Want to see UNFI full AI Analyst Report?
Top Page
United Natural Foods
(NYSE:UNFI)
Select Model
Select Model
Rating:52Neutral
Price Target:
$46.00
▼(-3.36% Downside)
Action:Reiterated
Date:09/15/26
UNFI scores in the low-to-mid range primarily due to weak underlying financial quality (thin margins, meaningful leverage, and revenue contraction), partially offset by strong recent cash generation. The latest earnings call guidance and sentiment are constructive (EBITDA/EPS growth outlook and continued deleveraging), but technical indicators remain soft and the valuation (P/E ~32.7 with no dividend yield provided) offers limited cushion.
Positive Factors
Cash Generation and Deleveraging
FY2026 operating cash flow of about $540M and free cash flow of $323M show that UNFI converts a low-margin distribution model into meaningful cash. This supports debt reduction, ongoing investment, and resilience while profitability rebuilds.
Negative Factors
Revenue Contraction and Thin Margins
The sharp revenue decline and exceptionally thin margins leave little room for execution errors or cost inflation. Even modest volume, pricing, or logistics pressure can materially affect earnings, making durable profit expansion dependent on restoring sales and operating leverage.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Cash Generation and Deleveraging
FY2026 operating cash flow of about $540M and free cash flow of $323M show that UNFI converts a low-margin distribution model into meaningful cash. This supports debt reduction, ongoing investment, and resilience while profitability rebuilds.
Read all positive factors
United Natural Foods (UNFI) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$2.91B
Dividend YieldN/A
Average Volume (3M)615.37K
Price to Earnings (P/E)34.9
Beta (1Y)0.72
Revenue Growth-1.99%
EPS GrowthN/A
CountryUS
Employees23,431
SectorConsumer Defensive
Sector Strength42
IndustryFood Distribution
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)1.38
Shares Outstanding60,317,085
10 Day Avg. Volume519,257
30 Day Avg. Volume615,365
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio-0.22
Price to Book (P/B)1.90
Price to Sales (P/S)0.10
P/FCF Ratio9.55
Enterprise Value/Market Cap2.13
Enterprise Value/Revenue0.20
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit1.48
Enterprise Value/Ebitda11.82
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$51.60Price Target Upside8.40% Upside
Rating ConsensusHold
Number of Analyst Covering6
EPS Forecast (FY)3.35
Revenue Forecast (FY)$31.55B
United Natural Foods Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI), founded in 1976 and based in Providence, Rhode Island, functions as a prominent distributor of a wide spectrum of products across the United States and Canada. The company supplies natural, organic, and specialty...
How the Company Makes Money
UNFI primarily makes money by purchasing food and related products from manufacturers and producers and reselling them to customers at a markup through its wholesale distribution network. Its core revenue stream is product sales to retail customer...
United Natural Foods Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Sep 08, 2026
(Q4-2026)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Dec 09, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call was broadly optimistic. UNFI reported strong fiscal 26 EBITDA, free cash flow, EPS, deleveraging, margin improvement, technology deployment, and operational progress, while guiding to high single-digit EBITDA growth, 23% adjusted EPS growth at the midpoint, a return to profitable growth, and leverage below 2.0x. The main challenges were reported sales declines caused by optimization actions and project work, weakness in conventional products and retail, first-quarter sales headwinds, fuel and inflation considerations, competitive conditions, and continued operational improvement needs.Positive Updates
Strong Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year EBITDA Performance
Fourth-quarter adjusted EBITDA was $172 million, contributing to full-year adjusted EBITDA of $701 million and full-year EBITDA growth of 27%. Full-year adjusted EBITDA was near the top of the guidance range.
Negative Updates
Reported Fourth-Quarter Sales Decline
Fourth-quarter reported sales declined by less than 1% compared with last year. The reported result included an approximately 500-basis-point impact from optimization actions and an approximately 150-basis-point impact from short-term project work.
Read all updates
Q4-2026 Updates
Positive
Negative
Strong Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year EBITDA Performance
Fourth-quarter adjusted EBITDA was $172 million, contributing to full-year adjusted EBITDA of $701 million and full-year EBITDA growth of 27%. Full-year adjusted EBITDA was near the top of the guidance range.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
For fiscal 27, sales are expected to be in the range of $31.2 to $31.8 billion, up 1% at the midpoint, with year over year sales expected to decline in the first quarter before returning to profitable growth in the second half; adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of $730 to $780 million, representing a high single digit growth rate at the midpoint, with year over year margin expansion of 10 basis points; adjusted EPS is expected to be $3 to $3.50 per share, representing an increase of about 60¢ per share or 23% growth at the midpoint; CapEx is expected to be approximately $300 million, free cash flow is expected to be between $275 and $325 million, and net leverage is expected to improve to under 2x by end of fiscal 27. The company presently expects adjusted EBITDA in fiscal 28 to grow approximately 10% versus the 2027 guidance mid point, while fiscal 27 includes a low single digit assumption for inflation and basically no reliance on procurement gains.United Natural Foods Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
44
Neutral
Balance Sheet
45
Neutral
Cash Flow
57
Neutral
| Breakdown | Jul 2026 | Jul 2025 | Jul 2024 | Jul 2023 | Jul 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | |||||
| Total Revenue | 31.15B | 31.78B | 30.98B | 30.27B | 28.93B |
| Gross Profit | 4.20B | 4.22B | 4.20B | 4.13B | 4.18B |
| EBITDA | 524.00M | 306.00M | 344.00M | 455.00M | 750.00M |
| Net Income | 84.00M | -118.00M | -112.00M | 24.00M | 248.00M |
Balance Sheet | |||||
| Total Assets | 7.11B | 7.59B | 7.53B | 7.39B | 7.63B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 37.00M | 44.00M | 40.00M | 37.00M | 44.00M |
| Total Debt | 3.04B | 3.45B | 3.55B | 3.27B | 3.38B |
| Total Liabilities | 5.49B | 6.04B | 5.89B | 5.65B | 5.84B |
| Stockholders Equity | 1.62B | 1.55B | 1.64B | 1.74B | 1.79B |
Cash Flow | |||||
| Free Cash Flow | 323.00M | 239.00M | -92.00M | 301.00M | 80.00M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 540.00M | 470.00M | 253.00M | 624.00M | 331.00M |
| Investing Cash Flow | -169.00M | -218.00M | -342.00M | -339.00M | -49.00M |
| Financing Cash Flow | -377.00M | -248.00M | 92.00M | -292.00M | -279.00M |
United Natural Foods Technical Analysis
Positive
47.60
Price Trends
45.86
Positive
47.42
Positive
45.50
Positive
Market Momentum
0.58
Negative
60.74
Neutral
72.76
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For UNFI, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 47.6 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 46.01, above the 50-day MA of 45.86, and above the 200-day MA of 45.50, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 0.58 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 60.74 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 72.76 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for UNFI.
United Natural Foods Risk Analysis
United Natural Foods disclosed 24 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. United Natural Foods reported the most risks in the "Finance & Corporate" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
United Natural Foods Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (62)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
69 Neutral | $22.19B | 31.08 | 16.75% | ― | 3.83% | 38.81% | |
67 Neutral | $4.45B | 45.79 | 15.09% | ― | 11.16% | 30.78% | |
62 Neutral | $20.33B | 14.63 | -3.31% | 3.23% | 1.93% | -12.26% | |
60 Neutral | $15.19B | 41.85 | 7.63% | ― | 7.17% | 4.89% | |
58 Neutral | $40.49B | 22.43 | 75.46% | 2.65% | 3.91% | -2.17% | |
52 Neutral | $2.91B | 34.91 | 5.32% | ― | -1.99% | ― | |
48 Neutral | $78.70M | -2.25 | -16.25% | ― | 2.78% | 28.68% |
* Consumer Defensive Sector Average
UNFI
United Natural Foods
48.32
9.55
24.63%
SYY
Sysco
82.30
8.55
11.59%
CHEF
The Chefs' Warehouse
108.99
50.38
85.96%
PFGC
Performance Food Group
96.26
-3.87
-3.86%
USFD
US Foods Holding
102.57
28.26
38.03%
HFFG
HF Foods Group
1.46
-0.74
-33.64%
United Natural Foods Corporate Events
Business Operations and StrategyStock BuybackFinancial Disclosures
United Natural Foods Announces New $200M Share Buyback
Positive
Sep 8, 2026
On September 3, 2026, United Natural Foods’ board authorized a new share repurchase program of up to $200 million, replacing a 2022 authorization and giving the company flexible, open-ended capacity to buy back stock in the market or through...
Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board Changes
United Natural Foods Announces Major Leadership Reorganization
Positive
Jul 9, 2026
On July 7, 2026, United Natural Foods’ board approved leadership changes aimed at strengthening execution of its value creation strategy, effective August 3, 2026. The company appointed President and CFO Giorgio Matteo Tarditi as President a...
Business Operations and StrategyPrivate Placements and Financing
United Natural Foods Lowers Term Loan Interest Margin
Positive
Jun 22, 2026
On June 18, 2026, United Natural Foods and its affiliated borrowers amended their existing term loan agreement, repricing approximately $371 million of outstanding debt. The amendment reduces the applicable margin over the secured overnight financ...
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.