Chefs' Warehouse 10-Q: Q3 EPS $0.67, Nine-Month Operating Cash Flow $141.1M
CHEF sits 86% above its 52-week low of $56.46.
Summary
Chefs' Warehouse filed its Q3 10-Q showing net income of $29.6 million ($0.67 diluted) on $1.14 billion of sales, with nine-month operating cash flow of $141.1 million. The filing also details the completed October 15 refinancing, including $437.1 million of cash and 2,671,056 shares delivered to converting noteholders.
Key Events · Earnings and Guidance · CHEF
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Q3 Profit Jumps on Margin Gain
Net income was $29.6 million, or $0.67 per diluted share, versus $19.1 million and $0.44 a year ago; net sales rose 11.2% to $1.14 billion and gross margin expanded 84 basis points to 25.0%.
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Operating Cash Flow Nearly Triples
Nine-month operating cash flow reached $141.1 million versus $55.4 million a year earlier, funding $25.4 million of capital expenditures and $10.0 million of share repurchases while cash rose to $164.7 million from $121.0 million at year-end.
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Convertible Notes Settled in Cash and Stock
Holders converted $287.2 million of the 2028 convertible notes; on October 15, 2026 the company paid about $437.1 million in cash and issued 2,671,056 shares, with the remainder funded by the new $675 million term loan due 2033.
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Debt Refinancing Extends Maturities
The $675 million 2033 term loan bears SOFR plus 2.00% and replaced the prior term loan, of which about $244.750 million was repaid in full; total debt obligations stood at $728.9 million at quarter-end with $183.4 million available on the ABL.
Analysis · CHEF · Trade & Services
Hard numbers now sit behind this morning's earnings headline. Third-quarter net income climbed to $29.6 million from $19.1 million, and gross margin widened 84 basis points to 25.0% as pricing and product-cost management offset food inflation. The more consequential story is cash: nine-month operating cash flow of $141.1 million versus $55.4 million a year ago, helped by lapping last year's inventory pull-forward, which funded $25.4 million of capex and $10.0 million of buybacks while cash rose to $164.7 million. Full detail is now available on the October 15 refinancing: a $675 million term loan due 2033 replaced the old facility, and holders converted $287.2 million of the 2.8% convertible notes into $437.1 million of cash plus 2,671,056 new shares, removing the convertible overhang but adding real share count.
How filings like this one have moved
In the 30 days to Oct 28, 2026, 30.5% of the 1494 measured filings Wiseek scored 7 moved their stock by 5% or more by the next session's close. The median move was -0.03%. These are measured outcomes after filings of this importance, not a forecast for this one.
Measured one observation per ticker per day, after exclusions. Current figures: Filing Impact Tracker · open dataset
At the time of this filing, CHEF was trading at $105.00 on NASDAQ in the Trade & Services sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $4.4B. The 52-week trading range was $56.46 to $118.51. This filing was assessed with positive market sentiment and an importance score of 7 out of 10.