Sysco Stock Plunges 7%, Wiping Out $3 Billion, After Trimming Its Sales Forecast
The food distributor held its profit target but guided sales growth to the low end of its 6%-7% range as industry inflation cooled.
Sysco, the Houston-based foodservice distributor, saw its shares fall 7.43% to $75.67 in Tuesday trading, as of 11:15 a.m. ET, erasing about $3 billion in market value after it said full-year sales growth will land at the lower end of its 6%-7% range. The company held its profit target and named Brandon Sewell permanent chief financial officer.
Cheaper food, softer sales outlook
Sysco blamed lower industry inflation for the trimmed sales forecast. Quarterly revenue reached $21.7 billion, up 2.8%.
Operating income dropped to $717 million as costs tied to the Jetro deal weighed. The shares were on pace for their biggest one-day drop since March 30.
Management built $100 million of AI-enabled cost savings into its profit guidance, weighted toward the second half.
A cushion gives way
Sysco sells, markets and distributes food and related products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, hotels and entertainment venues. Restaurants made up an estimated 59% of fiscal 2026 sales, and U.S. Foodservice Operations represents approximately 70% of the total, according to its annual report.
The stock entered the session up about 11% year to date as of Monday's close, slightly ahead of the S&P 500's gain of about 10%. The company's last full-year filing showed revenue of $22.1 billion, up 4.7%, and net income of $551 million.
Sysco is preparing to close its purchase of Jetro Restaurant Depot while restaurant traffic stays soft.
The next test is whether the Jetro Restaurant Depot deal closes and whether the planned cost savings arrive in the second half.
Sources
- Sysco (NYSE:SYY) misses Q3 CY2026 sales expectations, stock drops — Yahoo Finance
- Sysco (SYY) Q1 Earnings: Taking a Look at Key Metrics Versus Estimates — Yahoo Finance
- Sysco Q1 Earnings: Sales Miss Estimates, Full-Year EPS Outlook Unchanged — benzinga.com
- Sysco: Fiscal Q1 Earnings Snapshot — Associated Press
- Sysco (SYY) Surpasses Q1 Earnings Estimates — Yahoo Finance
- The company's filing (Sysco Corp.) — SEC filing
- Sysco Corp. — Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended 2026-06-27 (quarterly results) — SEC EDGAR
