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Sysco Corp.: Q2 FY2026 earnings call

What management said about Q2 FY2026, from the documents filed with the SEC on 27 January 2026: press release. Guidance figures: 1 raised, 1 new, 1 kept. The quarter’s numbers.

Key takeaways

  • Sales and gross profit both grew: Sales rose 3.0% to $20.8 billion and gross profit rose 3.9% to $3.8 billion. The company attributed the gross profit increase to management of product cost inflation and strategic sourcing efficiencies. Source
  • Diluted EPS down, adjusted EPS up: Diluted EPS fell 1.2% to $0.81, and net earnings fell 4.2% to $389 million. Adjusted EPS rose 6.5% to $0.99, and adjusted net earnings rose 3.9% to $476 million. Source
  • U.S. local volume turned positive: Management said U.S. Foodservice local case volume is now positive, after 1.2% growth in the quarter. Source
  • International sales and profit rose: International Foodservice sales rose 7.3% to $4.0 billion, or 3.6% in constant currency. Operating income rose 23.2% to $117 million, and adjusted operating income rose 25.6% to $162 million. Source
  • Product cost inflation and margin: Product cost inflation was 2.9% at enterprise level, primarily in meat and seafood, and gross margin rose 15 basis points to 18.3%. Source

“Sysco delivered strong results in the second quarter of fiscal year 2026.”

Kevin Hourican, Sysco’s Chair of the Board and Chief Executive Officer

Guidance

AreaPeriodFigureAgainst last quarter
Full-year adjusted EPS SourceFiscal year 2026high end of the previously provided range of $4.50-$4.60Raised from adjusted EPS growth of 1%-3%
Local case growth SourceSecond half of fiscal year 2026at least 2.5%New
Adjusted EPS growth excluding incentive compensation headwind SourceFiscal year 2026high end of approximately 5%-7%
Incentive compensation headwind SourceFiscal year 2026approximately $100 million ($0.16 per diluted share)Kept

What changed from last quarter

  • Guidance raised: Management said it now expects full-year adjusted EPS at the high end of the previously provided range, up from the earlier 1%-3% growth guidance. Source
  • New guidance: Management said it expects at least 2.5% local case growth in the second half of fiscal 2026, a figure not given in the prior release. Source

Results and growth drivers

  • Sales and gross profit both grew: Sales rose 3.0% to $20.8 billion and gross profit rose 3.9% to $3.8 billion. The company attributed the gross profit increase to management of product cost inflation and strategic sourcing efficiencies. Source
  • Diluted EPS down, adjusted EPS up: Diluted EPS fell 1.2% to $0.81, and net earnings fell 4.2% to $389 million. Adjusted EPS rose 6.5% to $0.99, and adjusted net earnings rose 3.9% to $476 million. Source
  • Operating income fell, adjusted rose: Operating income fell 2.8% to $692 million, and operating margin declined 20 basis points to 3.3%. Adjusted operating income rose 3.1% to $807 million, excluding restructuring, transformation and acquisition-related costs. Source
  • U.S. local volume turned positive: Management said U.S. Foodservice local case volume is now positive, after 1.2% growth in the quarter. Source

Segments and regions

  • U.S. Foodservice sales rose, profit dipped: U.S. Foodservice sales rose 2.4% to $14.4 billion, and gross margin was 18.9%. Operating income fell 1.7% to $820 million, which management linked to planned investments partly offset by improved volumes. Source
  • International sales and profit rose: International Foodservice sales rose 7.3% to $4.0 billion, or 3.6% in constant currency. Operating income rose 23.2% to $117 million, and adjusted operating income rose 25.6% to $162 million. Source
  • Currency lifted international results: Foreign exchange increased International sales by 3.7% and total Sysco sales by 0.7%. Excluding the divested Mexico joint venture, International sales grew 9.9%. Source
  • SYGMA sales edged up: SYGMA sales rose 0.5% to $2.1 billion, with gross margin of 7.7% and operating income up 10.5% to $21 million. Other sales fell 3.4% to $254 million. Source

“Second quarter results reflected high-quality performance across the income statement and cash flow.”

Kevin Hourican, Sysco’s Chair of the Board and Chief Executive Officer

Products and customers

  • Sysco brand share of sales fell: Sysco brand sales were 35.3% of U.S. Broadline cases, down 73 basis points, and 45.3% of local cases, down 74 basis points, compared with the prior year. Source
  • Results tied to Sysco initiatives: Management said the quarter's results highlighted operational execution on Sysco-specific initiatives, and cited increased local case growth as a driver. Source
  • Large network of distribution sites: The company described itself as operating 337 distribution centers in 10 countries, with 75,000 colleagues serving approximately 730,000 customer locations. Source

Costs, margins and pricing

  • Product cost inflation and margin: Product cost inflation was 2.9% at enterprise level, primarily in meat and seafood, and gross margin rose 15 basis points to 18.3%. Source
  • Operating expenses grew on investment: Operating expenses rose 5.5% to $3.1 billion, driven by sales headcount and capacity investments and by lapping prior-year incentive compensation. Adjusted operating expenses rose 4.1%. Source
  • Certain items excluded from adjusted results: Adjusted results excluded $57 million of restructuring and transformational project costs and $58 million of acquisition-related costs from operating expenses in the quarter. Source

“approximately 5%-7%, in-line with our long-term financial algorithm,”

Kenny Cheung, Sysco’s Chief Financial Officer

Capital, cash and returns to shareholders

  • Cash and debt at quarter end: Cash was $1.2 billion and total liquidity was $2.9 billion at quarter end. Debt to net earnings was approximately 7.6 times, and net debt to adjusted EBITDA approximately 2.9 times. Source
  • First-half free cash flow reported: Operating cash flow was $611 million and free cash flow was $413 million for the first 26 weeks. Capital expenditures, net of plant and equipment sales, were $198 million. Source
  • Dividends returned $518 million: Sysco returned $518 million to shareholders through dividends in the first 26 weeks. The cash flow statement shows no stock repurchases in that period, against $300 million a year earlier. Source

Strategy, investment and initiatives

  • Transformation costs in supply chain: Restructuring and severance charges were $10 million and transformation initiative costs were $47 million in the quarter, mainly for supply chain transformation and business technology changes. Source
  • Acquisition-related costs in quarter: Acquisition-related costs included $35 million of intangible amortization and $23 million of acquisition costs. Acquisitions of businesses used $133 million of cash in the first 26 weeks. Source
  • Local growth tied to momentum: Management linked its expectations for local growth to building momentum and progress on key growth initiatives. Source

People and leadership

  • Thanks to the whole organization: Kevin Hourican, Chair and Chief Executive Officer, thanked the entire organization for its steadfast commitment to customers. Source
  • Work remains, momentum noted: Hourican said there is still more work to be done and that he is pleased with the momentum of the business. He described it as an exciting time to be at Sysco. Source
  • Growth framed against long-term algorithm: Chief Financial Officer Kenny Cheung described the adjusted EPS growth expectation as in line with the company's long-term financial algorithm. Source

Figures management reported

FigureReported
U.S. Foodservice total case volume growth Source0.8%
U.S. Foodservice local case volume growth Source1.2%
Sysco brand sales as % of cases, U.S. Broadline Source35.3%
Sysco brand sales as % of cases, local Source45.3%

Risks management discussed

  • Demand: Management noted decelerating industry foot traffic to restaurants, which partly offset the volume gains in the U.S. Foodservice segment. Source

Earlier plans management reported on

  • Met: Management said it delivered a third consecutive quarter of sequentially improving local case growth. Source

Other quarters

Summarised with AI from the documents the company filed with the SEC. Every point is checked against the filing before it is shown: management’s own words word for word, figures against the line or table row they come from. A point that fails the check is left out. Source opens the filing at that line.