CHEF vs UNFI: Chefs Warehouse and United Natural Foods compared
The short version
From the latest prices and each company's SEC filings. Who's ahead on each measure, not which to buy.
- Chefs Warehouse is the larger company, worth $4.5B, about 1.7 times United Natural Foods.
- Chefs Warehouse grew revenue faster over the last year (+11.4% vs -0.7%).
- Chefs Warehouse keeps more of each dollar of revenue as operating profit (3.6% vs 0.7%).
- Chefs Warehouse's price assumes faster free cash flow growth: about 17% a year, against -7% for United Natural Foods (reverse DCF).
Side by side
The stronger figure is shaded where higher (or, for valuation multiples, lower) reads as better. How the implied growth works.
| Measure | CHEF | UNFI |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $4.5B | $2.6B |
| Share price | $114.32 | $44.51 |
| Revenue (last fiscal year) | $4.1B | $31.2B |
| Free cash flow (last fiscal year) | $88M | $323M |
| Revenue growth, last year | +11.4% | -0.7% |
| Revenue growth per year, last 5 fiscal years | +24.2% | +1.9% |
| Operating margin | 3.6% | 0.68% |
| Net margin | 1.9% | 0.27% |
| Return on equity | 13.1% | 5.2% |
| P/E (trailing) | 59.8x | — |
| Price / free cash flow | 50.8x | 10.9x |
| EV / EBITDA | 26.0x | 11.1x |
| FCF growth the price implies | 17.2% | -7.1% |
| Dividend yield | — | — |
| Debt / equity | 2.27x | 3.38x |
| Fundamental grade | C | D |
| Superinvestors holding it | 2 | 4 |
| Insider purchases, last 12 months | 0 | 2 |
Results from SEC filings
Revenue and free cash flow by fiscal year, from each company's 10-K filings.
Chefs Warehouse
| Year | Revenue | Free cash flow | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $1.7B | -$59M | 0.62% |
| 2022 | $2.6B | -$23M | 3.3% |
| 2023 | $3.4B | $4M | 2.9% |
| 2024 | $3.8B | $104M | 3.4% |
| 2025 | $4.1B | $88M | 3.5% |
United Natural Foods
| Year | Revenue | Free cash flow | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $28.9B | $80M | 1.5% |
| 2023 | $30.3B | $301M | 0.40% |
| 2024 | $31.0B | -$92M | 0.03% |
| 2025 | $31.8B | $239M | -0.10% |
| 2026 | $31.2B | $323M | 0.68% |
Where the revenue comes from
Chefs Warehouse · by products, 2025
Center-of-the-plate$1.6B39%
Dry goods$657M16%
Pastry$562M14%
Produce$517M12%
Dairy and eggs$297M7%
Cheeses and charcuterie$293M7%
United Natural Foods · by segments, 2026
Natural$17.1B55%
Conventional$11.9B38%
Retail$2.2B7%
Compare them in fullFifteen years of statements, quarterly results, DCF and IRR models, and any number of peers side by side.
Open CHEF in InvestinglyQuestions
Which is bigger, Chefs Warehouse or United Natural Foods?
Chefs Warehouse (CHEF), at $4.5B against $2.6B.
Which grows faster, CHEF or UNFI?
Chefs Warehouse: revenue grew +11.4% over the last year, against -0.7%.
Prices and ratios as of the last daily update; statements from SEC filings. Information only, not investment advice.