CHEF Stock Analysis: The Chefs Warehouse | NASDAQ
Food Distribution | NASDAQ, USA | Market Cap: 3.958m USD | 12M Return: 58.9% | Charts, Fundamentals & Technical Analysis
Avg Turnover: 43.8M
EPS Trend: 93.1%
Qual. Beats: 3
Rev. Trend: 97.7%
Qual. Beats: 6
Warnings
No concerns identified
Tailwinds
Seasonality 10.5 years of data
How good or bad each month usually is (without trend). The score below shows how much you can trust it: 0 = pure chance, >40 gets interesting and >55 is strong.
The Chefs Warehouse (CHEF) is a Ridgefield, Connecticut-based foodservice distributor founded in 1985 that supplies specialty and center-of-the-plate products to menu-driven independent restaurants, fine dining venues, country clubs, hotels, caterers, culinary schools, bakeries, patisseries, chocolatiers, cruise lines, casinos, and specialty food retailers across the United States, the Middle East, and Canada. Its assortment spans artisanal charcuterie, specialty cheeses, oils, vinegars, truffles, caviar, chocolate, and pastries, alongside custom-cut beef, seafood, hormone-free poultry, and broadline staples such as produce, cooking oils, butter, eggs, milk, and flour. The company also markets its center-of-the-plate range directly to consumers via mail-order and e-commerce channels.
CHEF is classified within the GICS Consumer Staples sector under the Food Distributors sub-industry, a segment dominated by broadline distributors (e.g., Sysco, US Foods) that supply away-from-home dining operators rather than retail grocery channels. The companys narrower focus on premium, chef-oriented ingredients differentiates it from large-scale broadliners and exposes revenue more directly to fine-dining and hospitality demand cycles.
- Independent restaurant traffic trends drive specialty food distribution revenue
- Seafood and beef cost volatility pressures center-of-the-plate gross margins
- Competition from Sysco and US Foods limits pricing power
| Net Income: 79.4m TTM > 0 and > 6% of Revenue |
| FCF/TA: 0.04 > 0.02 and ΔFCF/TA -2.83 > 1.0 |
| NWC/Revenue: 11.82% < 20% (prev 11.05%; Δ 0.77% < -1%) |
| CFO/TA 0.06 > 3% & CFO 117.9m > Net Income 79.4m |
| Net Debt (1.08b) to EBITDA (411.0m): 2.64 < 3 |
| Current Ratio: 2.18 > 1.5 & < 3 |
| Outstanding Shares: last quarter (46.1m) vs 12m ago -0.03% < -2% |
| Gross Margin: 24.32% > 18% (prev 24.05%; Δ 0.27% > 0.5%) |
| Asset Turnover: 222.4% > 50% (prev 210.5%; Δ 11.92% > 0%) |
| Interest Coverage Ratio: 3.73 > 6 (EBIT TTM 155.5m / Interest Expense TTM 41.7m) |
| A: 0.25 (Total Current Assets 930.9m - Total Current Liabilities 427.7m) / Total Assets 1.99b |
| B: 0.11 (Retained Earnings 210.6m / Total Assets 1.99b) |
| C: 0.08 (EBIT TTM 155.5m / Avg Total Assets 1.91b) |
| D: 0.44 (Book Value of Equity 608.6m / Total Liabilities 1.38b) |
| Altman-Z'' = 3.01 = A |
| DSRI: 1.02 (Receivables 377.4m/335.8m, Revenue 4.26b/3.87b) |
| GMI: 0.99 (GM 24.05% / 24.32%) |
| AQI: 0.90 (AQ_t 0.25 / AQ_t-1 0.28) |
| SGI: 1.10 (Revenue 4.26b / 3.87b) |
| TATA: -0.02 (NI 79.4m - CFO 117.9m) / TA 1.99b) |
| Beneish M = -3.01 (Cap -4..+1) = AA |
As of July 17, 2026, the stock is trading at USD 102.36 with a total of 1,854,743 shares traded. Over the past week, the price has changed by +5.46%, over one month by +9.90%, over three months by +62.53% and over the past year by +58.94%.
Current recommended Stop Loss: 98.10 (which is 4.2% or 1.3 ATR below the current price).
The Chefs Warehouse has received a consensus analysts rating of 4.86. Therefore, it is recommended to buy CHEF.
- StrongBuy: 6
- Buy: 1
- Hold: 0
- Sell: 0
- StrongSell: 0
| Analysts Target Price | 90.7 | -11.4% |
P/E Trailing = 52.75
P/E Forward = 29.3255
P/S = 0.9296
P/B = 6.4473
P/EG = 1.0776
Revenue TTM = 4.26b USD
EBIT TTM = 155.5m USD
EBITDA TTM = 411.0m USD
Long Term Debt = 720.9m USD (from longTermDebt, last quarter)
Short Term Debt = 54.5m USD (from shortTermDebt, last quarter)
Debt = 1.21b USD (from shortLongTermDebtTotal, last quarter) + Leases 227.8m
Net Debt = 1.08b USD (calculated: Debt 1.21b - CCE 122.7m)
Enterprise Value = 5.04b USD (3.96b + Debt 1.21b - CCE 122.7m)
Interest Coverage Ratio = 3.73 (Ebit TTM 155.5m / Interest Expense TTM 41.7m)
EV/FCF = 62.14x (Enterprise Value 5.04b / FCF TTM 81.1m)
FCF Yield = 1.61% (FCF TTM 81.1m / Enterprise Value 5.04b)
FCF Margin = 1.91% (FCF TTM 81.1m / Revenue TTM 4.26b)
Net Margin = 1.87% (Net Income TTM 79.4m / Revenue TTM 4.26b)
Gross Margin = 24.32% ((Revenue TTM 4.26b - Cost of Revenue TTM 3.22b) / Revenue TTM)
Gross Margin QoQ = 24.30% (prev 24.21%)
Tobins Q-Ratio = 2.53 (Enterprise Value 5.04b / Total Assets 1.99b)
Interest Expense / Debt = 3.46% (Interest Expense 41.7m / Debt 1.21b)
Taxrate = 30.19% (34.4m / 113.8m)
NOPAT = 108.6m (EBIT 155.5m * (1 - 30.19%))
Current Ratio = 2.18 (Total Current Assets 930.9m / Total Current Liabilities 427.7m)
Debt / Equity = 1.98 (Debt 1.21b / totalStockholderEquity, last quarter 608.6m)
Debt / EBITDA = 2.64 (Net Debt 1.08b / EBITDA 411.0m)
Debt / FCF = 13.35 (Net Debt 1.08b / FCF TTM 81.1m)
Total Stockholder Equity = 586.8m (last 4 quarters mean from totalStockholderEquity)
RoA = 4.15% (Net Income 79.4m / Total Assets 1.99b)
RoE = 13.54% (Net Income TTM 79.4m / Total Stockholder Equity 586.8m)
RoCE = 11.89% (EBIT 155.5m / Capital Employed (Equity 586.8m + L.T.Debt 720.9m))
RoIC = 7.27% (NOPAT 108.6m / Invested Capital 1.49b)
WACC = 7.37% (E(3.96b)/V(5.16b) * Re(8.88%) + D(1.21b)/V(5.16b) * Rd(3.46%) * (1-Tc(0.30)))
Discount Rate = 8.88% (= CAPM, Blume Beta Adj.)
Shares (quarterly) Correlation: 42.60 | Cagr: 0.26%
[DCF] Terminal Value 73.10% ; FCFF base≈99.5m ; Y1≈87.2m ; Y5≈70.5m
[DCF] Fair Price = 1.17 (EV 1.13b - Net Debt 1.08b = Equity 47.8m / Shares 40.8m; r=8.35% [WACC [floored]]; 5y FCF grow -15.0% → 2.50% )
EPS Correlation: 93.12 | EPS CAGR: 19.70% | SUE: 4.0 | # QB: 3
Revenue Correlation: 97.68 | Revenue CAGR: 11.20% | SUE: 3.09 | # QB: 6
EPS current Quarter (2026-06-30): EPS=0.57 | Chg30d=-0.52% | Revisions=+0% | Analysts=9
EPS next Quarter (2026-09-30): EPS=0.53 | Chg30d=+0.10% | Revisions=-38% | Analysts=9
EPS current Year (2026-12-31): EPS=2.24 | Chg30d=+0.02% | Revisions=+30% | GrowthEPS=+17.7% | GrowthRev=+7.7%
EPS next Year (2027-12-31): EPS=2.63 | Chg30d=+0.58% | Revisions=+30% | GrowthEPS=+17.5% | GrowthRev=+8.0%
[Analyst] Revisions Ratio: +11% (up=14, down=11)