Key Takeaways
- • Cal-Maine Foods, Hickman's Egg Ranch, and Versova settle DOJ antitrust investigation into alleged price-fixing through use of Expana (formerly Urner Barry) benchmarking service, with combined civil penalties of $3.3 million and donation of 53 million eggs to food banks and nonprofits.
- • Settlement requires defendants to cease exchanging prices and competitively sensitive information, addressing core allegation that producers coordinated pricing through industry data service during period of record egg prices in early 2025.
- • Investigation spanned 15 months and involved DOJ plus bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general; settlement expected to be filed in Iowa federal court and requires judicial approval before becoming final.
- • Cal-Maine's separate $1.5 million settlement with 17 states' attorneys general also includes donation of 30 million eggs; company denies wrongdoing in both agreements.
- • Probe followed unprecedented egg price spike (reaching $6.22 per dozen in early 2025 due to avian flu) and subsequent 65% price decline to $2.19 per dozen by May 2026, though timing suggests investigation was initiated before peak volatility.
Summary
Cal-Maine Foods Inc., alongside Hickman's Egg Ranch Inc. and Versova, has reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice and a coalition of state attorneys general to resolve a 15-month antitrust investigation into alleged price coordination in the egg industry. The settlement requires the three companies to pay $3.3 million in combined civil penalties and donate 53 million eggs to food banks and nonprofit organizations. As a separate matter, Cal-Maine agreed to a distinct settlement with 17 states' attorneys general involving a $1.5 million payment and donation of 30 million eggs.
The investigation centered on alleged illegal price coordination facilitated through Expana, an industry benchmarking service formerly known as Urner Barry, which provides pricing data to market participants. According to sources familiar with the matter, producers used this service to exchange prices and other competitively sensitive information in violation of antitrust law. The settlement requires all defendants to cease such information sharing going forward. Both Cal-Maine and the other defendants have denied wrongdoing while agreeing to the settlement terms.
The probe was catalyzed by record-breaking egg prices in early 2025, when the average price of a dozen eggs reached $6.22 due to widespread avian flu outbreaks that forced farmers to slaughter millions of egg-laying hens. Prices have since declined sharply, falling to $2.19 per dozen by May 2026—a nearly 65% drop according to USDA data. The timing of the investigation's launch slightly over a year prior suggests the DOJ and states initiated scrutiny during the period of acute market volatility.
The settlement is expected to be filed in Iowa federal court imminently and requires judicial approval before becoming final. Additional complexity may arise, as Cal-Maine disclosed separate investigations by Washington state and New York, which could potentially result in separate lawsuits or settlements. The case represents a significant enforcement action by the Trump administration's Antitrust Division targeting alleged coordination in a commodity market characterized by supply shocks and price volatility.
The investigation centered on alleged illegal price coordination facilitated through Expana, an industry benchmarking service formerly known as Urner Barry, which provides pricing data to market participants. According to sources familiar with the matter, producers used this service to exchange prices and other competitively sensitive information in violation of antitrust law. The settlement requires all defendants to cease such information sharing going forward. Both Cal-Maine and the other defendants have denied wrongdoing while agreeing to the settlement terms.
The probe was catalyzed by record-breaking egg prices in early 2025, when the average price of a dozen eggs reached $6.22 due to widespread avian flu outbreaks that forced farmers to slaughter millions of egg-laying hens. Prices have since declined sharply, falling to $2.19 per dozen by May 2026—a nearly 65% drop according to USDA data. The timing of the investigation's launch slightly over a year prior suggests the DOJ and states initiated scrutiny during the period of acute market volatility.
The settlement is expected to be filed in Iowa federal court imminently and requires judicial approval before becoming final. Additional complexity may arise, as Cal-Maine disclosed separate investigations by Washington state and New York, which could potentially result in separate lawsuits or settlements. The case represents a significant enforcement action by the Trump administration's Antitrust Division targeting alleged coordination in a commodity market characterized by supply shocks and price volatility.
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