Sunopta — Financial Results
SunOpta Is Being Acquired at $6.50 per Share in Cash
The most immediate development for any investor to know: on February 6, 2026, SunOpta entered into an agreement to be acquired by Refresco, a private beverage company. Refresco will pay $6.50 per share in cash for all outstanding common shares. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026, after which SunOpta will no longer be publicly traded.
Revenue Grew 13% in 2025, Driven Almost Entirely by Volume
| Metric | 2025 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $817.7M | $723.7M | +13.0% |
| Volume/Mix contribution | — | — | +13.5% |
| Price contribution | — | — | -0.2% |
Growth came almost entirely from selling more product — beverages, broths, and fruit snacks all expanded — rather than raising prices. In fact, prices fell slightly as the company passed on raw material savings to customers. This is a sign of real demand growth, not just inflation-driven revenue inflation.
The Business Swung from a Loss to a $15.8M Profit
| Metric | 2025 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Net earnings (loss) | +$15.8M | -$17.4M |
| Diluted EPS | +$0.13 | -$0.15 |
| Operating income | $39.7M | $15.6M |
This is a meaningful turnaround. The prior year's loss was dragged down by heavy start-up costs (expenses to get new production facilities running) at its Midlothian, Texas plant — $16.3M in 2024 alone — which largely did not repeat in 2025. Higher volumes and lower overhead also helped.
Underlying Profit Margins Are Actually Tighter Than They Appear
| Metric | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reported gross margin | 14.2% | 13.3% | 13.7% |
| Adjusted gross margin | 14.8% | 16.4% | 17.2% |
Once you strip out one-time charges from both years, the adjusted gross margin (a cleaner measure of how profitable each dollar of revenue really is) has actually been declining — from 17.2% in 2023 to 14.8% in 2025. The company attributes this to planned investments in labor and infrastructure, plus manufacturing inefficiencies while handling rapid volume growth. This trend is worth watching even as headline profits improve.
A Wastewater Problem at the Texas Facility Continues to Cost Money
The Midlothian, Texas facility — central to SunOpta's beverage growth — has been producing more wastewater than its treatment system can handle. The company paid third parties $3.2M in 2025 and $4.4M in 2024 to haul it away. This is an ongoing operational drag, though the cost is declining. Capacity expansion projects at this facility are expected to add $60M–$70M in finance lease (a long-term equipment rental arrangement) assets in 2026.
Tariffs Created Costs in 2025, but the Situation Remains Uncertain
U.S. tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods — initially 25%, raised to 35% on Canada — added costs in 2025 for imported ingredients and for fruit snack products made at SunOpta's Ontario facility. The company says it largely offset these costs through alternative sourcing and pricing adjustments. However, after a court ruling struck down those tariffs, a new 10% worldwide tariff was imposed, and management states it is still assessing the impact. Less than 8% of revenue comes from Canadian-produced goods, limiting but not eliminating exposure.