Chefs' Warehouse (CHEF) Company Report

Chefs' Warehouse observes accelerating demand in the upscale dining market, noting its resilience compared to other foodservice sectors.
The company is driving market share through its specialized focus, strategic "fold-in" acquisitions, and significant investments in facilities, salesforce training, and technology.
Key growth markets include Florida, Texas, Southern and Northern California, and the Middle East, with plans for further expansion in the U.S. South to achieve national distribution.
Management anticipates stable demand and EBITDA margin tailwinds over the next 12 months, driven by operating leverage from prior investments, while maintaining a flexible capital allocation strategy that includes opportunistic share buybacks.

3 days ago

Transcript

Chefs' Warehouse Discusses Accelerated Customer Spending and Growth Strategy

CHEF

Revenue Acceleration/Inflection

New Projects/Investments

M&A

Chefs' Warehouse (CHEF) is experiencing accelerated customer spending in the resilient high-end dining market, which has historically performed well through economic cycles, and is currently ahead of its 2028 growth plan on top-line growth.
The company anticipates EBITDA margin expansion with expected tailwinds over the next 12 months, driven by operating leverage from significant facility investments made in 2022-2023, with OPEX costs from these investments having been lapped in the second half of 2024.
Growth is fueled by market share gains, strategic acquisitions, and investments in infrastructure and a highly trained salesforce, with key markets like Florida and Texas showing strong potential for significant expansion.
CHEF maintains net debt leverage at the lower end of its defined range and plans opportunistic debt paydowns and share buybacks, while also seeking to expand into new markets such as the Carolinas and Georgia to become a complete national distributor.

3 days ago

Transcript

Chefs' Warehouse Reports Accelerated Demand and Strategic Growth Initiatives

CHEF

Revenue Acceleration/Inflection

New Projects/Investments

M&A

CEO Chris Pappas noted an acceleration in customer spending and expects stable demand for the next 12 months, highlighting the resilience of the upscale dining market.
The company is driving high organic growth through investments in infrastructure, salesforce training, and leveraging post-COVID M&A integrations. They see significant growth potential in markets like Florida and Texas, with Texas projected to be a top-three market in five years.
CFO James Leddy indicated that EBITDA margins are expected to expand due to operating leverage from prior investments, particularly after lapping significant facility investment costs in the second half of 2024.
Chefs' Warehouse maintains a flexible capital allocation model, aiming to moderately pay down debt and opportunistically buy back shares, with net debt leverage at the lower end of their target range. They are now more selective with M&A, focusing on "fold-ins" to existing capacity and exploring new markets like the Carolinas and Georgia.
The company is utilizing AI for procurement, pricing optimization, and enhancing its digital platform to better understand customer behavior and empower sales representatives.

3 days ago

Transcript

Chefs' Warehouse Reports Strong Q3 2025 Results and Raises Full-Year Guidance

CHEF

Earnings

Guidance Update

M&A

The Chefs' Warehouse reported Q3 2025 net sales of $1.021 billion, an increase of 9.6% year-over-year, with gross profit rising 10% to $247.2 million.
For Q3 2025, GAAP net income was $19.1 million ($0.44 per diluted share), and adjusted EBITDA reached $65.1 million.
The company updated and raised its full-year 2025 guidance, projecting net sales between $4.085 billion and $4.115 billion, gross profit between $987 million and $995 million, and adjusted EBITDA between $247 million and $253 million.
Business and demand trends improved sequentially through the third quarter and continued into October, with operational highlights including 7.7% growth in specialty sales and approximately 5.8% unique customer growth (excluding certain impacts).
Subsequent to the close of the fiscal third quarter, The Chefs' Warehouse completed the acquisition of Italco Food Products, a small specialty food and ingredient distributor in Denver, Colorado.

Oct 29, 2025, 12:30 PM

Transcript

The Chefs' Warehouse Reports Strong Q3 2025 Results and Raises Full-Year Guidance

CHEF

Earnings

Guidance Update

M&A

The Chefs' Warehouse reported strong third quarter 2025 results, with net sales increasing 9.6% to $1.021 billion and adjusted EBITDA growing to $65.1 million from $54.5 million in the prior year quarter. GAAP net income was $19.1 million, or $0.44 per diluted share, while adjusted net income was $21.5 million, or $0.50 per diluted share.
The company raised its full-year 2025 financial guidance, now estimating net sales between $4.085 billion and $4.115 billion, gross profit between $987 million and $995 million, and adjusted EBITDA between $247 million and $253 million.
Business and demand trends improved sequentially through Q3 2025 and continued into October, driven by 9.6% net sales growth, 7.7% specialty sales growth, and 5.4% specialty case growth (excluding the Texas Produce Processing and Packaging Program).
Subsequent to the quarter's close on October 1, 2025, The Chefs' Warehouse acquired Italco Food Products, a small specialty food distributor in Denver, Colorado. The company also noted continued strong growth in its Middle East business and positive momentum from organic investments in key markets.

Oct 29, 2025, 12:30 PM

Transcript

Chefs' Warehouse Reports Strong Q3 2025 Financial Results and Raises Full-Year Guidance

CHEF

Earnings

Guidance Update

Revenue Acceleration/Inflection

The Chefs' Warehouse reported net sales of $1,021.3 million for the third quarter of 2025, marking a 9.6% increase from $931.5 million in the third quarter of 2024.
GAAP net income for Q3 2025 was $19.1 million, or $0.44 per diluted share, compared to $14.1 million, or $0.34 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2024.
Adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter of 2025 increased to $65.1 million from $54.5 million in the same period last year.
The company updated and raised its fiscal year 2025 financial guidance, projecting net sales between $4.085 billion and $4.115 billion and Adjusted EBITDA between $247 million and $253 million.

Oct 29, 2025, 11:30 AM

8-K

Chefs' Warehouse Reports Strong Q2 2025 Results and Raises Full-Year Guidance

CHEF

Earnings

Guidance Update

Share Buyback

The Chefs' Warehouse reported a net sales increase of 8.4% to $1.035 billion for Q2 2025, compared to $954.7 million in Q2 2024. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $65.4 million, up from $56.2 million in the prior year period, and adjusted diluted earnings per share increased to $0.52 from $0.40.
Gross profit increased 11.1% to $254.3 million in Q2 2025, with gross profit margins improving by approximately 59 basis points to 24.6%. Specialty sales grew 8.7%, driven by 3.6% unique customer growth and 8.7% placement growth.
The company is raising its full-year 2025 guidance, estimating net sales to be in the range of $4.0 billion to $4.06 billion and adjusted EBITDA between $240 million and $250 million.
During Q2 2025, Chefs' Warehouse repurchased approximately 160,000 shares under its $100 million authorized buyback program, bringing total repurchases to date to approximately $27 million.

Jul 30, 2025, 11:45 PM

Chefs' Warehouse reprices senior secured term loan

CHEF

Debt Issuance

The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. (CHEF) entered into the Thirteenth Amendment to its senior secured term loan credit agreement on June 16, 2025.
This amendment repriced the senior secured term loan B facility, reducing the interest rate from 350 basis points over term SOFR or 250 basis points over the alternate base rate to 300 basis points over term SOFR or 200 basis points over the alternate base rate.
The 0.50% floor of the Adjusted Term SOFR and the August 23, 2029 scheduled maturity date were not changed.
The aggregate principal amount of term loans outstanding immediately after the effectiveness of the Thirteenth Amendment is $253,500,000.00.

Jun 16, 2025, 12:00 AM

8-K

Earnings Transcripts

Quarterly earnings call transcripts for Chefs' Warehouse.

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