Utz Brands Q3 2026 sales fall 2.3% as Intersnack take-private nears

Utz Brands, the Pennsylvania-based maker of potato chips and other salty snacks, published its results for the third fiscal quarter, which ended on 27 Sep 2026, in an SEC filing dated 6 Nov 2026 (Utz Brands third quarter 2026 results).

How did sales and margins move?

Net sales came to USD 369.2 million, against USD 377.8 million a year earlier, a decline of 2.3%. Volume and mix took 5.2% off sales, while higher net pricing added 2.9%. Branded salty snacks, which include the Utz, Zapp's, Boulder Canyon, Golden Flake, Tim's Cascade and Dirty Potato Chips brands, made up 92% of net sales and grew 0.3% on an organic basis. Non-branded and non-salty snack sales fell 23.8%.

Adjusted gross margin narrowed to 27.2% from 32.5%. The company put the drop down to significant supply chain cost inflation, channel mix and lower volumes. Adjusted EBITDA fell 30.3% to USD 42.0 million, a margin of 11.4%, compared with 16.0% a year earlier. The net loss widened to USD 32.1 million from USD 20.2 million, partly because the quarter carried USD 17.7 million of costs tied to the sale of the company. Net leverage was 3.9 times.

For the first 39 weeks of fiscal 2026, net sales rose 0.5% to USD 1,102.3 million.

What is happening with the Intersnack deal?

Utz agreed on 20 Jul 2026 to be taken private, with subsidiaries of Germany-based Intersnack Group buying all Class A shares for USD 14.25 each in cash. After closing, the Rice and Lissette family entities and an Intersnack subsidiary would each own 50% of Utz Brands Holdings. The company said all regulatory conditions had been met and that the shareholder vote was set for 13 Nov 2026, with closing expected in its fiscal fourth quarter of 2026. Because of the pending deal, Utz gave no 2026 outlook and held no investor call. Chief Executive Howard Friedman is due to hand over to John Lindeman after the deal closes.