US Foods Holding Corp. (USFD) Stock Price & How to Invest

US Foods Holding Corp. conducts its business through its wholly owned subsidiary US Foods, Inc. and operates as a broadline distributor, meaning it carries a wide assortment of fresh, frozen and dry food plus non-food supplies rather than specializing in one category. It supplies approximately ~250,000 customer locations spanning independent restaurants, national and regional chains, hospital systems, hotels and casinos, colleges, K-12 schools and government sites. The physical footprint is more than ~70 distribution facilities, a fleet of over ~6,500 trucks and over ~90 cash and carry stores, all run as a single operating segment from headquarters in Rosemont, Illinois. Its Exclusive Brands private label portfolio accounted for approximately ~35% of net sales through organic broadline channels in fiscal 2025, and the MOXe ordering platform, the Pronto small-drop delivery program and the Check suite of operator software are how the company tries to make itself hard for a small kitchen to replace. It employed approximately ~30,000 associates as of December 2025, of whom about ~6,600 sit under ~58 collective bargaining agreements.

Fiscal 2025 closed with net sales of ~$39.4 billion, adjusted EBITDA of ~$1.93 billion and adjusted diluted EPS of ~$3.98. The second quarter of fiscal 2026, reported on August 6, 2026, took net sales to ~$10.5 billion, gross profit to ~$1.9 billion and adjusted EBITDA to a record ~$604 million at a ~5.7% margin, with net income of ~$275 million and diluted EPS of ~$1.24. Trailing twelve month revenue is near ~$40.1 billion against a market value around ~$23.6 billion, which is the arithmetic of any distributor: enormous sales, a few cents of profit per dollar. Management reaffirmed fiscal 2026 guidance of ~4% to ~6% net sales growth, ~9% to ~13% adjusted EBITDA growth and ~18% to ~24% adjusted diluted EPS growth, helped by roughly ~1% from a 53rd week. The central question is whether the gap between ~1.9% total case growth and ~5.1% independent case growth can keep lifting margin while a shrinking share count supplies the rest of the EPS gain.

Foodservice distribution tracks restaurant traffic, and management itself called the environment challenging but stable, with chain case volume down ~1.5% in the second quarter. Food cost inflation of ~2.3% flatters the sales line while squeezing operators, so it can help revenue and hurt volume at once. Labor is a standing exposure: ~11 collective bargaining agreements covering approximately ~2,100 associates come up for renegotiation during fiscal 2026, and work stoppages have happened before. Net debt of ~$5.18 billion at ~2.6 times adjusted EBITDA is manageable but leaves less room than a cash-rich balance sheet would, and with no dividend, all shareholder return runs through buybacks and the share price. Merger discussions with Performance Food Group were terminated in November 2025, so any valuation premium resting on a combination has no announced transaction behind it, while Sysco, PFG and privately held Gordon Food Service keep competing for the same independent accounts.

16 analysts publish price targets on USFD, averaging $115.88 against a $108.89 price as of August 2026, or +6.4%. The published targets run from $61.00 to $130.00, a moderate spread, and the ratings split 12 buy, 3 hold, 1 sell. Over the last six months there have been 8 raises and 3 cuts among the published actions. A price target is what an analyst published on a date, not a prediction, and sell-side ratings skew positive across the whole market.

Read the full USFD forecast and price target for the target table, the recent rating actions by firm, and how the consensus has shifted.

We give no verdict on US Foods Holding Corp.. Both cases are real, which is why the question is contested at all, so here is the strongest version of each.

The case for buying. Independent restaurant case mix. Independent restaurants buy smaller drops at better gross profit per case than national chains, so the mix between them decides margin more than the headline sales number does. The most optimistic published target, $130.00, assumes this works close to its best case.

The case against. Foodservice distribution tracks restaurant traffic, and management itself called the environment challenging but stable, with chain case volume down ~1.5% in the second quarter. The most pessimistic target, $61.00, is roughly what USFD is worth if this bites instead.

Read the full bull and bear case on USFD, including what would have to change to break either one. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see US Foods Holding Corp.'s investor relations page or your broker.

• Revenue (TTM): ~$40.1B
• Q2 FY2026 net sales: ~$10.5B (+~4.5% YoY)
• Adjusted EBITDA (TTM): ~$2.01B
• Q2 FY2026 adjusted EBITDA margin: ~5.7% (+~29 bps)
• Net debt / net leverage: ~$5.18B / ~2.6x
• Market cap: ~$23.6B

The valuation only makes sense on profit rather than sales: ~$40.1 billion of trailing revenue converts to roughly ~$2.01 billion of trailing adjusted EBITDA, so enterprise value of about ~$28.8 billion works out near ~14 times that figure. Fiscal 2026 guidance of ~18% to ~24% adjusted diluted EPS growth off a ~$3.98 base implies roughly ~$4.70 to ~$4.95, with the buyback supplying a visible share of it. Reported diluted EPS runs well below the adjusted figure because of LIFO, restructuring and share-based compensation addbacks.

If you want USFD exposure as part of a larger bundle rather than directly, these ETFs hold it meaningfully. Weights are approximate and refresh quarterly.

Other names that sit close to USFD: same theme, named as a direct competitor, or held beside it in the same funds. Each entry says which. Worth a look if you are thinking about diversification within a thesis rather than concentration on one ticker.

There are three common ways to get USFD exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it (VBR, IJJ), which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic portfolio, so USFD sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.

Walnut takes the portfolio route. Describe a thesis where USFD fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.

New to this? Start with how to invest in stocks, see how to analyze a stock with AI, or compare the best AI stock analyzers.

USFD is a thin-margin distribution business whose earnings power comes from pushing higher-margin independent restaurant cases through a fixed delivery network, and the open question is whether that mix shift holds while total case volume grows only ~1.9%.

Whether USFD is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is USFD a buy or a sell?, and where the stock could go from here in the USFD stock forecast.

For income investors, whether USFD pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does USFD pay a dividend? And to weigh USFD against a peer, read the full side-by-side comparisons: USFD vs SYY and USFD vs PFGC.