Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.07, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. Chefs’ Warehouse had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 17.48%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share.

Here are the key takeaways from Chefs’ Warehouse’s conference call:

• Strong third-quarter growth: Net sales rose 11.2% to $1.135 billion, organic sales increased 10.3%, and adjusted EBITDA grew 26% to $82.2 million. Gross margin expanded 84 basis points to 25%, supported by favorable product mix, pricing, procurement, and operational execution.
• Management reported continued momentum into October, with double-digit growth, increasing unique customers and item placements, and strong demand for private, corporate, and holiday events. The company raised full-year 2026 guidance to $4.56-$4.61 billion in sales and $317-$321 million in adjusted EBITDA.
• Management expects further margin and efficiency opportunities from facility expansion and consolidation, greater procurement scale, digital tools, and AI-enabled pricing and sales processes. These initiatives are viewed as potential upside to the company’s 2030 targets, although no major AI benefits are included in current forecasts.
• The company completed a refinancing involving a new $675 million seven-year term loan and settlement of its convertible notes, including approximately 2.7 million shares issued to noteholders. Fourth-quarter interest expense is expected at $15.5-$17.5 million, including about $2.7 million of one-time refinancing costs.
• Higher fuel, freight, compensation, facilities, distribution, and depreciation costs are pressuring operating expenses, while management remains cautious about Middle East conditions and December tourism trends. Year-end net debt is expected to rise to $550-$600 million, with leverage increasing to approximately 1.7-2.0 times adjusted EBITDA.

Chefs’ Warehouse Stock Performance

Shares of Chefs’ Warehouse stock opened at $101.56 on Friday. Chefs’ Warehouse has a 52 week low of $56.46 and a 52 week high of $118.51. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $110.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $86.59. The firm has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a PE ratio of 43.59 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Alexandros Aldous sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.97, for a total transaction of $3,883,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 34,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,822,028.74. This trade represents a 50.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christina Polychroni sold 2,752 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total transaction of $308,224.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 22,014 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,465,568. This trade represents a 11.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 137,752 shares of company stock valued at $15,203,174. 11.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on CHEF. BTIG Research upped their price objective on Chefs’ Warehouse from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $120.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Zacks Research downgraded Chefs’ Warehouse from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.17.

About Chefs’ Warehouse

Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc is a specialty food distributor serving professional chefs, restaurants, hotels, caterers, culinary institutions and other foodservice customers. The company supplies a broad range of products, including fresh produce, seafood, meat, poultry, dairy, specialty and imported foods, center-of-the-plate items, dry goods, and other ingredients used in commercial kitchens.

Founded in 1985, Chefs’ Warehouse has expanded from a regional distributor into a North American foodservice platform.