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

Chefs’ Warehouse (NASDAQ:CHEF) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.07, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

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 Price Performance

Chefs’ Warehouse stock traded up $1.15 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $110.14. The stock had a trading volume of 206,762 shares, compared to its average volume of 539,471. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.15. Chefs’ Warehouse has a 12 month low of $56.46 and a 12 month high of $118.51.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Christopher Pappas sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.11, for a total transaction of $11,011,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,105,480 shares in the company, valued at $231,834,402.80. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Christina Polychroni sold 2,752 shares of Chefs’ Warehouse stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total transaction of $308,224.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,014 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,465,568. This trade represents a 11.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 137,752 shares of company stock valued at $15,203,174 in the last 90 days. 11.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Chefs’ Warehouse from $104.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Zacks Research downgraded Chefs’ Warehouse from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 18th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Chefs’ Warehouse from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Finally, BTIG Research increased their target price on Chefs’ Warehouse from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Chefs’ Warehouse currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $118.33.

Chefs’ Warehouse Company Profile

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.