CHEF
The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc.
CHEF's fundamentals are strong: free cash flow more than doubled and earnings per share grew 34%. At 46x earnings, it's trading in line with its usual 43x. Analysts expect that strong growth to continue.
CHEF Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable |
CHEF's revenue, profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its balance sheet is stable.
CHEF PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 37x | $106 | — |
| Cheap | 38x | $87.57 | -17% |
| Fair | 43x | $100 | -5.6% |
| Current | 46x | $106 | — |
| Expensive | 52x | $121 | +14% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
CHEF's PE is in its fair range at 46x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 37x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
CHEF Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for CHEF, with profitability improving.
CHEF Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $2.86 | +23% |
| Q3 2026 | $2.33 | +34% |
| Q2 2026 | $2.10 | +28% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.83 | +20% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.68 | +27% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.74 | +50% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.64 | +62% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.52 | +71% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.32 | +50% |
CHEF's earnings per share have climbed steadily: $2.33 over the past year, up 34% from the year before, and higher year over year for 12 quarters in a row.
CHEF Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.1B | +11% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.2B | +13% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.1B | +11% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.1B | +11% |
| Q3 2025 | $1B | +9.6% |
| Q2 2025 | $1B | +8.4% |
| Q1 2025 | $950.7M | +8.7% |
| Q4 2024 | $1B | +8.7% |
CHEF's revenue has grown year over year for 22 quarters in a row: $1.1B last quarter, up 11% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 4.5% | +0.7 points |
| Q2 2026 | 5% | +1.1 points |
| Q1 2026 | 3.1% | +0.7 points |
| Q4 2025 | 3.8% | -0.7 points |
| Q3 2025 | 3.8% | +0.4 points |
| Q2 2025 | 3.9% | +0.3 points |
| Q1 2025 | 2.4% | +0.6 points |
| Q4 2024 | 4.5% | +0.5 points |
CHEF's operating margin was 4.5% last quarter, up 0.7 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the top of its range since 2019.
CHEF Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $36M | +$55.7M |
| Q2 2026 | $49.2M | +987% |
| Q1 2026 | $30.6M | -18% |
| Q4 2025 | $65.8M | +1.8% |
| Q3 2025 | -$19.7M | -267% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.5M | -66% |
| Q1 2025 | $37.2M | +169% |
| Q4 2024 | $64.6M | +235% |
CHEF generated $182M in free cash flow over the past year, up 109% from the year before.
CHEF Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.2% | +113K shares |
| 1 year | +0.8% | +362K shares |
| 3 years | +1% | +445K shares |
| 5 years | +24% | +9.1M shares |
| Available history | +53% | +16.1M shares |
CHEF has 46M diluted shares, up 0.8% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | $10M |
| Q4 2025 | $1,000 |
| Q3 2025 | $5M |
| Q2 2025 | $10M |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | $7.4M |
CHEF spent $10M buying back its own shares over the past year, down 55% from the year before.
CHEF Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.3x | Moderate |
| Q2 2026 | 2.5x | Moderate |
| Q1 2026 | 3.0x | Moderate |
| Q4 2025 | 3.2x | Elevated |
| Q3 2025 | 3.4x | Elevated |
| Q2 2025 | 3.3x | Elevated |
| Q1 2025 | 3.3x | Elevated |
| Q4 2024 | 3.5x | Elevated |
CHEF's net debt is about 2.3 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 3.4 years a year ago.
CHEF Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 56.9 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 42.8 | Neutral |
CHEF's weekly RSI is 57 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 43 (neutral).
CHEF PE vs Consumer Defensive Sector
| Metric | CHEF | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 46x | 19x | 134% above |
| PE % | 64 | 18 | 46 pts above |
CHEF is trading at 46x earnings, a 134% premium to the Consumer Defensive sector's median of 19x.
CHEF Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $109.3 | 3% below |
| 20 week MA | $107.7 | 1.5% below |
| 50 week MA | $85.0 | 25% above |
| 100 week MA | $72.0 | 47% above |
| 200 week MA | $53.3 | 99% above |
CHEF has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8- and 20-week averages, but 99% above its 200-week average.
CHEF Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $38.0 | $23.9 | -37% |
| 2021 | $23.9 | $32.6 | +36% |
| 2022 | $32.6 | $34.3 | +5.4% |
| 2023 | $34.3 | $29.4 | -14% |
| 2024 | $29.4 | $48.7 | +65% |
| 2025 | $48.7 | $63.5 | +31% |
| 2026 YTD | $63.5 | $106.1 | +67% |
CHEF has finished higher in four of the last six years. It's up 67% so far in 2026.