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Cal-Maine Foods Investigated by DOJ Over Egg Prices

April 10, 2025

Despite reported shortages due to bird flu, the country’s biggest egg producer sold more eggs than it ever had before. Bigger profits too.

Dave Fusaro

Cal-Maine Foods, the country’s largest egg producer, reported it’s being investigated by the Antitrust Div. of the U.S. Dept. of Justice over the sky-high price of eggs earlier this year.

“In March 2025, the company received a civil investigative demand from the Department of Justice in connection with an antitrust investigation to determine whether there is, has been or maybe a violation of the antitrust laws by anticompetitive conduct by and among egg producers,” Cal-Maine said in its recent third-quarter financial report.

“The company is cooperating with the investigation. Management cannot predict the eventual scope, duration or outcome of this investigation and is unable to estimate the amount or range of potential losses, if any, at this time,” the statement concluded.

Egg prices reached record highs in March of this year, when the average cost of a dozen eggs hit $6.23, up from $5.90 in February. The highest price recorded was $8.17 per dozen, according to EggPrices.org. They’ve come down considerably since, dipping to $3.24 a dozen currently.

In that third-quarter report (ending March 1), which we reported Tueday (April 8), Cal-Maine reported sales of $1.4 billion – double what it did a year earlier – and net income of $508.5 million – 3.5 times the previous year – or $10.38 per diluted share. Despite national shortages, presumably caused by avian influenza (bird flu), Cal-Maine sold 30 million more dozens of eggs (331 million dozens) in the quarter than it had the year before.

Through nine months, company sales are nearly $3.2 billion, nearly double the figure in three quarters of FY2024. Net income for nine months is $877.5 million, more than five times the net of last year.

About the Author

Dave Fusaro | Editor in Chief

Dave Fusaro has served as editor in chief of Food Processing magazine since 2003. Dave has 30 years experience in food & beverage industry journalism and has won several national ASBPE writing awards for his Food Processing stories. Dave has been interviewed on CNN, quoted in national newspapers and he authored a 200-page market research report on the milk industry. Formerly an award-winning newspaper reporter who specialized in business writing, he holds a BA in journalism from Marquette University. Prior to joining Food Processing, Dave was Editor-In-Chief of Dairy Foods and was Managing Editor of Prepared Foods.