CHEF Stock Analysis: The Chefs Warehouse | NASDAQ
Food Distribution | NASDAQ, USA | Market Cap: 4.659m USD | 12M Return: 69.1% | US1630861011 | Charts, Fundamentals & Technical Analysis
Avg Turnover: 71.9M
EPS Trend: 97.1%
Qual. Beats: 4
Rev. Trend: 99.2%
Qual. Beats: 7
Warnings
Tailwinds
Seasonality 11.6 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: 92.0m TTM > 0 and > 6% of Revenue |
| FCF/TA: 0.06 > 0.02 and ΔFCF/TA 0.01 > 1.0 |
| NWC/Revenue: 11.87% < 20% (prev 11.23%; Δ 0.65% < -1%) |
| CFO/TA 0.08 > 3% & CFO 161.8m > Net Income 92.0m |
| Net Debt (1.03b) to EBITDA (264.0m): 3.91 < 3 |
| Current Ratio: 2.15 > 1.5 & < 3 |
| Outstanding Shares: last quarter (46.0m) vs 12m ago 0.04% < -2% |
| Gross Margin: 24.46% > 18% (prev 24.20%; Δ 0.26% > 0.5%) |
| Asset Turnover: 223.3% > 50% (prev 207.1%; Δ 16.15% > 0%) |
| Interest Coverage Ratio: 4.50 > 6 (EBIT TTM 181.9m / Interest Expense TTM 40.4m) |
| A: 0.26 (Total Current Assets 975.8m - Total Current Liabilities 454.3m) / Total Assets 2.03b |
| B: 0.12 (Retained Earnings 244.4m / Total Assets 2.03b) |
| C: 0.09 (EBIT TTM 181.9m / Avg Total Assets 1.97b) |
| D: 0.47 (Book Value of Equity 648.2m / Total Liabilities 1.38b) |
| Altman-Z'' = 3.20 = A |
| DSRI: 1.01 (Receivables 423.5m/377.3m, Revenue 4.39b/3.95b) |
| GMI: 0.99 (GM 24.20% / 24.46%) |
| AQI: 0.92 (AQ_t 0.25 / AQ_t-1 0.27) |
| SGI: 1.11 (Revenue 4.39b / 3.95b) |
| TATA: -0.03 (NI 92.0m - CFO 161.8m) / TA 2.03b) |
| Beneish M = -3.00 (Cap -4..+1) = A |
As of September 10, 2026, the stock is trading at USD 109.29 with a total of 731,328 shares traded. Over the past week, the price has changed by -5.39%, over one month by +0.42%, over three months by +32.17% and over the past year by +69.10%.
Current recommended Stop Loss: 104.10 (which is 4.7% 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 | 119.4 | 9.3% |
P/E Trailing = 54.128
P/E Forward = 29.3255
P/S = 1.061
P/B = 7.1449
P/EG = 1.0776
Revenue TTM = 4.39b USD
EBIT TTM = 181.9m USD
EBITDA TTM = 264.0m USD
Long Term Debt = 693.7m USD (from longTermDebt, last quarter)
Short Term Debt = 55.2m USD (from shortTermDebt, last quarter)
Debt = 1.17b USD (from shortLongTermDebtTotal, last quarter) + Leases 221.9m
Net Debt = 1.03b USD (calculated: Debt 1.17b - CCE 135.5m)
Enterprise Value = 5.69b USD (4.66b + Debt 1.17b - CCE 135.5m)
Interest Coverage Ratio = 4.50 (Ebit TTM 181.9m / Interest Expense TTM 40.4m)
EV/FCF = 45.26x (Enterprise Value 5.69b / FCF TTM 125.8m)
FCF Yield = 2.21% (FCF TTM 125.8m / Enterprise Value 5.69b)
FCF Margin = 2.86% (FCF TTM 125.8m / Revenue TTM 4.39b)
Net Margin = 2.09% (Net Income TTM 92.0m / Revenue TTM 4.39b)
Gross Margin = 24.46% ((Revenue TTM 4.39b - Cost of Revenue TTM 3.32b) / Revenue TTM)
Gross Margin QoQ = 25.06% (prev 24.30%)
Tobins Q-Ratio = 2.81 (Enterprise Value 5.69b / Total Assets 2.03b)
Interest Expense / Debt = 3.46% (Interest Expense 40.4m / Debt 1.17b)
Taxrate = 31.12% (41.5m / 133.5m)
NOPAT = 125.3m (EBIT 181.9m * (1 - 31.12%))
Current Ratio = 2.15 (Total Current Assets 975.8m / Total Current Liabilities 454.3m)
Debt / Equity = 1.80 (Debt 1.17b / totalStockholderEquity, last quarter 648.2m)
Debt / EBITDA = 3.91 (Net Debt 1.03b / EBITDA 264.0m)
Debt / FCF = 8.21 (Net Debt 1.03b / FCF TTM 125.8m)
Total Stockholder Equity = 609.5m (last 4 quarters mean from totalStockholderEquity)
RoA = 4.68% (Net Income 92.0m / Total Assets 2.03b)
RoE = 15.09% (Net Income TTM 92.0m / Total Stockholder Equity 609.5m)
RoCE = 13.96% (EBIT 181.9m / Capital Employed (Equity 609.5m + L.T.Debt 693.7m))
RoIC = 8.40% (NOPAT 125.3m / Invested Capital 1.49b)
WACC = 7.00% (E(4.66b)/V(5.83b) * Re(8.16%) + D(1.17b)/V(5.83b) * Rd(3.46%) * (1-Tc(0.31)))
Discount Rate = 8.16% (= CAPM, Blume Beta Adj.)
Shares (quarterly) Correlation: 53.22 | Cagr: 8.13%
[DCF] Terminal Value 76.25% ; FCFF base≈122.7m ; Y1≈129.8m ; Y5≈152.5m
[DCF] Fair Price = 32.20 (EV 2.35b - Net Debt 1.03b = Equity 1.31b / Shares 40.8m; r=8.35% [WACC [floored]]; 5y FCF grow 6.41% → 2.50% )
EPS Correlation: 97.14 | EPS CAGR: 25.51% | SUE: 3.48 | # QB: 4
Revenue Correlation: 99.21 | Revenue CAGR: 10.10% | SUE: 2.43 | # QB: 7
EPS current Quarter (2026-09-30): EPS=0.59 | Chg30d=+10.24% | Revisions=+62% | Analysts=9
EPS current Year (2026-12-31): EPS=2.54 | Chg30d=+11.77% | Revisions=+67% | GrowthEPS=+33.7% | GrowthRev=+10.4%
EPS next Year (2027-12-31): EPS=3.07 | Chg30d=+14.23% | Revisions=+67% | GrowthEPS=+21.0% | GrowthRev=+8.5%
[Analyst] Revisions Ratio: +85% (up=17, down=0)