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Side-by-side financial comparison of American Water Works (AWK) and Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. (CHEF). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

American Water Works is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($1.3B vs $1.1B, roughly 1.1× Chefs' Warehouse, Inc.). American Water Works runs the higher net margin — 18.7% vs 1.9%, a 16.8% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (10.5% vs 5.8%). Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. produced more free cash flow last quarter ($65.8M vs $-385.0M). Over the past eight quarters, Chefs' Warehouse, Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (14.3% CAGR vs 12.6%).

American Water Works Company, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides water and wastewater services in the United States. It offers water and wastewater services to approximately 1,700 communities in 14 states serving approximately 3.4 million active customers. The company serves residential customers; commercial customers, including food and beverage providers, commercial property developers and proprietors, and energy suppliers; fire service and private fire customers; industrial customers...

Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. is a leading North American specialty food distributor that primarily serves independent restaurants, fine dining venues, hotels, catering firms, and other foodservice operators. It offers a curated portfolio of over 150,000 products including artisanal ingredients, specialty meats, seafood, dairy, pastries, and imported gourmet goods tailored for professional chefs.

AWK vs CHEF — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
AWK
AWK
1.1× larger
AWK
$1.3B
$1.1B
CHEF
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
CHEF
CHEF
+4.7% gap
CHEF
10.5%
5.8%
AWK
Higher net margin
AWK
AWK
16.8% more per $
AWK
18.7%
1.9%
CHEF
More free cash flow
CHEF
CHEF
$450.8M more FCF
CHEF
$65.8M
$-385.0M
AWK
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
CHEF
CHEF
Annualised
CHEF
14.3%
12.6%
AWK

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
AWK
AWK
CHEF
CHEF
Revenue
$1.3B
$1.1B
Net Profit
$238.0M
$21.7M
Gross Margin
24.2%
Operating Margin
31.9%
3.8%
Net Margin
18.7%
1.9%
Revenue YoY
5.8%
10.5%
Net Profit YoY
-0.4%
-9.4%
EPS (diluted)
$1.22
$0.50

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
AWK
AWK
CHEF
CHEF
Q4 25
$1.3B
$1.1B
Q3 25
$1.5B
$1.0B
Q2 25
$1.3B
$1.0B
Q1 25
$1.1B
$950.7M
Q4 24
$1.2B
$1.0B
Q3 24
$1.3B
$931.5M
Q2 24
$1.1B
$954.7M
Q1 24
$1.0B
$874.5M
Net Profit
AWK
AWK
CHEF
CHEF
Q4 25
$238.0M
$21.7M
Q3 25
$379.0M
$19.1M
Q2 25
$289.0M
$21.2M
Q1 25
$205.0M
$10.3M
Q4 24
$239.0M
$23.9M
Q3 24
$350.0M
$14.1M
Q2 24
$277.0M
$15.5M
Q1 24
$185.0M
$1.9M
Gross Margin
AWK
AWK
CHEF
CHEF
Q4 25
24.2%
Q3 25
24.2%
Q2 25
24.6%
Q1 25
23.8%
Q4 24
24.3%
Q3 24
24.1%
Q2 24
24.0%
Q1 24
23.9%
Operating Margin
AWK
AWK
CHEF
CHEF
Q4 25
31.9%
3.8%
Q3 25
42.2%
3.8%
Q2 25
38.4%
3.9%
Q1 25
32.7%
2.4%
Q4 24
33.3%
4.5%
Q3 24
40.9%
3.4%
Q2 24
39.4%
3.5%
Q1 24
32.5%
1.8%
Net Margin
AWK
AWK
CHEF
CHEF
Q4 25
18.7%
1.9%
Q3 25
26.1%
1.9%
Q2 25
22.7%
2.1%
Q1 25
18.1%
1.1%
Q4 24
19.9%
2.3%
Q3 24
26.4%
1.5%
Q2 24
24.3%
1.6%
Q1 24
18.4%
0.2%
EPS (diluted)
AWK
AWK
CHEF
CHEF
Q4 25
$1.22
$0.50
Q3 25
$1.94
$0.44
Q2 25
$1.48
$0.49
Q1 25
$1.05
$0.25
Q4 24
$1.22
$0.56
Q3 24
$1.80
$0.34
Q2 24
$1.42
$0.37
Q1 24
$0.95
$0.05

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
AWK
AWK
CHEF
CHEF
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$98.0M
$121.0M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$12.8B
$720.3M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$10.8B
$604.3M
Total Assets
$35.4B
$2.0B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
1.18×
1.19×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
AWK
AWK
CHEF
CHEF
Q4 25
$98.0M
$121.0M
Q3 25
$166.0M
$65.1M
Q2 25
$94.0M
$96.9M
Q1 25
$114.0M
$116.5M
Q4 24
$96.0M
$114.7M
Q3 24
$127.0M
$50.7M
Q2 24
$48.0M
$38.3M
Q1 24
$584.0M
$42.3M
Total Debt
AWK
AWK
CHEF
CHEF
Q4 25
$12.8B
$720.3M
Q3 25
$13.0B
$711.7M
Q2 25
$12.3B
$690.2M
Q1 25
$13.3B
$681.1M
Q4 24
$12.5B
$688.7M
Q3 24
$12.6B
$666.6M
Q2 24
$12.6B
$660.8M
Q1 24
$12.6B
$667.3M
Stockholders' Equity
AWK
AWK
CHEF
CHEF
Q4 25
$10.8B
$604.3M
Q3 25
$10.9B
$576.6M
Q2 25
$10.7B
$557.7M
Q1 25
$10.5B
$541.6M
Q4 24
$10.3B
$537.6M
Q3 24
$10.4B
$480.3M
Q2 24
$10.2B
$461.9M
Q1 24
$10.0B
$447.8M
Total Assets
AWK
AWK
CHEF
CHEF
Q4 25
$35.4B
$2.0B
Q3 25
$34.7B
$1.9B
Q2 25
$33.9B
$1.9B
Q1 25
$33.2B
$1.8B
Q4 24
$32.8B
$1.9B
Q3 24
$31.8B
$1.8B
Q2 24
$31.2B
$1.7B
Q1 24
$31.1B
$1.7B
Debt / Equity
AWK
AWK
CHEF
CHEF
Q4 25
1.18×
1.19×
Q3 25
1.19×
1.23×
Q2 25
1.15×
1.24×
Q1 25
1.26×
1.26×
Q4 24
1.21×
1.28×
Q3 24
1.21×
1.39×
Q2 24
1.24×
1.43×
Q1 24
1.26×
1.49×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
AWK
AWK
CHEF
CHEF
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$663.0M
$73.9M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$-385.0M
$65.8M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
-30.3%
5.8%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
82.5%
0.7%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
2.79×
3.41×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$-1.1B
$87.8M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
AWK
AWK
CHEF
CHEF
Q4 25
$663.0M
$73.9M
Q3 25
$764.0M
$-8.7M
Q2 25
$301.0M
$14.5M
Q1 25
$331.0M
$49.6M
Q4 24
$639.0M
$73.0M
Q3 24
$679.0M
$19.8M
Q2 24
$345.0M
$29.3M
Q1 24
$382.0M
$30.9M
Free Cash Flow
AWK
AWK
CHEF
CHEF
Q4 25
$-385.0M
$65.8M
Q3 25
$-33.0M
$-19.7M
Q2 25
$-432.0M
$4.5M
Q1 25
$-217.0M
$37.2M
Q4 24
$-255.0M
$64.6M
Q3 24
$-4.0M
$11.8M
Q2 24
$-325.0M
$13.3M
Q1 24
$-227.0M
$13.8M
FCF Margin
AWK
AWK
CHEF
CHEF
Q4 25
-30.3%
5.8%
Q3 25
-2.3%
-1.9%
Q2 25
-34.0%
0.4%
Q1 25
-19.1%
3.9%
Q4 24
-21.2%
6.3%
Q3 24
-0.3%
1.3%
Q2 24
-28.5%
1.4%
Q1 24
-22.6%
1.6%
Capex Intensity
AWK
AWK
CHEF
CHEF
Q4 25
82.5%
0.7%
Q3 25
54.8%
1.1%
Q2 25
57.6%
1.0%
Q1 25
48.3%
1.3%
Q4 24
74.4%
0.8%
Q3 24
51.4%
0.9%
Q2 24
58.8%
1.7%
Q1 24
60.7%
2.0%
Cash Conversion
AWK
AWK
CHEF
CHEF
Q4 25
2.79×
3.41×
Q3 25
2.02×
-0.46×
Q2 25
1.04×
0.68×
Q1 25
1.61×
4.82×
Q4 24
2.67×
3.05×
Q3 24
1.94×
1.41×
Q2 24
1.25×
1.89×
Q1 24
2.06×
16.00×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

AWK
AWK

Water Services$1.0B81%
Other$127.0M10%
Wastewater Services$101.0M8%
Miscellaneous Utility Charge$11.0M1%

CHEF
CHEF

Center Of The Plate Product$459.1M40%
Dry Goods Product$175.7M15%
Pastry Product$160.5M14%
Produce$147.9M13%
Cheese And Charcuterie Product$75.3M7%
Dairy And Eggs Product$69.2M6%
Oils And Vinegar Product$32.4M3%
Kitchen Supplies Product$22.4M2%

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