18. Net Income Per Share

Basic and diluted net income per share attributable to the Company’s common stockholders were calculated as follows:

 

 

Fiscal Year Ended

 

 

 

December 28,
2025

 

 

December 29,
2024

 

 

December 31,
2023

 

Numerator:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net income

 

$

66,282

 

 

$

53,388

 

 

$

25,566

 

Denominator:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weighted average common shares outstanding — basic

 

 

44,587,030

 

 

 

42,849,660

 

 

 

41,192,544

 

Weighted average effect of potentially dilutive securities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Effect of potentially dilutive stock options

 

 

752,018

 

 

 

1,753,780

 

 

 

1,994,774

 

Effect of potentially dilutive RSUs

 

 

312,550

 

 

 

353,040

 

 

 

107,577

 

Effect of potentially dilutive PSUs

 

 

343,830

 

 

 

156,719

 

 

 

 

Effect of potentially dilutive common stock issuable pursuant to the ESPP

 

 

24,179

 

 

 

13,929

 

 

 

17,941

 

Weighted average common shares outstanding — diluted

 

 

46,019,607

 

 

 

45,127,128

 

 

 

43,312,836

 

Net income per share attributable to Vital Farms, Inc. stockholders

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic

 

$

1.49

 

 

$

1.25

 

 

$

0.62

 

Diluted

 

$

1.44

 

 

$

1.18

 

 

$

0.59

 

The Company excluded the following shares of common stock, outstanding at each period end, from the computation of diluted net income per share attributable to Vital Farms, Inc. common stockholders for the periods indicated because including them would have had an anti-dilutive effect:

 

 

Fiscal Year Ended

 

 

 

December 28,
2025

 

 

December 29,
2024

 

 

December 31,
2023

 

Options to purchase common stock

 

 

 

 

 

422

 

 

 

15,429

 

Unvested RSUs

 

 

431

 

 

 

4,318

 

 

 

8,362

 

Unvested PSUs

 

 

185

 

 

 

2,209

 

 

 

 

 

 

616

 

 

 

6,949

 

 

 

23,791

 

About Earnings Per Share Disclosures

The earnings per share disclosure breaks down the calculation from net income to both basic and diluted EPS, revealing the full impact of a company's capital structure on per-share economics. The reconciliation between basic and diluted share counts exposes how many stock options, RSUs, convertible securities, and warrants are potentially dilutive to existing shareholders.

Key signals: a widening gap between basic and diluted shares indicates growing dilution from equity compensation or convertible instruments. Anti-dilutive securities excluded from the diluted calculation deserve attention — they represent latent dilution that will materialize if the stock price rises. Watch for the effect of share buybacks on per-share metrics: EPS growth driven primarily by repurchases rather than income growth signals weakening fundamentals. Compare year-over-year changes in the diluted share count against equity compensation expense to assess whether management is effectively managing dilution.