New York, February 13, 2026, 09:10 EST — Premarket
- US Foods was recently quoted close to $102 in premarket trading, roughly matching Thursday’s closing level.
- US Foods shares surged 13.4% Thursday, fueled by Q4 earnings and fresh growth goals aimed at 2026.
- Piper Sandler’s Brian Mullan downgraded the stock to Neutral, but bumped his price target up to $103.
US Foods Holding Corp barely budged in premarket action Friday. Piper Sandler moved the foodservice distributor down to neutral, citing valuation concerns following a steep gain in the shares Thursday. 1
Shares were changing hands at $101.98 in premarket trading, holding steady after a 13.4% jump on Thursday. The stock started Thursday’s session at $89.42, hit a high of $102.03, and closed out the day at $101.98, Yahoo Finance data shows. 2
US Foods is hovering close to its recent highs, putting fresh focus on whether those margin improvements will stick if restaurant demand fades. The fourth-quarter report dropped into a market that’s still edgy about inflation and interest rates. 3
US Foods reported late Thursday that fourth-quarter net sales climbed 3.3% to $9.8 billion. Adjusted diluted earnings per share came in at $1.04, up from $0.84 the previous year. The company also posted an 11.1% jump in adjusted EBITDA, reaching $490 million. 3
Volume trends told a split story. Total case volume, which tracks cases shipped and serves as a core distribution metric, edged up 0.8%. That move was powered by a jump in independent restaurant case volume, up 4.1%. Chain volume, though, slid 3.4%, US Foods reported. 3
The company’s 8-K filing included its earnings release, confirming results for the quarter and full year ended Dec. 27, 2025. 4
US Foods is targeting net sales growth between 4% and 6% for fiscal 2026, while the company expects adjusted EBITDA to climb 9% to 13%. Adjusted diluted EPS growth? The forecast ranges from 18% to 24%. Their guidance factors in a 53rd week, which management says will contribute roughly 1% to both total case growth and adjusted EBITDA. 3
Buybacks played a role too. US Foods said it pulled back 4.2 million shares for $327 million in the fourth quarter, with $934 million in repurchases logged for the year. The company reported it still has around $1.09 billion authorized for future buybacks. 3
US Foods showed stronger cash flow this year, pulling in $1.37 billion from operations in fiscal 2025. Still, leverage is hard to ignore: net debt stands at $5.2 billion, about 2.7x its adjusted EBITDA. 3
CEO Dave Flitman said, “We grew Adjusted EBITDA 11% to a record $1.9 billion,” framing 2025 as a “strong start” to the company’s three-year plan. In the release, he also flagged a “softer economic environment.” 3
Piper Sandler’s Brian Mullan downgraded US Foods, shifting the stock to neutral from overweight, StreetInsider reports. He also slapped a $103 price target on the shares. 1
Moves varied. Citi, BTIG, BMO Capital, and Deutsche Bank all bumped up their price targets Friday, post-earnings, TheFly noted. 5
Beyond the action in individual stocks, investors sifted through fresh U.S. inflation numbers from Friday morning. The Labor Department reported a 0.2% rise in January’s consumer price index and a 2.4% gain over the past year. Stock index futures barely budged after the figures landed. 6
Even so, the downside risk is easy to see. Chain volumes keep dropping, and management’s latest remarks pointed to weaker demand conditions. If restaurant traffic slips further, those earnings goals and Thursday’s valuation bump start to look vulnerable. 3
Next week brings another chance for investors to tune in, as Flitman and CFO Dirk Locascio are set to take the stage at the CAGNY 2026 Conference, slated for Feb. 19 at 3:00 p.m. ET. 7
