United Natural Foods Inc (UNFI) stock analysis
Close on Nov 13, 2026Market cap $2.94BP/E 36.3Yield –
StockData Score
Prices as of Nov 13, 2026How the score works
Mixed9 of 30 checks passed
United Natural Foods passes 9 of the 30 checks behind our score; 6 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
- 1/6
- Growth
- 2/6
- Past performance
- 1/6
- Financial health
- 5/6
- Dividend
- 0/6
What stands out
Low debt
Debt is 0.1% of shareholders' equity, under the 40% we consider low.
EPS growing 10%+ a year
Diluted EPS grew 49.6% a year over the last three fiscal years.
Debt covered by cash flow
Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals 27000% of total debt.
Low bankruptcy risk
The Altman Z-score is 5.14; above 3 is the safe zone and below 1.8 the distress zone.
What to watch
Margin of safety under 20%
The price is 8.4% above fair value, so there is no margin of safety.
Trading above fair value
The share price of $48.70 is above our fair value estimate of $44.93.
Return on equity under 15%
Return on equity was 5.3% over the last twelve months and averaged 1.5% over five years; we look for 15% on both.
Return on capital under 10%
Return on invested capital was 7.0%, below the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.
Valuation1/6
P/E above its 5-year median
United Natural Foods's P/E of 36.3 is above its own 5-year median of 10.6.
P/E above the industry
United Natural Foods's P/E of 36.3 is above the Groceries and Related Products median of 27.5.
EV/EBITDA above its 5-year median
United Natural Foods's EV/EBITDA of 5.6 is above its 5-year median of 4.3.
P/B below the industry
United Natural Foods's price-to-book of 1.81 is below the Groceries and Related Products median of 3.47.
Trading above fair value
The share price of $48.70 is above our fair value estimate of $44.93.
Margin of safety under 20%
The price is 8.4% above fair value, so there is no margin of safety.
Growth2/6
Revenue growing under 10% a year
Revenue grew 1.0% a year over the last three fiscal years, short of the 10% we look for.
EPS growing 10%+ a year
Diluted EPS grew 49.6% a year over the last three fiscal years.
Earnings acceleration
Needs positive net income now, a year ago and five years ago.
Growing slower than the industry
Revenue grew -2.0% over the last twelve months; the Groceries and Related Products median is 5.2%.
Guidance lowered
United Natural Foods lowered its Fiscal Year Ending August 1, 2026 (52 weeks) Net sales outlook on Mar 10, 2026.
Gross margin improving
Gross margin was 13.5% over the last twelve months, against 13.3% a year earlier.
Past performance1/6
Return on equity under 15%
Return on equity was 5.3% over the last twelve months and averaged 1.5% over five years; we look for 15% on both.
Return on capital under 10%
Return on invested capital was 7.0%, below the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.
Return on equity below the industry
United Natural Foods's return on equity of 5.3% is below the Groceries and Related Products median of 12.2%.
Earnings shrank over 5 years
Net income shrank 10.8% a year on average over the last five fiscal years.
Net margin above its 5-year average
Net margin was 0.3% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 0.1%.
Net margin below the industry
United Natural Foods's net margin of 0.3% is below the Groceries and Related Products median of 2.0%.
Financial health5/6
Low debt
Debt is 0.1% of shareholders' equity, under the 40% we consider low.
Debt falling against equity
Debt to equity fell from 144% five years ago to 0.1%.
Debt covered by cash flow
Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals 27000% of total debt.
Interest not well covered
Operating income covers interest expense 1.7 times; we look for at least 5.
Short-term assets cover short-term debts
Current assets are 1.29 times current liabilities.
Low bankruptcy risk
The Altman Z-score is 5.14; above 3 is the safe zone and below 1.8 the distress zone.
Dividend0/6
No dividend
United Natural Foods 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
$44.93
The share price is 8% above this estimate.
| Method | Multiple used | Own 5Y median | Industry median | Value per share | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P/E | 19.0× | 10.6× | 27.5× | $25.49 | 40% |
| EV/EBITDA | 8.3× | 4.3× | 12.3× | $71.34 | 35% |
| P/B | 2.3× | 1.2× | 3.5× | $62.02 | 10% |
| Earnings power | 11.5% cost of equity | – | – | $23.79 | 15% |
| Fair value | $44.93 | 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 10.6
- Groceries and Related Products median 27.5
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
- $24.84M
- Value traded per 1% price move
- $13.58M
Downside
Low risk
- Typical loss in a bad month
- 13.3%
- Volatility (annualized)
- 43%
- Sharpe ratio, 1 year
- 0.39
- Beta to the S&P 500 (5Y)
- 1.28
Typical bad-month loss, week by week
Margins
Share of revenue, fiscal years 2012 to 2026
Gross margin
Operating margin
Net margin
Growth rates
Compound annual growth to fiscal 2026
| Per year | 1 year | 3 years | 5 years | 10 years | Five-year pace |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | -2.0% | +1.0% | +2.9% | +13.9% | |
| Gross profit | -0.6% | +0.5% | +1.3% | +12.6% | |
| Operating income | – | +20.7% | -6.4% | -0.6% | |
| Net income | – | +51.8% | -10.8% | -4.0% | |
| EPS, diluted | – | +49.6% | -11.6% | – | |
| Free cash flow | +35.1% | +2.4% | +1.2% | +2.4% |
Returns and balance sheet
10 fiscal years. Hover a measure to see how it is calculated.
| Measure | FY2017 | FY2021 | FY2026 | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return on equity | 8.1% | 11.2% | 5.3% | |
| Return on assets | 4.5% | 2.0% | 1.1% | |
| Current ratio | 2.36 | 1.43 | 1.29 | |
| Debt to equity | 0.10 | 1.44 | – | |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 0.47× | 3.71× | – | |
| Interest coverage | 13.5× | 1.4× | 1.7× | |
| Inventory turnover | 7.6× | 10.2× | 13.3× | |
| Capex to revenue | 0.6% | 1.2% | 0.7% | |
| Diluted shares | 51M | 60M | 63M |
Where the cash went
Fiscal 2022 to 2026, five years combined
United Natural Foods generated $2.22B from operations and spent $1.48B on capital expenditure, dividends and share buybacks. 92% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | 0.3% | 4.24× | 4.64× | 5.3% |
| FY2025 | -0.4% | 4.20× | 4.74× | -7.4% |
| FY2024 | -0.4% | 4.15× | 4.41× | -6.6% |
| FY2023 | 0.1% | 4.03× | 4.25× | 1.4% |
| FY2022 | 0.9% | 3.82× | 4.58× | 15.0% |
| FY2021 | 0.6% | 3.57× | 5.68× | 11.2% |
| FY2020 | -1.0% | 3.60× | 5.57× | -20.7% |
| FY2019 | -1.3% | 4.41× | 3.02× | -17.0% |
| FY2018 | 1.6% | 3.50× | 1.66× | 9.2% |
| FY2017 | 1.4% | 3.23× | 1.79× | 8.1% |
Piotroski F-Score
Nine tests of profitability, balance sheet and efficiency, fiscal 2026 against fiscal 2025
- ProfitableNet income above zero$84.00M
- Cash generatingOperating cash flow above zero$540.00M
- Return on assets improvedROA up on the prior year-1.6% → 1.1%
- Earnings backed by cashOperating cash flow above net income$540.00M vs $84.00M
- Less leverageLong-term debt to assets fell24.5% → –
- Better liquidityCurrent ratio rose1.32 → 1.29
- No dilutionShare count did not rise60M → 63M
- Gross margin improvedGross margin up on the prior year13.28% → 13.47%
- More efficientAsset turnover rose4.22 → 4.10
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