The company earned $508 million, a 245 percent jump in earnings compared to the year prior.
Cal-Maine Foods Inc., the nation’s largest egg producer, on Tuesday acknowledged that it is being investigated by the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division over the national increase in egg prices.
The brief admission in its newest financial report made headlines and the company’s shares fell by about 4 percent in after-hours trading.
“In March 2025, the Company received a civil investigative demand in connection with a widely publicized investigation by the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice into the causes behind nationwide increases in egg prices,” Cal-Maine said in its financial report for its third quarter on Tuesday. “The Company is cooperating with the investigation.”
Egg prices have hit record highs in recent months, largely due to a bird flu epidemic that has forced farmers to slaughter more than 166 million birds, mostly egg-laying chickens.
One dozen Grade A eggs cost an average of $5.90 in U.S. cities in February, up 10.4 percent from a year ago. That eclipsed January’s record-high price of $4.95.
The Ridgeland, Mississippi-based Cal-Maine accounts for roughly 20 percent of the nation’s egg supply.
New Earnings Report
Cal-Maine released its financial result for its third quarter, which ended March 1, on Tuesday showing it hatched robust earnings: $508 million, or $10.38 per share, a 245 percent jump from earnings of $146.4 million, or $3.01 per share, a year ago. It reported sales of $1.4 billion in the quarter, up 99 percent from $703.1 million year over year.
Cal-Maine also announced that it signed an agreement before the end of the third quarter to acquire Echo Lake Foods for about $258 million.
Commenting on the results, Cal-Maine President and CEO Sherman Miller said dynamic market conditions, which led to record-high egg prices and bird flu-related shortages, persisted throughout the quarter.
Miller said that, despite the challenging supply environment, the company was able to benefit from its existing size plus recent acquisitions to increase capacity. “Above all, we stayed focused on meeting the needs of our valued customers, while honoring our longstanding pricing frameworks,” he said in a statement.
By Wesley Brown
