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UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON,
D.C. 20549
FORM
8-K
CURRENT
REPORT
Pursuant
to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date
of Report (Date of earliest event reported): August 6, 2026
WHERE
FOOD COMES FROM, INC.
(Exact
Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)
| Colorado |
|
001-40314 |
|
43-1802805 |
(State
or Other Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation) |
|
(Commission
File
Number) |
|
(I.R.S.
Employer
Identification
No.) |
| 202 6th Street,
Suite 400 |
|
|
| Castle Rock, Colorado |
|
80104 |
| (Address of Principal Executive
Offices) |
|
(Zip Code) |
(303)
895-3002
(Registrant’s
Telephone Number, Including Area Code)
Not
applicable
(Former
name or former address, if changed since last report.)
Check
the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under
any of the following provisions:
| ☐ |
Written communications
pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) |
| |
|
| ☐ |
Soliciting material pursuant
to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) |
| |
|
| ☐ |
Pre-commencement communications
pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) |
| |
|
| ☐ |
Pre-commencement communications
pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) |
Securities
registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title
of each class |
|
Trading
Symbol(s) |
|
Name
of each exchange on which registered |
| Common Stock, $0.001 par
value |
|
WFCF |
|
The NASDAQ Stock Market
LLC |
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405
of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).
Emerging
growth company ☐
If
an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying
with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
| Item 2.02 |
Results of Operations
and Financial Condition |
Reference
is made to the Where Food Comes From, Inc. (the “Company”) press release on August 6, 2026 and conference call transcript,
attached hereto as Exhibits 99.1 and 99.2, respectively, and incorporated by reference herein (including, without limitation, the information
set forth in the cautionary statement contained in the press release and conference call transcript), relating to the Company’s
financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026.
| Item 9.01 |
Financial Statements
and Exhibits |
| |
Exhibit
No. |
|
Description |
| |
99.1 |
|
Press Release issued and dated August 6, 2026 |
| |
99.2 |
|
Transcript for August 6, 2026 conference call |
| |
104 |
|
Cover
Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document) |
SIGNATURE
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by
the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
| |
WHERE FOOD
COMES FROM, INC. |
| |
(Registrant) |
| |
|
|
| |
By: |
/s/
Dannette Henning |
| Date: August 10, 2026 |
|
Dannette Henning |
| |
|
Chief Financial Officer |
Exhibit
99.1
Where
Food Comes From, Inc. Reports Second Quarter Financial Results
Second
Quarter Highlights – 2026 vs. 2025
| ● | Verification
and certification revenue: $5,389,000 vs. $5,332,000 |
| ● | Product
sales: $937,000 vs. $964,000 |
| ● | Total
revenue: $6,611,000 vs. $6,562,000 |
| ● | Income
from operations: $665,000 vs. $549,000 |
| ● | Net
income: $413,000 vs. $562,000 |
| ● | Diluted
EPS: $0.08 vs. $0.11 |
| ● | Company
returns $809,000 in value to stockholders through buyback of 65,012 shares |
| ● | $17.2
million in total value returned to shareholders over past seven years through buybacks and
special dividend |
Six-Month
Highlights – 2026 vs. 2025
| ● | Verification
and certification revenue: $9,813,000 vs. $9,514,000 |
| ● | Product
sales: $1,650,000 vs. $1,666,000 |
| ● | Total
revenue: $11,976,000 vs. $11,835,000 |
| ● | Operating
income: $963,000 vs. $691,000 |
| ● | Net
income: $505,000 vs. $593,000 |
| ● | Diluted
EPS: $0.10 vs. $0.11 |
| ● | Cash
generated from operations: $1.5M vs. $1.8M |
| ● | Cash
& cash equivalents: $3,417,000 at June 30 vs. $3,200,000 at 2025 year-end |
| ● | Stock
buybacks: 89,481 shares |
CASTLE
ROCK, Colo., Aug. 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Where Food Comes From, Inc. (WFCF) (Nasdaq: WFCF), the most trusted resource for
independent, third-party verification of food production practices in North America, today announced financial results for its second
quarter and six-month period ended June 30, 2026.
“We
are pleased to report another quarter of modest revenue growth and solid profitability despite continued economic and industry headwinds,”
said John Saunders, Chairman and CEO. “Pressure on our beef business related to record high beef prices and smaller herd sizes
has been largely offset by growing consumer demand for premium verified beef products and our introduction of RaiseWell® Certified,
a new standard that addresses consumer and retailer demand for responsibly raised proteins. Adopted by Whole Foods Market as an approved
animal welfare certification for its beef supply, the RaiseWell program is showing solid growth with more than 270,000 head of cattle
now enrolled. In addition, our non-beef verification programs – including non-GMO, Gluten Free, Organic, Upcycled and others –
continue to grow and augment our traditional beef revenue streams.
“Total
revenue grew 1% in the second quarter but gross profit grew by 9% due to cost efficiencies in all three business segments, which resulted
in gross margins of 40.6% in Q2, up from 37.5% in the same quarter last year. Operating income increased 21% year over year to $665,000
from $549,000. We experienced a non-cash negative swing of $240,000 in fair market value of our digital assets in Q2, which lowered reported
net income to $413,000, or $0.08 per share, compared to net income of $562,000, or $0.11 per share, in the same quarter last year. Finally,
we continued to aggressively buy back our shares in the quarter and are pleased to report that since 2019 we have returned more than
$17 million in value to stockholders through buybacks and a special dividend.”
Second
Quarter Results – 2026 vs. 2025
Total
revenue in the second quarter ended June 30, 2026, increased 1% to $6,611,000 from $6,562,000
| ● | Verification
and certification services increased to $5,389,000 from $5,332,000. |
| ● | Product
revenue decreased to $937,000 from $964,000. |
| ● | Professional
services was up slightly to $285,000 from $266,000. |
Gross
profit in the second quarter increased 9% to $2,683,000 compared to $2,460,000 in the same quarter last year.
Selling,
general and administrative expense increased 6% to $2,018,000 from $1,911,000.
Operating
income increased 21% quarter-over-quarter to $665,000 from $549,000 due to improved gross margins across all three revenue streams.
The
Company reported net income in the second quarter of $413,000, or $0.08 per diluted share, compared to net income of $562,000, or $0.11
per diluted share, in the same quarter last year. The decline was primarily attributable a non-cash $240,000 negative swing in fair market
value of digital assets. The year-ago second quarter also included $50,000 in dividend income related to the ownership interest in Progressive
Beef that was divested in 2025.
The
Company bought back 65,012 shares of its common stock in the second quarter, resulting in $809,000 in value returned to stockholders
in the period.
Six
Month Results – 2026 vs. 2025
Total
revenue for the six-month period ended June 30, 2026, increased slightly to $11,976,000 from $11,835,000 in the same period last year.
| ● | Verification
and certification services was $9,813,000 vs. $9,514,000. |
| ● | Product
revenue was $1,650,000 vs. $1,666,000. |
| ● | Professional
services revenue was $513,000 vs. $655,000. |
Gross
profit for the six-month period increased 1.5% to $4,726,000 from $4,655,000.
SG&A
expense decreased to $3,763,000 from $3,964,000, reflecting management’s first quarter decision to return approximately $400,000
in 2025 bonus compensation.
As
a result of that transaction as well as improved first quarter margins, operating income through six months increased 39% to $963,000
from $691,000.
Net
income through six months was $505,000, or $0.10 per diluted share, vs. net income of $593,000, or $0.11 per diluted share, in the same
period last year. The decline reflected a non-cash $299,000 negative swing in fair market value of digital assets.
The
Company generated $1,460,000 in cash from operations year-to-date, down from $1,813,000 in the comparable period last year.
Cash
and cash equivalents increased 7% year over year to $3,417,000 from $3,200,000.
The
Company bought back a total of 89,481 shares in the first half of 2026. Over the past seven years, the Company has returned $17.2 million
in value to stockholders through buybacks and a special dividend.
The
Company will conduct a conference call today at 10:00 a.m. Mountain Time.
Call-in
numbers for the conference call:
Domestic
Toll Free: 1-877-407-8289
International:
1-201-689-8341
Conference
Code: 13762085
Phone
replay:
A
telephone replay of the conference call will be available through August 20, 2026, as follows:
Domestic
Toll Free: 1-877-660-6853
International:
1-201-612-7415
Conference
Code: 13762085
About
Where Food Comes From, Inc.
Where
Food Comes From, Inc. is America’s trusted resource for third party verification of food production practices. Through proprietary
technology and patented business processes, the Company estimates that it supports more than 17,500 farmers, ranchers, vineyards, wineries,
processors, retailers, distributors, trade associations, consumer brands and restaurants with a wide variety of value-added services.
Where Food Comes From solutions are used to verify food claims, optimize production practices and enable food supply chains with analytics
and data driven insights. In addition, the Company’s Where Food Comes From® retail and restaurant labeling program uses web-based
customer education tools to connect consumers to the sources of the food they purchase, increasing meaningful consumer engagement for
our clients.
CAUTIONARY
STATEMENT
This
news release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995, based on current expectations, estimates and projections that are subject to risk. Forward-looking statements are inherently
uncertain, and actual events could differ materially from the Company’s predictions. Important factors that could cause actual
events to vary from predictions include those discussed in our SEC filings. Specifically, statements in this news release about industry
leadership and demand for, and impact and efficacy of, the Company’s products and services on the marketplace are forward-looking
statements that are subject to a variety of factors, including availability of capital, personnel and other resources; competition; governmental
regulation of the agricultural industry; the market for beef and other commodities; and other factors. Financial results and the Company’s
pace of stock buybacks are not necessarily indicative of future results. Readers should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements. The Company assumes no obligation to update its forward-looking statements to reflect new information or developments. For
a more extensive discussion of the Company’s business, please refer to the Company’s SEC filings at www.sec.gov.
Company
Contacts:
John
Saunders
Chief
Executive Officer
303-895-3002
Jay
Pfeiffer
Director
Investor Relations
303-880-9000
jpfeiffer@wherefoodcomesfrom.com
Where
Food Comes From, Inc.
Statements
of Operations (Unaudited)
| | |
Three months ended June 30, | | |
Six months ended June 30, | |
| (Amounts in thousands, except per share amounts) | |
2026 | | |
2025 | | |
2026 | | |
2025 | |
| Revenues: | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | |
| Verification and certification service revenue | |
$ | 5,389 | | |
$ | 5,332 | | |
$ | 9,813 | | |
$ | 9,514 | |
| Product sales | |
| 937 | | |
| 964 | | |
| 1,650 | | |
| 1,666 | |
| Professional services | |
| 285 | | |
| 266 | | |
| 513 | | |
| 655 | |
| Total revenues | |
| 6,611 | | |
| 6,562 | | |
| 11,976 | | |
| 11,835 | |
| Costs of revenues: | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | |
| Costs of verification and certification services | |
| 3,200 | | |
| 3,282 | | |
| 5,921 | | |
| 5,677 | |
| Costs of products | |
| 563 | | |
| 617 | | |
| 1,001 | | |
| 1,045 | |
| Costs of professional services | |
| 165 | | |
| 203 | | |
| 328 | | |
| 458 | |
| Total costs of revenues | |
| 3,928 | | |
| 4,102 | | |
| 7,250 | | |
| 7,180 | |
| Gross profit | |
| 2,683 | | |
| 2,460 | | |
| 4,726 | | |
| 4,655 | |
| Selling, general and administrative expenses | |
| 2,018 | | |
| 1,911 | | |
| 3,763 | | |
| 3,964 | |
| Income from operations | |
| 665 | | |
| 549 | | |
| 963 | | |
| 691 | |
| Other income/(expense): | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | |
| Dividend income | |
| - | | |
| 50 | | |
| - | | |
| 50 | |
| Interest income | |
| 9 | | |
| 5 | | |
| 15 | | |
| 9 | |
| Gain on sale of assets | |
| - | | |
| - | | |
| 17 | | |
| - | |
| Fair market value (loss) / gain on digital assets | |
| (68 | ) | |
| 172 | | |
| (203 | ) | |
| 96 | |
| Loss on foreign currency exchange | |
| - | | |
| (3 | ) | |
| - | | |
| (3 | ) |
| Interest expense | |
| - | | |
| (1 | ) | |
| (1 | ) | |
| (2 | ) |
| Income before income taxes | |
| 606 | | |
| 772 | | |
| 791 | | |
| 841 | |
| Income tax expense | |
| 193 | | |
| 210 | | |
| 286 | | |
| 248 | |
| Net income | |
$ | 413 | | |
$ | 562 | | |
$ | 505 | | |
$ | 593 | |
| | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | |
| Per share - net income: | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | |
| Basic | |
$ | 0.08 | | |
$ | 0.11 | | |
$ | 0.10 | | |
$ | 0.11 | |
| Diluted | |
$ | 0.08 | | |
$ | 0.11 | | |
$ | 0.10 | | |
$ | 0.11 | |
| | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | |
| Weighted average number of common shares outstanding: | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | |
| Basic | |
| 5,018 | | |
| 5,272 | | |
| 5,044 | | |
| 5,227 | |
| Diluted | |
| 5,031 | | |
| 5,283 | | |
| 5,056 | | |
| 5,240 | |
Where
Food Comes From, Inc.
Balance
Sheets
| | |
June 30, | | |
December 31, | |
| (Amounts in thousands, except per share amounts) | |
2026 | | |
2025 | |
| |
(Unaudited) | | |
(Audited) | |
| Assets | |
| | |
| |
| Current assets: | |
| | | |
| | |
| Cash and cash equivalents | |
$ | 3,417 | | |
$ | 3,200 | |
| Accounts receivable, net of allowance | |
| 2,501 | | |
| 1,678 | |
| Inventory | |
| 989 | | |
| 792 | |
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets | |
| 566 | | |
| 605 | |
| Total current assets | |
| 7,473 | | |
| 6,275 | |
| Property and equipment, net | |
| 677 | | |
| 648 | |
| Right-of-use assets, net | |
| 376 | | |
| 498 | |
| Equity investments | |
| 200 | | |
| 200 | |
| Intangible and other assets, net | |
| 1,242 | | |
| 1,420 | |
| Digital assets | |
| 410 | | |
| 613 | |
| Goodwill, net | |
| 2,946 | | |
| 2,946 | |
| Deferred tax assets, net | |
| 255 | | |
| 299 | |
| Total assets | |
$ | 13,579 | | |
$ | 12,899 | |
| | |
| | | |
| | |
| Liabilities and Equity | |
| | | |
| | |
| Current liabilities: | |
| | | |
| | |
| Accounts payable | |
$ | 669 | | |
$ | 451 | |
| Accrued expenses and other current liabilities | |
| 1,471 | | |
| 655 | |
| Deferred revenue | |
| 1,888 | | |
| 1,545 | |
| Current portion of finance lease obligations | |
| 13 | | |
| 12 | |
| Current portion of operating lease obligations | |
| 422 | | |
| 422 | |
| Total current liabilities | |
| 4,463 | | |
| 3,085 | |
| Finance lease obligations, net of current portion | |
| 6 | | |
| 13 | |
| Operating lease obligation, net of current portion | |
| 288 | | |
| 496 | |
| Total liabilities | |
| 4,757 | | |
| 3,594 | |
| | |
| | | |
| | |
| Commitments and contingencies | |
| | | |
| | |
| | |
| | | |
| | |
| Equity: | |
| | | |
| | |
| Common stock | |
| 5 | | |
| 5 | |
| Additional paid-in-capital | |
| 137 | | |
| 23 | |
| Treasury stock | |
| (2,885 | ) | |
| (1,783 | ) |
| Retained earnings | |
| 11,565 | | |
| 11,060 | |
| Total equity | |
| 8,822 | | |
| 9,305 | |
| Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity | |
$ | 13,579 | | |
$ | 12,899 | |
Exhibit
99.2
Where
Food Comes From, Inc.
2026
Second Quarter Conference Call
Call
date: Thursday August 6, 2026
Call
time: 10:00 a.m. Mountain Time
Jay
Pfeiffer – Investor Relations
Good
morning and welcome to the Where Food Comes From 2026 second quarter earnings call.
Joining
me on the call today are CEO John Saunders, President and Chief Strategy Officer Leann Saunders, and CFO Dannette Henning.
During
this call we’ll make forward-looking statements based on current expectations, estimates and projections that are subject to risk.
Statements about financial performance, growth strategy, customers, business opportunities, market acceptance of our products and services,
and potential acquisitions are forward looking statements. Listeners should not place undue reliance on these statements as there are
many factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements. We encourage you to review our
publicly filed documents as well as our news releases and website for more information.
I’ll
now turn the call over to John Saunders.
John
Hello
and thanks for joining the call today.
This
morning, Where Food Comes From reported another quarter of revenue growth and solid profitability in spite of continued pressure on our
flagship beef business due to fewer cattle moving through the system and record high beef prices. Once again, the reason we have
been able to grow profitably in the face of persistent headwinds lies in the size and diversity of our solutions portfolio, which is
constantly expanding as we introduce new standards and certifications across the food spectrum.
Today,
Where Food Comes From is far and away the most diverse provider of food claims verification and certification. The growth of our service
offerings over the years has been driven by a combination of M&A transactions and internal development in response to consumer preferences
and industry trends. Some of these solutions were developed in collaboration with customers across the food supply chain who share our
passion for giving consumers maximum transparency into how their food is raised. We now audit to more than 50 standards in categories
as diverse as animal proteins, wine grapes and upcycled foods. We are the leading certifier of popular food claims ranging from animal
welfare and sustainable practices to non-GMO, gluten free and organic.
Our
CARE Certified program is the protein industry’s most advanced tool for certifying animal care and environmental stewardship. Our
new RaiseWell® Certified program verifies animal welfare and natural practices and provides traceability from the farm through processing.
In
the first quarter of this year, Whole Foods Market became the first major retailer to adopt RaiseWell. This adoption was for their beef
supply and has led to strong early results with more than 270,000 head of cattle now enrolled by ranchers who provide beef to Whole Foods.
RaiseWell was developed to address all animal proteins and we are now working to expand the program to include chicken, turkey, pork,
lamb and eggs. By the way, both CARE and RaiseWell are figuring prominently into our service bundling strategy – particularly in
conjunction with our Organic services – and this provides our customers with cost and time savings while enhancing our revenue
and gross margins.
We
are also sowing seeds on other new initiatives that we believe will grow over time and further strengthen our reputation as a one-stop-shop
for verifications and certifications across an ever-larger spectrum.
| ● | For
example, we have recently partnered with the Potato Sustainability Alliance to provide on-farm
audits that verify and benchmark sustainability metrics around environmental stewardship,
including reducing GHG emissions, optimizing water management and minimizing food waste –
as well as improving soil health, supporting biodiversity and promoting responsible use of
pesticides. |
| ● | Another
example: In May we helped US Agrichar become the first biochar producer in Colorado to achieve
USDA certification for its product. Biochar is a stable, carbon-rich material produced by
heating organic biomass in a low-oxygen environment. The resulting product supports soil
health through improved water retention and nutrient efficiency and the added benefit of
long-term carbon sequestration. In Colorado, similar to other Western States in this new
age of drought and forest fires, biochar production has the added bonus of improving forest
health and reducing wildfire risk because the raw material is often dead forest fire wood. |
So
again, we are laser focused on expanding our portfolio with solutions that address consumer demands and help our customers differentiate
their products. The size and scope of our portfolio is the cornerstone of the moat we have built for our business.
Turning
now to second quarter financial results:
Total
revenue in second quarter increased slightly to $6.6 million on the strength of verification and certification revenue of $5.4 million
versus $5.3 million in Q2 last year.
Gross
profit increased 9% year-over-year to $2.7 million from $2.5 million – with gross margins rising to 40.6% compared with 37.5% in
the second quarter last year. These improvements were attributable to cost efficiencies achieved in all three business segments
Operating
income in Q2 increased 21% year-over-year to $665,000 from $549,000.
Net
income was $413,000, or 8 cents per share, compared to net income of $562,000, or 11 cents per share, in the same quarter last year.
I
want to emphasize that the lower net income was mostly due to the non-cash impact of fair market value of digital assets that amounted
to a $240,000 negative swing in the second quarter year over year. Additionally, the year-ago second quarter included $50,000 in dividend
income related to our ownership interest in Progressive Beef that was divested last year. So, we believe our operating income –
up 21% year over year – remains the most accurate measure of our profitability in the quarter.
Six-month
results:
| ● | Total
revenue increased 1% to $12.0 million from $11.8 million. |
| ● | Verification
and certification revenue grew by 3% to $9.8 million from $9.5 million. |
| ● | Operating
income through mid-year increased to $963,000 from $691,000. |
| ● | Net
income through the first six months of 2026 was $505,000, or 10 cents per share, compared
to net income of $593,000, or 11 cents per share, in the same period last year. |
The
Company generated $1.5 million in cash from operations year-to-date and closed the second quarter with $3.4 million in cash and cash
equivalents, up from $3.2 million at 2025 year-end.
Due
to our consistent ability to generate strong cash flows in combination with our belief that our own stock represents a good investment
at current levels, we continued our aggressive buybacks in the second quarter, repurchasing approximately 65,000 shares and raising year-to-date
buybacks to nearly 89,500 shares. Since the inception of our stock repurchase program in 2019, Where Food Comes From has returned more
than $17.2 million in value to stockholders.
One
final topic I want to address is M&A. As you know, over the past 14 years we’ve averaged one acquisition per year – adding
products, services, standards, customers, new talent, and accretive revenue streams to our business. We successfully integrated each
of these transactions into our business and are pleased to say that each has added value.
The
industry we compete in is still in the early innings and changing dynamics due to geopolitical and regulatory events, evolving consumer
demands and other factors are giving rise to new opportunities. As a result, after a roughly 3-year pause since our last transaction,
we are renewing our focus on M&A as a means of accelerating growth, strengthening our business and building shareholder value. As
always, a key criterion in this process is whether a given transaction would be immediately or at least near-term accretive to our overall
business.
To
be clear, we are just now beginning to re-engage in this process and I am not indicating any transactions are imminent. I just wanted
to let you know we are dusting off the playbook and renewing our focus in this area.
With
that in mind, Where Food Comes From will file a Shelf Registration Statement in the next day or so to better position the Company for
potential M&A activity. Shelf Registrations provide companies with maximum financial flexibility and much quicker time to market
to access capital growth. They are particularly effective in executing opportunistic M&A transactions. Shelf registrations are becoming
more common for companies of all sizes and are considered to be good corporate governance. As an aside, in the first half of 2026 –
once in May and once more in July – we had two occasions where our stock traded over $20 per share. With that in mind, it makes
even more sense to have a shelf that could add value to the company and its stockholders during periods of extreme volatility.
So,
with that, open the call to questions. Operator…
Question
and Answer Session:
Question
#1:
Terry
Thompson, private investor
Congratulations
on another consistent quarter. Did anybody have any idea of what caused those 2 price spikes up to over $20 this last year?
John
Saunders
Co-Founder,
CEO & Executive Chairman
I’ll
let Jay answer that one.
Jay
Pfeiffer
Vice
President of Investor Relations
Yes,
that’s the million-dollar question. And the short answer is no. We’ve worked with NASDAQ and their market surveillance department,
and we’ve talked to investors and unfortunately, we just can’t pinpoint it. It’s somebody that felt from the speculative
side of things, all we can deduce is somebody that felt that they want to own the stock and they’re willing to bid it up to own
it. So that’s the good news. We just don’t know who it is.
Terry
Thompson
Okay.
I kind of figured that would be the answer, but I had to ask. Again, thanks to all and nice to hear from you all.
Question
#2
Chris
Brown
I
really had 2 quick questions. The first one is with respect to the headlines out in the food world with respect to Cyclospora and earlier
the screwworm issue, kind of, what you guys are doing to take advantage of a renewed focus on food safety?
Second
would be if you’d ever consider breaking out the non-beef certification business from the beef to allow investors to understand
a little bit better the growth in the non-beef area and understand how patient we need to be to wait for beef to rebound?
John
Saunders
Co-Founder,
CEO & Executive Chairman
Great
questions, Chris. I’m going to let Leann answer the first one.
Leann
Saunders
Co-Founder,
President, Chief Strategy Officer & Director
Chris,
so I’ll attempt to answer it. We feel like we’ve positioned ourselves as well as we possibly could in the instance of an
animal disease issue like screwworm. I think the challenge with screwworm, in particular, is that it’s caused by flies. So we —
as we talk to people in the industry, it’s hard to electronically identify flies, right? So there’s mitigation things that
are happening with the USDA. But I think where we’ve been well positioned is — we have an ongoing relationship with CattleTrace,
which CattleTrace is a nonprofit organization that’s been really working on voluntary methods of animal identification and traceability.
And we work with them very closely. In fact, we administer their activity.
And
then also just in the world of biosecurity, we’ve been doing biosecurity audits and building out what are called secure beef supply
plans now for a number of years for locations, which is becoming more and more important as you look at state animal health officials
deciding when cattle can and cannot move. And all of our programs on the beef side require an electronic identification means. All of
that becomes part of the solution in the event of an animal disease. So I think we’ve positioned ourselves well to be at the topic
of conversation and have had multiple conversations actually with the USDA on the front — on that front, particularly.
When
it comes to food safety, similarly, across our platforms, across all of our divisions, we — our Validus Verifications division
has a program called Safe Quality Food. And so we are a leader — that division is a leader in SQF audits on farm. And that is becoming
the mechanism for large organizations like a Walmart, for example, that are starting to say they want their supply chains to have those
SQF audits in place, which are food safety protocols.
John
Saunders
Co-Founder,
CEO & Executive Chairman
And
specifically, in the case of Cyclospora, I think what we’ve talked about many times in the past is that we do not verify food safety
relative to specifically a lot of leafy greens and lower-value vegetables, primarily because there is a lot of risk relative to it. And
I think that what we’re seeing right now is obviously something that’s going to impact our business in the sense that there
will continue to be a focus on the food safety issue specifically.
Relative
to the beef question, that’s a great point to mention, Chris, and we’ve talked about the long-term future of the cattle industry
in the U.S. I think one of the things that we believe very strongly, and you’re seeing it with RaiseWell specifically, is our ability
to meet the needs of a company like Whole Foods across all of the proteins that they sell. So the one danger in us divesting of any particular
species or product is our inability to continue to provide that type of full range complementary service to, again, a company like Whole
Foods or Walmart.
Chris
Brown
I
appreciate that. My question is more just breaking out your results from the businesses, but I understand your answer.
John
Saunders
Co-Founder,
CEO & Executive Chairman
Okay.
I didn’t understand that. I’ll — Dan, do you want to take a shot at that one?
Chris
Brown
If
you need me to explain, it’s more just if we can see clearly your growth in some of those other businesses versus your —
what you’ve historically called the cyclical beef business? It might help investors understand all the investments and growth you’re
getting away from beef.
Jay
Pfeiffer
Vice
President of Investor Relations
Yes.
Chris, this is Jay. Sorry, we — everybody misunderstood your question, but I think we’re on it now. But just to clarify,
you’re asking, can we break out what percentage of our revenue is beef versus non-beef-related verification certification activity?
Chris
Brown
Yes,
it’s more just to allow investors to understand these other areas you’ve been investing in away from what’s been a
very cyclical beef category. That’s exactly right. And you guys probably know better than us. So that was more of an open-ended
question for you to consider.
John
Saunders
Co-Founder,
CEO & Executive Chairman
Understood.
Sorry for the misunderstanding. No, that’s a great comment. I think that is — we will definitely take that under consideration.
We can definitely do it. It’s just how we do it. Yes. And just so it’s clear, beef is roughly 50% of our revenue, Chris.
Operator
Ladies
and gentlemen, that concludes our question-and-answer session. I’ll turn the floor back to Mr. Saunders for final comments.
John
Saunders
Co-Founder,
CEO & Executive Chairman
Once
again, thank you all for your time and your commitment. Have a great day, and we’ll talk to you in 3 months.
Operator
This
concludes today’s conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time, and thank you for your participation.