NEW YORK, June 9, 2026, 12:03 EDT
- United Natural Foods shares dropped roughly 12.4% around midday as revenue for the fiscal third quarter came in below forecasts.
- The company hit adjusted EPS forecasts. Sales dropped 4.2% and its full-year outlook came in just under consensus.
- Management said network changes are planned and costs are being cut, with natural-products growth also in focus. Fuel and pressure on consumers are still risks.
United Natural Foods shares dropped 12% Tuesday as the company posted quarterly sales that missed estimates, knocking back gains from an improving profit and falling debt. The stock last traded at $45.25, off 12.4%. For comparison, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF lost 1.0% and the iShares Russell 2000 ETF fell 0.5%.
Trading took place during standard NYSE hours. June 9 doesn’t appear on the exchange’s 2026 market holiday calendar, and regular session goes from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern.
United Natural Foods met Wall Street profit forecasts, with adjusted EPS at 77 cents, but missed on revenue. Sales came in at $7.72 billion, short of the $7.80 billion analysts expected, according to Investing.com.
UNFI shares had climbed sharply ahead of the report. The stock ended Monday at $51.64 and had gained over 120% in the last year, Investing.com data showed, so the bar was high for revenue. The company improved profitability but still missed on sales.
United Natural Foods reported net sales of $7.72 billion for the 13 weeks ended May 2, down 4.2% from last year. Net income came to $33 million, or 52 cents a diluted share, swinging from a $7 million loss the year before, according to the company.
Adjusted EBITDA rose 16.6% to $183 million. Adjusted EPS came in at 77 cents, up from 44 cents for the same period last year.
UNFI CEO Sandy Douglas said the company saw “underlying sales growth” and “strong free cash flow” as it kept up spending on its supply-chain tools. On the earnings call, Douglas said UNFI was making “steady progress” on efforts to make the business run better for customers and suppliers. Business Wire
Sales were mixed. Natural-product sales gained 4.4% to $4.34 billion. Conventional sales dropped 13.6% to $3.14 billion. Retail sales fell 10.1% to $515 million. UNFI said around 450 basis points of the total sales drop was tied to planned “optimization” moves—steps to shift its customer base and distribution setup, including exiting its Allentown, Pennsylvania distribution center. Business Wire
President and CFO Matteo Tarditi told analysts that the core business, when stripped of network optimization and project work, matched UNFI’s target market and beat the rest of the industry. He added that growth in natural was driven by demand for “natural, organic, fresh, and specialty products.” MarketBeat
UNFI tightened its 2026 guidance but left midpoints steady. The company projects net sales of $31.1 billion to $31.3 billion, adjusted EPS at $2.40 to $2.60, and adjusted EBITDA between $685 million and $705 million. The midpoints for revenue and EPS came in just below the Wall Street consensus tracked by Investing.com.
Balance sheet numbers got better. The company said net debt is down to $1.63 billion. Net leverage, the debt-to-earnings ratio lenders and investors track, is at 2.5 times—lowest since fiscal 2018. About 990,000 shares were bought back in fiscal 2026 through May, costing about $38 million.
UNFI shares dropped while other food distributors gained. Sysco, US Foods and Performance Food Group all traded higher around midday. That pointed to a company-specific selloff for UNFI, not a sector-wide pullback.
But there’s risk ahead. Tarditi said UNFI accounted for higher fuel and transport costs. Douglas noted customers are focused on value as high energy bills and cuts to SNAP hit budget shoppers. If sales skip a rebound in fiscal 2027 like management expects, investors might keep discounting the turnaround.
