The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. (CHEF) Stock

The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. (CHEF) is a Consumer Discretionary stock trading at $113.44 (as of 2026-09-02), with a market capitalization of $4.63B and a trailing P/E of 58.2. Figures are sourced from first-party U.S. SEC EDGAR filings and market data.

The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in distribution of specialty food products in the United States and Canada. The company's product portfolio includes approximately 50,000 stock-keeping units, such as specialty food products, such as artisan charcuterie, specialty cheeses, unique oils and vinegars, truffles, caviar, chocolate, and pastry products. It also offers a line of center-of-the-plate products, including custom cut beef, seafood, and hormone-free poultry, as well as food products, such as cooking oils, butter, eggs, milk, and flour. The company serves menu-driven independent restaurants, fine dining establishments, country clubs, hotels, caterers, culinary schools, bakeries, patisseries, chocolatiers, cruise lines, casinos, and specialty food stores. It markets its center-of-the-plate products directly to consumers through a mail and e-commerce platform. The company was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Ridgefield, Connecticut.

Understand The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc.: how it makes money

The Chefs' Warehouse is a specialty food distributor supplying restaurants across the US and Canada with artisan cheeses, charcuterie, truffles, caviar, and center-of-the-plate proteins. It earns a margin on roughly 50,000 SKUs moved through a multi-state network of distribution centers and a dedicated truck fleet.

Profit is made in route density: each additional restaurant customer served by an existing truck-and-DC route expands the gap between the 24% gross margin and the 3% operating margin, making new-market entry a margin story as much as a revenue story.

Business quality (Weak): A thin-margin distributor (3% operating) carried at a 68x earnings multiple that is 189% above the industry average. The network asset base is real, but the P&L has not yet shown the leverage the multiple assumes.

Valuation: At 68× earnings, CHEF trades 189% above the Wholesale average (24×).

Bull case

  • Share capture across accounts: Management cited customer and volume gains indicating continued share capture across the platform. For a distributor with a 24% gross margin, incremental volume on existing routes is the cleanest path toward expanding a 3% operating margin.
  • Texas and Florida runway: Management expects substantial expansion in underpenetrated markets including Texas and Florida. Those states hold high restaurant density where CHEF's network is still thin, giving a multi-year volume runway without dilutive M&A.
  • Operating leverage is the prize: At a 24% gross margin with only 3% operating margin, the 21-point gap is where fixed-cost network investments (capacity, technology, routes) generate disproportionate earnings upside once volume scales. That leverage, not top-line growth, is the core of the investment case.

Bear case

  • Middle East demand still soft: Middle Eastern operations ran at approximately 94% of prior-year levels amid ongoing regional disruption, and logistics changes are already increasing lead times and product costs. For a business with a 3% operating margin, even a modest cost or volume dip there hits earnings directly.
  • Growth premium on thin margins: The stock trades at 68.0x earnings versus a 24x wholesale-industry average, a 189% premium, against a 3% operating margin. The market is pricing in years of margin expansion that the current P&L has not yet delivered.
  • Convertible notes add dilution: Management expects outstanding convertible notes to dilute the 2026 fully diluted share count, meaning the per-share benefit of any volume or margin improvement will be partially absorbed by new shares outstanding.
Valuation — source: SEC EDGAR (first-party)
Price$113.44
Market Cap$4.63B
P/E Ratio58.2
EV / EBITDA25.1
Price / Book7.60
Price / Sales1.09
FCF Yield1.9%
DCF Value (model)$9.11
DCF Upside vs Price-92.0%
Profitability & Growth — source: SEC EDGAR
Revenue (TTM)$4.15B
Net Margin1.7%
Revenue Growth (YoY)11.4%
EPS Growth (YoY)66.7%
FCF Growth (YoY)-17.9%
Financial Health — source: SEC EDGAR
Altman Z-Score4.66 (safe)
Piotroski F-Score8/9 (strong)
Valuation vs Sector & Industry
Stock P/E58.2
Sector P/E (Consumer Discretionary)20.1
Industry P/E (Wholesale)23.9
vs Sector189.4%
vs Industry144.1%
Smart-Money Activity — SEC Form 4 / 13F / Congressional disclosures
Top Institutional HolderBlackRock, Inc. ($344.09M)
Institutional Holders Tracked10
Company
SectorConsumer Discretionary
IndustryWholesale
CEOChristopher Pappas
Employees5,029
CountryUS
IPO Date2011-07-28

The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. earnings call transcripts

  • CHEF Q2 FY26 earnings call transcript (reported 2026-07-29) · analysis
  • CHEF Q4 FY25 earnings call transcript (reported 2026-02-11) · analysis
  • CHEF Q3 FY25 earnings call transcript (reported 2025-10-29) · analysis

All CHEF earnings calls

Related Companies (Wholesale; 8 comparable wholesalers)

  • AMCON Distributing Company (DIT)
  • Performance Food Group Company (PFGC)
  • United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI)
  • ArcBest Corporation (ARCB)
  • Landstar System, Inc. (LSTR)
  • Matson, Inc. (MATX)
  • The Brink's Company (BCO)
  • Saia, Inc. (SAIA)
CHEF earnings history · CHEF institutional & insider holders · CHEF KPIs & operating metrics · CHEF financials · CHEF investor presentations & press releases · CHEF SEC filings · CHEF peers · Congress trades · Insider trades · Short interest · Stock screener

Data as of 2026-09-02.

Figures sourced from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC EDGAR) filings and market data. Not personalized investment advice.