Coffee Holding Co Inc (JVA)

Coffee Holding Co Inc (JVA) is a micro-cap coffee roaster and wholesaler listed on NASDAQ, with a market cap of roughly $19.6 million — making it one of the smallest and most illiquid names you'll find in the U.S. consumer defensive sector. The company is still run by the Gordon family — Andrew Gordon serves as CEO and CFO, while his brother David Gordon is EVP of Operations, a combination that has been with the company for roughly 32 years.

JVA operates as a single reportable segment, even though the underlying business actually spans three product lines that share the same customers, manufacturing facilities, and sales channels:

• Wholesale Green Coffee — unroasted beans sold to roasters and coffee shops
• Private Label — roast-and-ground coffee for supermarkets under retailer-owned brands
• Branded — eight proprietary brands including Café Caribe and Organic Products Trading Co

Because all three lines are lumped into one reportable segment, you won't find a separate profit-and-loss breakdown by product line in the company's filings — a real transparency limitation worth flagging, especially when trying to gauge the true margin profile of each business line.

JVA's fiscal year ends October 31. In October 2025, the company closed its Comfort Foods facility in North Andover, Massachusetts (acquired in 2017), as sales of the Harmony Bay brand and other regional labels kept declining amid retailers shifting toward national brands. The closure is expected to save $750K-$1.0 million annually, with production consolidated into the Second Empire (Empire Coffee) facility in Port Chester, New York — acquired in November 2024 for $800K — targeting roughly $700K in annual synergies. In December 2025, JVA also took a passive $850K minority stake in The Ryl Company LLC.

Shariah status: NON-COMPLIANT. JVA uses a conventional interest-bearing revolving credit facility (with Webster Bank), which is most likely the primary driver of its non-compliant status. For investors seeking Shariah-compliant equities, JVA is not a suitable pick.

For the nine months ended July 31, 2026, JVA's net sales were nearly flat at $69.38 million (up slightly from $68.54 million), but gross profit jumped to $15.04 million from $11.09 million — a meaningful margin improvement. Nine-month net income was $3.90 million ($0.68 per share) versus just $0.59 million ($0.10 per share) a year earlier.

On the balance sheet as of July 31, 2026, cash rose to $2.92 million (from $0.70 million), while the drawn line of credit fell sharply to $2.15 million (from $6.05 million) — a sign the company is relying less on short-term financing. Total stockholders' equity also rose, to $31.02 million (from $27.58 million).

JVA pays an annual cash dividend of $0.08 per share (last paid February 26, 2026 to shareholders of record as of February 10, 2026). At the current price of around $3.85, this works out to a gross dividend yield of roughly 2.1%.