The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. CHEF reported second-quarter 2026 results, wherein both earnings and sales surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate and increased from the year-ago quarter.
Adjusted earnings of 78 cents per share beat the consensus estimate of 64 cents by 21.9% and rose 50% year over year. Net sales increased 12.9% to $1,168.6 million, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1,133 million by 3.1%.
The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. Quote
CHEF’s Quarterly Performance: Key Insights
Organic sales rose 12.2% from the prior-year quarter. Acquisitions contributed $7.6 million, representing growth of 0.7%.
The strong organic performance reflected growth across the specialty and center-of-the-plate categories. Management attributed the results to greater product penetration, increased case volumes and expansion in the number of unique customers.
Organic case count in the specialty category increased approximately 6% year over year. Unique customers rose 3.6%, while product placements advanced 7.2%, indicating higher sales across a broader customer base. Organic pounds sold in the center-of-the-plate category increased approximately 8.8% from the year-ago period. Management stated that its regional teams delivered solid execution across markets and product categories.
The company’s Middle East operations improved gradually during the quarter. Operations in the region ran at approximately 94% of the prior-year level during May and June, with that trend remaining relatively steady in recent weeks.
Chefs’ Warehouse Keeps Costs Under Control
Gross profit advanced 15.2% year over year to $292.9 million, driven by higher sales volumes, price inflation and contributions from acquisitions. Gross margin expanded 49 basis points to 25.1%. The specialty-category gross margin improved 47 basis points, while the center-of-the-plate category recorded a 75-basis-point increase.
The improvement in gross margin, along with double-digit sales growth, supported stronger operating profitability. Higher gross profit more than offset the increase in operating expenses during the quarter.
The Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) company’s selling, general and administrative expenses increased 9.6% year over year to $234.2 million. The increase primarily reflected higher compensation and benefit costs, as well as additional facilities and distribution expenses to support sales growth. However, SG&A expenses declined to 20% of net sales from 20.7% in the prior-year quarter, as sales grew faster than costs.
Operating income jumped to $58.6 million from $40.2 million a year ago. Operating margin expanded to 5.1% from 3.9%, reflecting higher gross profit and improved expense leverage. Adjusted EBITDA increased 34.6% year over year to $88.1 million from $65.4 million.
CHEF’s Financial Snapshot & Guidance
CHEF ended the second quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $135.5 million, long-term debt (excluding the current portion) of $693.7 million and stockholders’ equity of $648.2 million.
For the first half of 2026, net cash provided by operating activities was $96.7 million, and capital expenditures totaled $16.9 million.
For 2026, management expects net sales in the range of $4.5-$4.6 billion. Gross profit is projected between $1.102 billion and $1.125 billion. Adjusted EBITDA is anticipated in the range of $305-$315 million.
Shares of CHEF have surged 67.9% over the past six months against the industry’s decline of 1.8%.
Better-Ranked Stocks to Consider
United Natural Foods, Inc. UNFI distributes natural, organic, specialty, produce and conventional grocery and non-food products in the United States and Canada. At present, United Natural sports a Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here
The consensus estimate for United Natural’s current fiscal-year earnings per share (EPS) stands at $2.52, which implies substantial growth from the year-ago period’s earnings of 71 cents. UNFI delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 29.9%, on average.
US Foods Holding Corp. USFD engages in the marketing, sale and distribution of fresh, frozen and dry food and non-food products to foodservice customers in the United States. USFD currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). US Foods Holding delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 1.4%, on average.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for US Foods Holding’s current fiscal-year sales and earnings implies growth of 5.1% and 16.3%, respectively, from the year-ago figures.
The Vita Coco Company, Inc. COCO, a leading beverage company that develops, markets and distributes coconut water and other plant-based beverages, currently sports a Zacks Rank #1. COCO delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 21.9%, on average.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for The Vita Coco Company’s current fiscal-year sales and earnings implies growth of 31.6% and 64.7%, respectively, from the year-ago figures.
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The Chefs’ Warehouse, Inc. (CHEF) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
