KHC vs LW Stock Comparison

Compare KHC vs LW on performance, valuation, growth, fundamentals, momentum and risk; the current AIQ evidence does not show a clear headline leader.

Market data as of Oct 21, 2026 market close· AIQ score gap 0 points
KHC
Consumer Defensive
vs
LW
Consumer Defensive
KHC
The Kraft Heinz Company
Price
$23.50
Day move
-1.38%
AIQ Score
49/100
Best edge
Quality
Sector
Consumer Defensive
LW
Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc.
Price
$53.11
Day move
-1.25%
AIQ Score
49/100
Best edge
Momentum
Sector
Consumer Defensive

What is the main difference between KHC and LW?

KHC and LW are close on the current AIQ evidence, so the better fit depends more on objective, risk tolerance and valuation preference than on a single headline score.

AlgovestIQ AIQ Comparison

The Kraft Heinz Company vs Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc.

Data as of Oct 21, 2026· market close· Consumer Defensive· Coverage 64/66 fields· High confidence
AIQ VerdictFragileAIQ Comparison Conviction 1/10

KHC and LW are effectively level

KHC and LW are effectively level on the AIQ Score; the factor table below shows where each one holds its advantage.

Evidence agreement: 0 of 6Comparison trend: Weakening
KHC

The Kraft Heinz Company

AIQ Score
49/100
AIQ Edge Score
4/10
LW

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc.

AIQ Score
49/100
AIQ Edge Score
4/10

The Algovestiq AIQ Score does not currently separate KHC and LW as of Oct 21, 2026. Both names are scored on the same 0–100 scale across Quality, Value, Momentum and Risk Resilience, and the factor table below shows where each one holds its advantage.

Compare The Kraft Heinz Company and Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. across the Algovestiq AIQ Score, valuation, quality, momentum, risk, technicals and analyst expectations.

Currently unavailable

Performance over time

Total return with distributions reinvested, from daily closes.

KHC
-15.4%
LW
+1.6%

Total return comparison

Growth of $10,000, distributions reinvested

KHC $8,455 · LW $10,156

Split-adjusted closes; each distribution is reinvested at the close on its ex-dividend date. Taxes and trading costs are not modeled.

Compare KHC and LW against another ticker

Open a multi-ticker workspace without changing this focused pair page.

Basic: 2 symbols·Explorer: 3 symbols·Pro and Premium: 5 symbols·Your limit: 2

AIQ Factor Divergence

Where the two separate, on the four dimensions behind the AIQ Score. Bars read outward from a shared zero: further from the centre is a wider gap.

KHC advantage
0
LW advantage
  • Momentum53 vs 82
    LW +29
  • Quality37 vs 25
    KHC +12
  • Risk Resilience45 vs 36
    KHC +9
  • Value60 vs 52
    KHC +8

Neither name separates cleanly on the covered dimensions.

What changed since the last close

Latest scored session 2026-10-20, compared against the prior scored session 2026-10-19.

KHC+3 AIQ

Largest factor move: Momentum +13

No signal started or stopped since the prior session; its 3 active signals are unchanged.

LW0 AIQ

Largest factor move: Risk Resilience +1, not enough on its own to move the overall score.

No signal started or stopped since the prior session; its 7 active signals are unchanged.

LW's lead narrowed by 3 AIQ points in the latest session.

Deeper signal detail for each name lives on its own signals page — KHC and LW both carry a full feed there.

Which one fits your objective

The same two names rank differently depending on what you are optimizing for. All six reads are shown at once — none of them is hidden behind a toggle.

Balanced

Even

Neither separates on the overall score.

Growth

Even

Growth figures are not covered for both names.

Value

KHC

KHC on the peer-relative Value factor, by 8 points.

Momentum

LW

LW on the Momentum factor, by 29 points.

Lower downside

KHC

KHC on Risk Resilience, by 9 points.

Analyst upside

KHC

KHC on implied upside to the consensus price target.

AIQ vs Wall Street

Where the systematic read and the analyst consensus line up — and where they do not.

MeasureKHCLWNote
Implied upside to target+2.6%+1.4%KHC has more room
Target dispersion+45.6%+18.6%Lower is tighter analyst agreement
ConsensusHoldBuyContext, not a primary driver
Analysts covering87Higher coverage generally improves confidence

Analyst targets are expectations, not predictions. Dispersion matters as much as the midpoint.

Dividend growth

KHC vs LW: regular dividend growth
Dividend metricKHCLW
5Y dividend CAGR0.00%9.98%
2020 regular DPS$1.600$0.920
2025 regular DPS$1.600$1.480
Years increased05
No cut in windowYesYes
Cohort rank#349#104

LW grew its split-adjusted regular dividend faster over 2020–2025 — 9.98% a year against KHC's 0.00%. Neither company reduced its regular dividend in any year of the window.

Yield and payout ratio shown elsewhere on this page are current values, not part of the study window.

Split-adjusted regular dividends per share, 2020–2025, excluding special dividends. Research as of Sep 19, 2026.

AIQ Agreement Matrix

How each independent group of evidence reads the pair.

Evidence groupFavorsReading
AIQ ScoreEven49 vs 49
FundamentalsLWon balanceTTM ROE -8.4% vs 16.1%; gross margin 32.8% vs 20.6%; operating margin -13% vs 8.9% — LW takes 2 of 3 decided legs, not all of them
ValuationKHCValue 60 vs 52
TechnicalsLWPrice vs 50-day -2.8% vs 6.7%; vs 200-day -0.1% vs 16.6%
Risk ResilienceKHCRisk Resilience 45 vs 36
Analyst expectationsKHCTarget upside 2.6% vs 1.4%

AIQ Decision Stability

Fragile

The conclusion is sensitive to small changes. Treat the lead as provisional and watch the flip conditions below.

  • The AIQ gap is narrow at 0 points. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
  • Only 0 of 6 covered evidence groups agree. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
  • The leader's advantage has been narrowing. (argues the conclusion is provisional)

How the comparison changed

120 daily snapshots · Jun 21 – Oct 20

KHC lead: Weakening — the AIQ differential moved from 7 to 0 points over 30 sessions.

Jun 21KHC leads above the line · LW leads belowOct 20
Today
Level
49 vs 49
7 sessions ago
LW +3
46 vs 49
30 sessions ago
KHC +7
43 vs 36
90 sessions ago
Level
43 vs 43

The lead changed hands 5 times in this window, most recently on Oct 12 when LW moved ahead of KHC.

AIQ Signal Divergence

Only the signals that bear on the head-to-head. A conflicted name is carrying bullish and bearish rules at the same time — the technical evidence is not pointing one way.

KHC

2 bullish / 0 bearish / 1 neutral

Only KHC

  • Bollinger Band Squeeze — neutral, volatility, short horizon
LWConflicted

5 bullish / 1 bearish / 1 neutral, conflicted

Only LW

  • ATR Expansion - Breakout Mode — neutral, volatility, short horizon (3.56%)
  • Keltner Channel Breakout — bullish, volatility, short horizon
  • RSI Overbought — bearish, momentum, short horizon
  • EMA Ribbon Expansion Bullish — bullish, trend, medium horizon
  • Uptrend Structure Active — bullish, trend, long horizon

Both carry 2 more signals that do not separate them: Golden Cross Active, MACD Bullish Crossover.

Price vs model alignment

Whether the latest session's price move confirms what the model did over the same session, or contradicts it.

KHCDivergence

Price is down while the AIQ Score moved up 3 points over the same session — price and model disagree (price -1.38%, AIQ +3 points).

LWNo material change

Neither the price nor the AIQ Score moved enough in the latest session to confirm or contradict the other (price -1.25%, AIQ 0 points).

The full evidence

Every number behind the verdict. The leader is called above each group so you are not left to solve it from the table.

Fundamentals

LW leads on balance
MetricKHCLW
Revenue growth (YoY)3.6%—
EPS growth (YoY)-7.9%—
Gross margin32.8%20.6%
Operating margin-13%8.9%
Return on equity (TTM)-8.4%16.1%
Debt to equity0.532.16

Performance

LW leads 4 of 6 windows
MetricKHCLW
1 week (5 sessions)6.2%3.5%
1 month (20 sessions)-0.7%16%
3 months (63 sessions)-8.2%12%
6 months (126 sessions)8.4%20.1%
Year to date-1.7%28.4%
1 year (252 sessions)-5.2%-17.2%

Technicals

LW has the stronger structure
MetricKHCLW
RSI (14)62.583.9
ADX (14)29.535.4
Price vs 50-day-2.8%6.7%
Price vs 200-day-0.1%16.6%
Volatility (1M, annualized)25.3%48.6%

Risk

KHC is the more resilient
MetricKHCLW
Beta-0.050.26
Sharpe ratio-0.27-0.31
Sortino ratio-0.41-0.33
Max drawdown-20.9%-42%
Current drawdown-13.7%-19%
Annualized volatility26.9%42.5%
Value at risk (95%)-3%-3.1%

Straight answers

Each answer is regenerated from the current snapshot, not written once and left to age.

Which has more analyst upside, KHC or LW?

Analyst price targets imply +2.6% upside for KHC and +1.4% for LW, so the Street currently favors KHC. Analyst targets are expectations, not predictions, and dispersion matters as much as the midpoint.

Which is better value, KHC or LW?

KHC is the better-valued of the two on the peer-relative Value factor. KHC on the peer-relative Value factor, by 8 points. The Value factor reads valuation relative to sector peers and to the company's own fundamental quality, so it is not the same as simply having the lower multiple.

Which has stronger growth, KHC or LW?

Growth figures are not covered for both names. Growth here is measured on reported revenue and earnings, not on forward estimates — it describes what the businesses have delivered, not what the Street expects next.

Which has stronger momentum, KHC or LW?

LW on the Momentum factor, by 29 points. Momentum is one of the four weighted factors in the AIQ composite. It has documented persistence over three- to twelve-month horizons, which makes it a timing input rather than a reason to hold something indefinitely.

Which is riskier, KHC or LW?

KHC is the more resilient of the two, so the other name carries the higher downside risk. KHC on Risk Resilience, by 9 points. Risk Resilience is a weighted factor in the composite; position sizing usually responds to it more usefully than the buy/avoid decision does.

Is KHC more profitable than LW?

The profitability evidence is mixed: gross margin 32.8% vs 20.6%; operating margin -13% vs 8.9%; ttm roe -8.4% vs 16.1%. KHC leads on one measure and LW on two measures, and there is no single profitability composite that resolves the split — which of the two reads as "more profitable" depends on whether you weight pricing power or operating leverage.

What do the current signals say about KHC and LW?

KHC: 2 bullish / 0 bearish / 1 neutral. LW: 5 bullish / 1 bearish / 1 neutral, conflicted. A conflicted state means bullish and bearish rules are active on the same name at once — the technical evidence is not pointing one way, and a decision taken on it carries more timing risk. The most decision-relevant rule on KHC is Golden Cross Active (bullish, long horizon). On LW it is Golden Cross Active (bullish, long horizon).

Compare KHC and LW with others

Continue your research

This page answers which of the two. These answer the questions on either side of it.

How this comparison is scored

The Algovestiq AIQ Score composites four factors — Quality, Value, Momentum and Risk, each carrying a fixed weight. Sentiment is reported separately as SentimentPulse and is not folded into the composite. Scores refresh every trading day, and this page regenerates from the latest snapshot rather than being written once.

The verdict names a leader, states how broadly six independent evidence groups agree, and rates how durable that conclusion is given the score gap, its recent trajectory and the current signal state on both names.

How to use side-by-side comparison →

This comparison is informational and educational, not investment advice. AIQ scores update daily; re-check after earnings, guidance or macro data that materially changes either name’s factor profile.