Performance Food Group Stock Rises After Q1 Earnings Beat, Full-Year Outlook Held

Performance Food Group (NYSE:PFGC) shares are up about 3% during Wednesday’s premarket session after the foodservice distributor reported first-quarter financial results that beat earnings estimates, with sales in line with expectations. The company also reiterated its full-year fiscal 2027 financial guidance.

Performance Food reported quarterly earnings of $1.32 per share, topping the analyst consensus estimate of $1.28 and up 12% from $1.18 a year earlier.

Quarterly sales of $18.018 billion were in line with the $18.017 billion consensus estimate and rose 5.5% from $17.08 billion a year earlier, according to Benzinga Pro.

Fiscal 2027 Outlook Reaffirmed

Performance Food Group expects second-quarter sales of $17 billion to $17.2 billion, compared with the analyst estimate of $17.39 billion.

The company reaffirmed its fiscal 2027 sales outlook of $72.5 billion to $73 billion, compared with the analyst estimate of $72.82 billion.

Case Volume and Margins

Total case volume rose 4.2%. Independent foodservice case volume, which covers sales to independent restaurants and similar customers, rose 7.8%. Organic independent cases, which exclude acquisitions, rose 5.5%. The company said product cost inflation averaged about 3.4%, which raised selling prices per case.

Gross profit rose 8.5% to $2.2 billion. The company attributed the increase to vendor rebates and promotional incentives, a shift toward higher-margin independent sales, and recent acquisitions. Operating expenses rose 6.9% to $1.9 billion, driven by acquisitions, personnel costs and fuel.

Adjusted EBITDA, a measure of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization that excludes certain items, rose 10% to $528.0 million. Foodservice segment adjusted EBITDA rose 13.4% to $367.9 million, while the Specialty segment’s fell 4.8% to $89.5 million. Net income rose 38.4% to $129.5 million.

Cash Flow and Debt

Net cash used in operating activities was $89.3 million, compared with $145.2 million a year earlier. The company said the change came mainly from the timing and volume of advance inventory purchases.

Free cash flow, which is operating cash flow minus capital spending, was negative $143.2 million, compared with negative $224.1 million a year earlier. Long-term debt stood at $5.17 billion, up from $5.01 billion at the end of the prior fiscal year.

"We recognize the macroeconomic environment remains challenging, but I am confident in our ability to continue gaining market share, execute our strategic priorities and deliver strong results through the remainder of fiscal 2027," said Scott McPherson, the company’s president and CEO.

PFGC Stock Price Activity: Performance Food shares are trading higher by 3.00% at $99.41 during premarket trading on Wednesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Photo by Sidney van den Boogaard via Shutterstock