The Justice Department and attorneys general from 17 states filed a civil antitrust lawsuit Tuesday accusing three of the nation's largest egg producers of coordinating to inflate egg prices and announced proposed settlements intended to prevent similar conduct in the future.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, alleges Cal-Maine Foods, Hickman's Egg Ranch, and Versova coordinated from 2022 through 2025 to manipulate benchmark egg prices by inflating daily quotations published by Urner Barry, a market reporting company whose prices influence egg sales nationwide.
"No product more quintessentially represents affordability than the price Americans pay for eggs," Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said.
"These actions prove this Department's continued commitment to protecting competition and providing real relief for everyday Americans' pocketbooks," he added.
According to the complaint, executives exchanged phone calls and text messages encouraging one another to push prices higher by posting "strong bids, early and often."
An executive at an egg cooperative allegedly remarked the group should "bid like they vote in Chicago, early and often."
Federal antitrust enforcers allege the companies agreed to submit large numbers of bids, coordinate the timing of those bids and execute trades at premium prices to influence Urner Barry's benchmark quotations, which affect the wholesale prices paid by grocery stores, restaurants, and other buyers across the country.
The complaint also alleges benchmark prices "dropped significantly" after the companies learned of the Justice Department's investigation and were instructed to preserve documents in March 2025.
"Food affordability is a top priority of the Antitrust Division," former Acting Assistant Attorney General Omeed A. Assefi said.
"These settlements resolve years of conduct that dragged on Americans' finances and their everyday lives," said Assefi.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole Sarrine said the Antitrust Division "is steadfast in our work to protect our nation's citizens from illegal conduct that makes daily life less affordable," adding, "We are proud that these settlements will keep egg prices competitive and keep money in the hands of consumers across the country."
If approved by the court, the settlements would bar the companies from communicating with competitors about bidding strategies, pricing, and supply and demand information intended to influence benchmark publications or coordinating bids and transactions.
The agreements also require antitrust compliance programs, compliance officers, and oversight of cooperative meetings.
Cal-Maine, the country's largest egg producer, denied wrongdoing.
The company said communications cited by the Justice Department involved a former employee, did not affect egg prices, and that its conduct was lawful and in the best interests of the market.
"The period reviewed by the DOJ was a particularly challenging time," Cal-Maine CEO Sherman Miller said in a statement to The Wall Street Journal.