US Foods (NYSE:USFD) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.03 EPS

US Foods (NYSE:USFD) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03, Briefing.com reports. The business had revenue of $9.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.90 billion. US Foods had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 17.71%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. US Foods updated its FY 2026 guidance to 4.696-4.935 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from US Foods’ conference call:

• US Foods reported a strong 2025 with adjusted EBITDA up 11% to over $1.9 billion, adjusted EPS up 26% to $3.98, and a record adjusted EBITDA margin of 4.9%, driven by operating leverage and productivity initiatives.
• The company is gaining share across target segments — independent restaurants, healthcare, and hospitality — with independent case volume +4.1% in Q4 and its Pronto small-truck service now live in 46 markets and generating over $1 billion in sales.
• Margin and cost initiatives are accelerating: >$150M in 2025 cost-of-goods savings (management now targets at least $300M over the three-year plan), ~$40M benefit from improved inventory management, and ~$45M in indirect cost savings with more to come.
• Near-term demand headwinds and disruptions — notably a government shutdown, winter storms and severe Q1 weather — pressured chain traffic (chain volumes down ~3.4% in Q4) and are expected to depress Q1 results (upper-single-digit EBITDA growth), adding short-term execution risk.
• Strong capital allocation and credit profile — repurchased ~$934M of stock in 2025 with ~$1.1B repurchase authorization remaining, completed tuck-in M&A, ended year at 2.7x net leverage, and received a one-notch Moody’s upgrade to Ba1.

US Foods Stock Performance

Shares of US Foods stock traded up $11.93 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $101.86. The company had a trading volume of 8,518,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,178,952. US Foods has a 1-year low of $57.36 and a 1-year high of $102.13. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.93. The stock has a market cap of $22.71 billion, a PE ratio of 42.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

Institutional Trading of US Foods

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of US Foods by 6.0% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 16,130,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,235,585,000 after buying an additional 908,993 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in US Foods by 14.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,875,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $986,557,000 after buying an additional 1,599,033 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in US Foods by 8.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,164,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $625,530,000 after acquiring an additional 649,950 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its holdings in US Foods by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 3,911,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $294,622,000 after acquiring an additional 118,401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of US Foods by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,910,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,157,000 after acquiring an additional 373,321 shares during the period. 98.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

USFD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of US Foods from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Barclays cut their price target on US Foods from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of US Foods in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of US Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of US Foods in a report on Monday, December 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, US Foods currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.00.

Key Headlines Impacting US Foods

Here are the key news stories impacting US Foods this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS beat and strong profitability: US Foods reported $1.04 EPS vs. ~$1.00 consensus, up from $0.84 a year ago — the beat and meaningful year-over-year profit improvement supported investor optimism. US Foods (USFD) Tops Q4 Earnings Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Raised FY2026 EPS outlook: Management set FY26 EPS guidance of $4.696–$4.935, above Street consensus (~$4.56), signaling confidence in margins and earnings power for the year. US Foods Press Release / Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Strong profitability metrics: Adjusted EBITDA and net income showed solid improvement (adjusted EBITDA up and net income rising sharply year-over-year), supporting valuation expansion. US Foods Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2025 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Case volume and sales trends mixed: Total case volume rose modestly and independent-restaurant volume grew, showing some end-market resilience even as overall demand is uneven. Q4 Results — Business Wire
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue missed estimates: Q4 net sales were $9.8B vs. analyst consensus ~$9.9B and FY26 revenue guidance of $41.0B–$41.8B sits below the Street’s ~$42.0B estimate — a notable drag on top-line expectations. US Foods Reports Sales Below Analyst Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: “Softer economic environment” caveat: Management and coverage noted demand softness in parts of the foodservice market, which could pressure sales cadence even as margins improve. MSN Coverage — Softer Economic Environment

About US Foods

US Foods (NYSE: USFD) is a leading foodservice distributor in the United States that supplies a wide range of products and services to professional food operators. The company provides fresh, frozen and dry food items as well as non-food restaurant supplies and kitchen equipment. Its customer base includes independent restaurants, multi-unit chains, healthcare and senior living facilities, hospitality businesses, government and educational institutions, and other foodservice operators.

Beyond commodity and branded food products, US Foods offers value-added solutions designed to help customers run their businesses.