Chefs' Warehouse Raises 2026 Outlook After Third-Quarter Profit Climbs To $29.6 Million
The specialty food distributor lifted sales, gross profit and adjusted EBITDA targets as third-quarter sales rose 11.2% to $1.14 billion.
Chefs' Warehouse, which distributes specialty food and center-of-the-plate products to restaurants, hotels and other food-service customers, raised its full-year 2026 guidance on Wednesday after third-quarter net sales rose 11.2% to $1.14 billion, the company said in an earnings release filed with the SEC. Net income climbed to $29.6 million, or $0.67 per diluted share, from $19.1 million, or $0.44, a year earlier.
Volume did most of the work
Organic sales grew $105.4 million, or 10.3%, while acquisitions added $8.7 million, or 0.9%. Organic case count in the specialty category rose about 6.1%, with unique customers up 4.4% and unique item placements up 7.2%. Organic pounds sold in center-of-the-plate products, such as custom cut meats, rose about 6.6%.
Gross profit increased 15.0% to $284.3 million from $247.2 million, which the company attributed mainly to higher volumes, price inflation and acquisitions. Gross margin widened about 84 basis points to 25.0%: up 63 basis points in specialty and 137 in center-of-the-plate.
Selling, general and administrative costs rose about 12.1% to $233.4 million, driven by compensation, facilities, distribution, fuel and depreciation. Operating income reached $51.5 million from $38.9 million. Adjusted EBITDA, a measure that strips out items such as stock compensation, rose to $82.2 million from $65.1 million, and adjusted earnings were $0.66 per share against $0.50.
A higher bar for the year
Chefs' Warehouse now guides to fiscal 2026 net sales of $4.56 billion to $4.61 billion, gross profit of $1.130 billion to $1.140 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $317 million to $321 million.
For the first 39 weeks, net cash from operating activities was $141.1 million, up from $55.4 million a year earlier. Cash stood at $164.7 million on September 25, against $121.0 million at the end of 2025.
Holiday season and the Middle East
Chairman and CEO Christopher Pappas said "Momentum continued into October," as the company heads into the busy holiday season. Of its Middle East operations, which "continue to operate effectively in a challenging environment," he said revenue trends in recent weeks have been "approximately 100% of prior-year," with food-away-from-home activity supported by local residents and expatriates returning from the summer off-season.
The company serves more than 55,000 customer locations in the United States, the Middle East and Canada, selling more than 90,000 products. Management hosted a call at 8:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday to discuss the results.
The raised outlook puts the company's full-year adjusted EBITDA target at $317 million to $321 million, against $230.4 million earned in the first 39 weeks.
Sources
- 8-K Filing — Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. (CHEF) — SEC EDGAR
- Exhibit pressreleaseex99109252026.htm — Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. 8-K exhibit — SEC EDGAR
- What to Expect From The Chefs' Warehouse Q3 Earnings Release? — Yahoo Finance
- Chefs’ Warehouse drops despite Q3 earnings, sales beats (CHEF:NASDAQ) | Seeking Alpha — seekingalpha.com
- The Chefs’ Warehouse Reports Third Quarter 2026 Financial — globenewswire.com
