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

CF Industries is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($1.9B vs $1.1B, roughly 1.8× Chefs' Warehouse, Inc.). CF Industries runs the higher net margin — 26.4% vs 1.6%, a 24.8% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, CF Industries posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (22.8% vs 11.4%). Over the past eight quarters, CF Industries's revenue compounded faster (12.8% CAGR vs 5.3%).

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. is an American manufacturer and distributor of agricultural fertilizers, including ammonia, urea, and ammonium nitrate products. The company is based in Northbrook, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, and was founded in 1946 as the Central Farmers Fertilizer Company. For its first 56 years, it was a federation of regional agricultural supply cooperatives. CF then demutualized, and became a publicly traded company.

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.

CF vs CHEF — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
CF
CF
1.8× larger
CF
$1.9B
$1.1B
CHEF
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
CF
CF
+11.4% gap
CF
22.8%
11.4%
CHEF
Higher net margin
CF
CF
24.8% more per $
CF
26.4%
1.6%
CHEF
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
CF
CF
Annualised
CF
12.8%
5.3%
CHEF

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
CF
CF
CHEF
CHEF
Revenue
$1.9B
$1.1B
Net Profit
$495.0M
$17.4M
Gross Margin
40.9%
24.3%
Operating Margin
33.0%
3.1%
Net Margin
26.4%
1.6%
Revenue YoY
22.8%
11.4%
Net Profit YoY
26.3%
68.8%
EPS (diluted)
$2.56
$0.40

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
CF
CF
CHEF
CHEF
Q1 26
$1.1B
Q4 25
$1.9B
$1.1B
Q3 25
$1.7B
$1.0B
Q2 25
$1.9B
$1.0B
Q1 25
$1.7B
$950.7M
Q4 24
$1.5B
$1.0B
Q3 24
$1.4B
$931.5M
Q2 24
$1.6B
$954.7M
Net Profit
CF
CF
CHEF
CHEF
Q1 26
$17.4M
Q4 25
$495.0M
$21.7M
Q3 25
$460.0M
$19.1M
Q2 25
$492.0M
$21.2M
Q1 25
$351.0M
$10.3M
Q4 24
$392.0M
$23.9M
Q3 24
$341.0M
$14.1M
Q2 24
$506.0M
$15.5M
Gross Margin
CF
CF
CHEF
CHEF
Q1 26
24.3%
Q4 25
40.9%
24.2%
Q3 25
38.1%
24.2%
Q2 25
39.9%
24.6%
Q1 25
34.4%
23.8%
Q4 24
34.4%
24.3%
Q3 24
32.4%
24.1%
Q2 24
43.2%
24.0%
Operating Margin
CF
CF
CHEF
CHEF
Q1 26
3.1%
Q4 25
33.0%
3.8%
Q3 25
35.0%
3.8%
Q2 25
34.3%
3.9%
Q1 25
27.4%
2.4%
Q4 24
28.9%
4.5%
Q3 24
26.6%
3.4%
Q2 24
40.6%
3.5%
Net Margin
CF
CF
CHEF
CHEF
Q1 26
1.6%
Q4 25
26.4%
1.9%
Q3 25
27.7%
1.9%
Q2 25
26.0%
2.1%
Q1 25
21.1%
1.1%
Q4 24
25.7%
2.3%
Q3 24
24.9%
1.5%
Q2 24
32.2%
1.6%
EPS (diluted)
CF
CF
CHEF
CHEF
Q1 26
$0.40
Q4 25
$2.56
$0.50
Q3 25
$2.19
$0.44
Q2 25
$2.37
$0.49
Q1 25
$1.85
$0.25
Q4 24
$1.86
$0.56
Q3 24
$1.55
$0.34
Q2 24
$2.30
$0.37

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
CF
CF
CHEF
CHEF
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$122.7M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$3.2B
$750.4M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$4.8B
$608.6M
Total Assets
$14.1B
$2.0B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.66×
1.23×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
CF
CF
CHEF
CHEF
Q1 26
$122.7M
Q4 25
$121.0M
Q3 25
$65.1M
Q2 25
$96.9M
Q1 25
$116.5M
Q4 24
$114.7M
Q3 24
$50.7M
Q2 24
$38.3M
Total Debt
CF
CF
CHEF
CHEF
Q1 26
$750.4M
Q4 25
$3.2B
$720.3M
Q3 25
$3.0B
$711.7M
Q2 25
$3.0B
$690.2M
Q1 25
$3.0B
$681.1M
Q4 24
$3.0B
$688.7M
Q3 24
$3.0B
$666.6M
Q2 24
$3.0B
$660.8M
Stockholders' Equity
CF
CF
CHEF
CHEF
Q1 26
$608.6M
Q4 25
$4.8B
$604.3M
Q3 25
$4.8B
$576.6M
Q2 25
$5.0B
$557.7M
Q1 25
$4.8B
$541.6M
Q4 24
$5.0B
$537.6M
Q3 24
$5.2B
$480.3M
Q2 24
$5.5B
$461.9M
Total Assets
CF
CF
CHEF
CHEF
Q1 26
$2.0B
Q4 25
$14.1B
$2.0B
Q3 25
$14.2B
$1.9B
Q2 25
$13.8B
$1.9B
Q1 25
$13.3B
$1.8B
Q4 24
$13.5B
$1.9B
Q3 24
$13.8B
$1.8B
Q2 24
$13.8B
$1.7B
Debt / Equity
CF
CF
CHEF
CHEF
Q1 26
1.23×
Q4 25
0.66×
1.19×
Q3 25
0.61×
1.23×
Q2 25
0.60×
1.24×
Q1 25
0.62×
1.26×
Q4 24
0.60×
1.28×
Q3 24
0.57×
1.39×
Q2 24
0.54×
1.43×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

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

Metric
CF
CF
CHEF
CHEF
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$539.0M
$38.3M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$313.0M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
16.7%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
12.1%
0.7%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
1.09×
2.20×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$1.8B

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
CF
CF
CHEF
CHEF
Q1 26
$38.3M
Q4 25
$539.0M
$73.9M
Q3 25
$1.1B
$-8.7M
Q2 25
$563.0M
$14.5M
Q1 25
$586.0M
$49.6M
Q4 24
$420.0M
$73.0M
Q3 24
$931.0M
$19.8M
Q2 24
$475.0M
$29.3M
Free Cash Flow
CF
CF
CHEF
CHEF
Q1 26
Q4 25
$313.0M
$65.8M
Q3 25
$717.0M
$-19.7M
Q2 25
$318.0M
$4.5M
Q1 25
$454.0M
$37.2M
Q4 24
$223.0M
$64.6M
Q3 24
$792.0M
$11.8M
Q2 24
$391.0M
$13.3M
FCF Margin
CF
CF
CHEF
CHEF
Q1 26
Q4 25
16.7%
5.8%
Q3 25
43.2%
-1.9%
Q2 25
16.8%
0.4%
Q1 25
27.3%
3.9%
Q4 24
14.6%
6.3%
Q3 24
57.8%
1.3%
Q2 24
24.9%
1.4%
Capex Intensity
CF
CF
CHEF
CHEF
Q1 26
0.7%
Q4 25
12.1%
0.7%
Q3 25
20.9%
1.1%
Q2 25
13.0%
1.0%
Q1 25
7.9%
1.3%
Q4 24
12.9%
0.8%
Q3 24
10.1%
0.9%
Q2 24
5.3%
1.7%
Cash Conversion
CF
CF
CHEF
CHEF
Q1 26
2.20×
Q4 25
1.09×
3.41×
Q3 25
2.31×
-0.46×
Q2 25
1.14×
0.68×
Q1 25
1.67×
4.82×
Q4 24
1.07×
3.05×
Q3 24
2.73×
1.41×
Q2 24
0.94×
1.89×

Financial Flow Comparison

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

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

CF
CF

Ammonia$591.0M32%
UAN$493.0M26%
Urea$372.0M20%
Other$244.0M13%
Other Products$147.0M8%
Ammonium Nitrate Segment$25.0M1%

CHEF
CHEF

Segment breakdown not available.

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