Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. (CHEF) stock analysis
Close on Nov 11, 2026Market cap $4.66BP/E 46.3Yield –
StockData Score
Prices as of Nov 11, 2026How the score works
Mixed13 of 30 checks passed
Chefs' Warehouse passes 13 of the 30 checks behind our score; 7 could not be run for lack of data and count as not passed. Each dot in the shape is one check — hover it for the numbers.
- Valuation
- 0/6
- Growth
- 5/6
- Past performance
- 4/6
- Financial health
- 4/6
- Dividend
- 0/6
What stands out
Return on capital over 10%
Return on invested capital was 10.4%, above the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.
Revenue growing 10%+ a year
Revenue grew 16.7% a year over the last three fiscal years.
EPS growing 10%+ a year
Diluted EPS grew 32.0% a year over the last three fiscal years.
Debt covered by cash flow
Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals 29.5% of total debt.
What to watch
Margin of safety under 20%
The price is 43.5% above fair value, so there is no margin of safety.
Trading above fair value
The share price of $107.30 is above our fair value estimate of $74.78.
Return on equity under 15%
Return on equity was 16.2% over the last twelve months and averaged 7.6% over five years; we look for 15% on both.
High debt
Debt is 106% of shareholders' equity, above the 40% we consider low.
Valuation0/6
P/E above its 5-year median
Chefs' Warehouse's P/E of 46.3 is above its own 5-year median of 44.4.
P/E above the industry
Chefs' Warehouse's P/E of 46.3 is above the Groceries and Related Products median of 27.7.
EV/EBITDA above its 5-year median
Chefs' Warehouse's EV/EBITDA of 21.2 is above its 5-year median of 16.7.
P/B above the industry
Chefs' Warehouse's price-to-book of 6.79 is above the Groceries and Related Products median of 3.47.
Trading above fair value
The share price of $107.30 is above our fair value estimate of $74.78.
Margin of safety under 20%
The price is 43.5% above fair value, so there is no margin of safety.
Growth5/6
Revenue growing 10%+ a year
Revenue grew 16.7% a year over the last three fiscal years.
EPS growing 10%+ a year
Diluted EPS grew 32.0% a year over the last three fiscal years.
Earnings acceleration
Needs positive net income now, a year ago and five years ago.
Growing faster than the industry
Revenue grew 11.5% over the last twelve months; the Groceries and Related Products median is 5.2%.
Guidance raised
Chefs' Warehouse raised its fiscal 2026 full year Net sales outlook on Jul 29, 2026.
Gross margin improving
Gross margin was 24.7% over the last twelve months, against 24.2% a year earlier.
Past performance4/6
Return on equity under 15%
Return on equity was 16.2% over the last twelve months and averaged 7.6% over five years; we look for 15% on both.
Return on capital over 10%
Return on invested capital was 10.4%, above the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.
Return on equity above the industry
Chefs' Warehouse's return on equity of 16.2% is above the Groceries and Related Products median of 7.2%.
Earnings over 5 years
Needs positive net income five years ago and in the latest year.
Net margin above its 5-year average
Net margin was 2.3% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 1.0%.
Net margin above the industry
Chefs' Warehouse's net margin of 2.3% is above the Groceries and Related Products median of 1.0%.
Financial health4/6
High debt
Debt is 106% of shareholders' equity, above the 40% we consider low.
Debt falling against equity
Debt to equity fell from 117% five years ago to 106%.
Debt covered by cash flow
Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals 29.5% of total debt.
Interest not well covered
Operating income covers interest expense 4.8 times; we look for at least 5.
Short-term assets cover short-term debts
Current assets are 2.21 times current liabilities.
Low bankruptcy risk
The Altman Z-score is 4.97; above 3 is the safe zone and below 1.8 the distress zone.
Dividend0/6
No dividend
Chefs' Warehouse has not paid a dividend in the last twelve months.
Yield against Treasuries
No dividend.
Yield against the market
No dividend.
Dividend stability
No dividend.
Earnings cover
No dividend.
Cash-flow cover
No dividend.
Fair value
How we estimate itOur estimate per share
$74.78
The share price is 43% above this estimate.
| Method | Multiple used | Own 5Y median | Industry median | Value per share | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P/E | 36.1× | 44.4× | 27.7× | $83.81 | 47% |
| EV/EBITDA | 14.6× | 16.7× | 12.3× | $69.70 | 41% |
| P/B | 3.6× | 3.7× | 3.5× | $56.47 | 12% |
| Earnings powerleft out, too far from the others | 10.9% cost of equity | – | – | $16.14 | – |
| Fair value | $74.78 | 100% | |||
Valuation over time
Using the earnings and balance sheet published at each date, not today's.
- P/E at month end
- Own 5-year median 44.4
- Groceries and Related Products median 27.7
An estimate from reported numbers and market multiples, not a price target or investment advice. It can be far off for companies whose profits are about to change sharply.
Market risk
From the past year of daily prices.
Liquidity
Low risk
- Average value traded per day
- $58.17M
- Value traded per 1% price move
- $35.76M
Downside
Low risk
- Typical loss in a bad month
- 14.4%
- Volatility (annualized)
- 39%
- Sharpe ratio, 1 year
- 1.73
- Beta to the S&P 500 (5Y)
- 1.20
Typical bad-month loss, week by week
Margins
Share of revenue, fiscal years 2011 to 2025
Gross margin
Operating margin
Net margin
Growth rates
Compound annual growth to fiscal 2025
| Per year | 1 year | 3 years | 5 years | 10 years | Five-year pace |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | +9.4% | +16.7% | +30.1% | +14.8% | |
| Gross profit | +9.8% | +17.5% | +32.3% | +14.1% | |
| Operating income | +13.2% | +19.2% | – | +13.6% | |
| Net income | +30.4% | +37.6% | – | +16.1% | |
| EPS, diluted | +27.3% | +32.0% | – | +10.3% | |
| Free cash flow | -15.2% | – | +19.6% | +18.5% |
Returns and balance sheet
10 fiscal years. Hover a measure to see how it is calculated.
| Measure | FY2016 | FY2020 | FY2025 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | 1.6% | -24.4% | 12.7% | |
| Return on assets | 0.5% | -8.3% | 3.7% | |
| Current ratio | 2.46 | 3.43 | 2.05 | |
| Debt to equity | 1.72 | 1.17 | 1.24 | |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 5.52× | -2.54× | 3.16× | |
| Interest coverage | 1.1× | -4.9× | 3.5× | |
| Inventory turnover | 9.9× | 8.4× | 9.0× | |
| Capex to revenue | 1.4% | 0.6% | 1.0% | |
| Diluted shares | 26M | 34M | 46M |
Where the cash went
Fiscal 2021 to 2025, five years combined
Chefs' Warehouse generated $386.95M from operations and spent $265.41M on capital expenditure, dividends and share buybacks. 88% of that went back into the business.
DuPont analysis
Return on equity split into margin, efficiency and leverage
| Fiscal year | Net margin | Asset turnover | Equity multiplier | Return on equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | 1.7% | 2.14× | 3.40× | 12.7% |
| FY2024 | 1.5% | 2.13× | 3.59× | 11.2% |
| FY2023 | 1.0% | 2.14× | 3.75× | 8.1% |
| FY2022 | 1.1% | 2.02× | 3.44× | 7.4% |
| FY2021 | -0.3% | 1.70× | 2.95× | -1.4% |
| FY2020 | -7.5% | 1.12× | 2.92× | -24.4% |
| FY2019 | 1.5% | 1.82× | 2.71× | 7.5% |
| FY2018 | 1.4% | 2.03× | 2.55× | 7.3% |
| FY2017 | 1.1% | 1.97× | 2.99× | 6.5% |
| FY2016 | 0.3% | 1.97× | 3.18× | 1.6% |
Piotroski F-Score
Nine tests of profitability, balance sheet and efficiency, fiscal 2025 against fiscal 2024
- ProfitableNet income above zero$72.36M
- Cash generatingOperating cash flow above zero$129.22M
- Return on assets improvedROA up on the prior year3.3% → 3.9%
- Earnings backed by cashOperating cash flow above net income$129.22M vs $72.36M
- Less leverageLong-term debt to assets fell37.1% → 35.5%
- Better liquidityCurrent ratio rose2.04 → 2.05
- No dilutionShare count did not rise46M → 46M
- Gross margin improvedGross margin up on the prior year24.09% → 24.20%
- More efficientAsset turnover rose2.22 → 2.23
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