.41*+ Employment agreement, dated April 12, 2025, by and between the Company and Thomas Salus.
19.1+ Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. Insider Trading Policy
Exhibit
number
Exhibit title
21.1+ Subsidiaries of the Registrant
23.1+ Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
24.1+ Power of Attorney (included on the signature page to this Annual Report on Form 10-K)
31.1+ CEO Certification pursuant to section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
31.2+ CFO Certification pursuant to section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
32.1** CEO Certification pursuant to section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
32.2** CFO Certification pursuant to section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
97.1 Compensation Recoupment Policy, incorporated by reference to Exhibit 97.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 10-K filed on March 20, 2024.
101.INS XBRL Instance
101.SCH XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema
101.CAL XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation
101.DEF XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition
101.LAB XBRL Taxonomy Extension Labels
101.PRE XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation
104 Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document)
* Represents a management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.
** Information is furnished and shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, nor shall it be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except as expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.
+ Filed herewith.
# Confidential portions of this exhibit have been redacted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to a confidential treatment request in accordance with Rule 24b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.