Limoneira
Through the investors’ lenses
Each of these investors has said in public what they look at before buying. Click a name to see how this company measures up — a tick where it passes one of their tests, a cross where it does not.
Warren Buffett 1/4
| Measure | LMNR | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner earnings | $-20.31m | positive | ✗ |
| Return on equity | -8.9% | median 11.7% | ✗ |
| Debt to equity | 0.40x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
| Operating margin | -13.3% | median 15.0% | ✗ |
Passes 1 of 4. To be clear: Warren Buffett has never said anything about Limoneira. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Terry Smith 1/3
| Measure | LMNR | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on capital employed | -8.1% | median 10.1% | ✗ |
| Cash conversion | — | median 1.78x | — |
| Operating margin | -13.3% | median 15.0% | ✗ |
| Debt to equity | 0.40x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
Passes 1 of 3. To be clear: Terry Smith has never said anything about Limoneira. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Charlie Munger 0/3
| Measure | LMNR | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on capital employed | -8.1% | median 10.1% | ✗ |
| Return on equity | -8.9% | median 11.7% | ✗ |
| Operating margin | -13.3% | median 15.0% | ✗ |
Passes 0 of 3. To be clear: Charlie Munger has never said anything about Limoneira. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Chuck Akre 1/3
| Measure | LMNR | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | -8.9% | median 11.7% | ✗ |
| Debt to equity | 0.40x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
| Cash conversion | — | median 1.78x | — |
| Return on equity, sustained | 0 of 10 | 8 of 10 above median | ✗ |
Passes 1 of 3. To be clear: Chuck Akre has never said anything about Limoneira. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Philip Fisher 0/4
| Measure | LMNR | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | -13.3% | median 15.0% | ✗ |
| Net margin | -10.4% | median 10.2% | ✗ |
| Return on capital employed | -8.1% | median 10.1% | ✗ |
| Operating margin, held or improving | -13.3% | 10-yr median -3.3% | ✗ |
Passes 0 of 4. To be clear: Philip Fisher has never said anything about Limoneira. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Walter Schloss 2/2
| Measure | LMNR | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current ratio | 1.35x | median 1.25x | ✓ |
| Debt to equity | 0.40x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
Passes 2 of 2. To be clear: Walter Schloss has never said anything about Limoneira. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Benjamin Graham 0/3
| Measure | LMNR | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current ratio | 1.35x | 2.00x published | ✗ |
| Long-term debt to working capital | 6.97x | 1.00x published | ✗ |
| Positive earnings, ten years running | 0 yrs | 10 published | ✗ |
Passes 0 of 3. To be clear: Benjamin Graham has never said anything about Limoneira. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Joel Greenblatt 0/1
| Measure | LMNR | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return on capital employed | -8.1% | median 10.1% | ✗ |
Passes 0 of 1. To be clear: Joel Greenblatt has never said anything about Limoneira. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
Peter Lynch 1/2
| Measure | LMNR | Checked against | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debt to equity | 0.40x | median 0.79x | ✓ |
| Net margin | -10.4% | median 10.2% | ✗ |
Passes 1 of 2. To be clear: Peter Lynch has never said anything about Limoneira. These are the company’s own figures put through the tests he described. What he looks at, and why →
| Basis | Payout | Why |
|---|---|---|
| GAAP earnings | negative | whyLost $0.930 per share — no earnings to pay from. |
| Operating cash flow | negative | whyOperations consumed $6.01m of cash. |
| Free cash flow | negative | whyOCF fell $19.5m short of capex — the dividend was not funded from free cash flow. |
Nothing is marked as applying, deliberately — no basis produces a ratio. Earnings, operating cash flow and free cash flow are all negative, so there is no denominator to divide the dividend by. That is not a gap in the data; it is the answer. The dividend was funded from something other than the money the business made this year — borrowing, cash on hand, or asset sales — and the filing will say which.
Coverage rating 69 / 100 — Adequate. ? Peer standing 26/50Direction 30/30Stability 12/20
Free cash flow payout, last 5 years
| Fiscal year | Payout |
|---|---|
| 2024-10-31 | 64.1% |
| 2022-10-31 | 111.6% |
| 2018-10-31 | 89.0% |
| 2017-10-31 | 56.5% |
| 2010-10-31 | 90.5% |
53% of the 38 consumer staples here pay out more.
The arithmetic
- GAAP earnings — dividends declared per share $0.300 ÷ diluted EPS $-0.930
- Operating cash flow — dividends paid $5.41m ÷ operating cash flow $-6.01m
- Free cash flow — dividends paid $5.41m ÷ (operating cash flow $-6.01m − capex $13.5m)
Where the figures came from
- 10-K filed 2025-12-23 · accession 0001342423-25-000039
All public at sec.gov — you should not have to take our word for it.
Computed straight from SEC XBRL. A number that looks wrong to you is more useful to us than agreement — tell us.
Also on: rated adequate · when it files.
When this changes
Every figure above is recomputed whenever Limoneira files. The monthly letter carries what filed, what moved, and one finding computed across every company here.