Chefs' Warehouse Shares Decline Due to Disappointing Earnings Forecast and Revised Guidance

NEW YORK - Shares of specialty food distributor Chefs' Warehouse Inc. (NASDAQ:CHEF) fell by 2.47% after the company reported third-quarter revenue that missed analyst expectations and lowered its annual guidance below forecasts.
The company reported revenue of $931.5 million for the quarter, falling short of the consensus estimate of $936.51 million. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.36, beating estimates by $0.02.
Chefs' Warehouse lowered its revenue guidance for the fiscal year 2024 to a range of $3.71 billion to $3.77 billion, which is below the $3.77 billion that analysts had anticipated.
Chairman and CEO Christopher Pappas stated, "Business and demand trends improved sequentially throughout the third quarter. Customer activity accelerated in the second half of the quarter, and the momentum in demand continued into October."
The company reported a 3.1% growth in organic case counts in its specialty category. Unique customer counts and product placements increased by 4.7% and 10.8%, respectively, compared to the same period last year.
Gross profit increased by 8.2% year-over-year, reaching $224.7 million, while gross margin expanded by 58 basis points to 24.1%.
Chefs' Warehouse expects adjusted EBITDA for the fiscal year 2024 to be between $210 million and $219 million.