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

Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($1.1B vs $866.4M, roughly 1.3× MIDDLEBY Corp). MIDDLEBY Corp runs the higher net margin — 4.3% vs 1.9%, a 2.4% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (10.5% vs -30.6%). MIDDLEBY Corp produced more free cash flow last quarter ($165.5M vs $65.8M). Over the past eight quarters, Chefs' Warehouse, Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (14.3% CAGR vs -3.3%).

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.

The Middleby Corporation is a publicly traded American company based in Elgin, Illinois. The company manufactures commercial cooking equipment, industrial processing equipment, and residential appliances. The commercial cooking equipment side of Middleby does business with 97 out of the top 100 food service chains in the United States and internationally.

CHEF vs MIDD — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
CHEF
CHEF
1.3× larger
CHEF
$1.1B
$866.4M
MIDD
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
CHEF
CHEF
+41.1% gap
CHEF
10.5%
-30.6%
MIDD
Higher net margin
MIDD
MIDD
2.4% more per $
MIDD
4.3%
1.9%
CHEF
More free cash flow
MIDD
MIDD
$99.7M more FCF
MIDD
$165.5M
$65.8M
CHEF
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
CHEF
CHEF
Annualised
CHEF
14.3%
-3.3%
MIDD

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
CHEF
CHEF
MIDD
MIDD
Revenue
$1.1B
$866.4M
Net Profit
$21.7M
$36.9M
Gross Margin
24.2%
38.8%
Operating Margin
3.8%
17.3%
Net Margin
1.9%
4.3%
Revenue YoY
10.5%
-30.6%
Net Profit YoY
-9.4%
-67.1%
EPS (diluted)
$0.50
$0.74

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
CHEF
CHEF
MIDD
MIDD
Q4 25
$1.1B
$866.4M
Q3 25
$1.0B
$982.1M
Q2 25
$1.0B
$977.9M
Q1 25
$950.7M
$906.6M
Q4 24
$1.0B
$1.0B
Q3 24
$931.5M
$942.8M
Q2 24
$954.7M
$991.5M
Q1 24
$874.5M
$926.9M
Net Profit
CHEF
CHEF
MIDD
MIDD
Q4 25
$21.7M
$36.9M
Q3 25
$19.1M
$-513.0M
Q2 25
$21.2M
$106.0M
Q1 25
$10.3M
$92.4M
Q4 24
$23.9M
$112.3M
Q3 24
$14.1M
$114.2M
Q2 24
$15.5M
$115.4M
Q1 24
$1.9M
$86.6M
Gross Margin
CHEF
CHEF
MIDD
MIDD
Q4 25
24.2%
38.8%
Q3 25
24.2%
36.8%
Q2 25
24.6%
38.0%
Q1 25
23.8%
38.2%
Q4 24
24.3%
38.4%
Q3 24
24.1%
37.7%
Q2 24
24.0%
38.3%
Q1 24
23.9%
37.4%
Operating Margin
CHEF
CHEF
MIDD
MIDD
Q4 25
3.8%
17.3%
Q3 25
3.8%
-56.4%
Q2 25
3.9%
15.9%
Q1 25
2.4%
15.5%
Q4 24
4.5%
16.8%
Q3 24
3.4%
18.4%
Q2 24
3.5%
17.7%
Q1 24
1.8%
14.8%
Net Margin
CHEF
CHEF
MIDD
MIDD
Q4 25
1.9%
4.3%
Q3 25
1.9%
-52.2%
Q2 25
2.1%
10.8%
Q1 25
1.1%
10.2%
Q4 24
2.3%
11.1%
Q3 24
1.5%
12.1%
Q2 24
1.6%
11.6%
Q1 24
0.2%
9.3%
EPS (diluted)
CHEF
CHEF
MIDD
MIDD
Q4 25
$0.50
$0.74
Q3 25
$0.44
$-10.15
Q2 25
$0.49
$1.99
Q1 25
$0.25
$1.69
Q4 24
$0.56
$2.07
Q3 24
$0.34
$2.11
Q2 24
$0.37
$2.13
Q1 24
$0.05
$1.59

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
CHEF
CHEF
MIDD
MIDD
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$121.0M
$222.2M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$720.3M
$2.2B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$604.3M
$2.8B
Total Assets
$2.0B
$6.3B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
1.19×
0.78×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
CHEF
CHEF
MIDD
MIDD
Q4 25
$121.0M
$222.2M
Q3 25
$65.1M
$175.1M
Q2 25
$96.9M
$511.5M
Q1 25
$116.5M
$745.1M
Q4 24
$114.7M
$689.5M
Q3 24
$50.7M
$606.0M
Q2 24
$38.3M
$459.5M
Q1 24
$42.3M
$341.0M
Total Debt
CHEF
CHEF
MIDD
MIDD
Q4 25
$720.3M
$2.2B
Q3 25
$711.7M
Q2 25
$690.2M
Q1 25
$681.1M
Q4 24
$688.7M
$2.4B
Q3 24
$666.6M
Q2 24
$660.8M
Q1 24
$667.3M
Stockholders' Equity
CHEF
CHEF
MIDD
MIDD
Q4 25
$604.3M
$2.8B
Q3 25
$576.6M
$2.9B
Q2 25
$557.7M
$3.6B
Q1 25
$541.6M
$3.7B
Q4 24
$537.6M
$3.6B
Q3 24
$480.3M
$3.6B
Q2 24
$461.9M
$3.4B
Q1 24
$447.8M
$3.3B
Total Assets
CHEF
CHEF
MIDD
MIDD
Q4 25
$2.0B
$6.3B
Q3 25
$1.9B
$6.4B
Q2 25
$1.9B
$7.3B
Q1 25
$1.8B
$7.4B
Q4 24
$1.9B
$7.3B
Q3 24
$1.8B
$7.2B
Q2 24
$1.7B
$7.0B
Q1 24
$1.7B
$6.9B
Debt / Equity
CHEF
CHEF
MIDD
MIDD
Q4 25
1.19×
0.78×
Q3 25
1.23×
Q2 25
1.24×
Q1 25
1.26×
Q4 24
1.28×
0.66×
Q3 24
1.39×
Q2 24
1.43×
Q1 24
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
CHEF
CHEF
MIDD
MIDD
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$73.9M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$65.8M
$165.5M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
5.8%
19.1%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
0.7%
1.5%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
3.41×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$87.8M
$530.1M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
CHEF
CHEF
MIDD
MIDD
Q4 25
$73.9M
Q3 25
$-8.7M
$176.3M
Q2 25
$14.5M
$122.0M
Q1 25
$49.6M
$141.1M
Q4 24
$73.0M
$239.7M
Q3 24
$19.8M
$156.7M
Q2 24
$29.3M
$149.5M
Q1 24
$30.9M
$140.9M
Free Cash Flow
CHEF
CHEF
MIDD
MIDD
Q4 25
$65.8M
$165.5M
Q3 25
$-19.7M
$156.1M
Q2 25
$4.5M
$101.1M
Q1 25
$37.2M
$107.4M
Q4 24
$64.6M
$226.6M
Q3 24
$11.8M
$145.2M
Q2 24
$13.3M
$138.6M
Q1 24
$13.8M
$127.2M
FCF Margin
CHEF
CHEF
MIDD
MIDD
Q4 25
5.8%
19.1%
Q3 25
-1.9%
15.9%
Q2 25
0.4%
10.3%
Q1 25
3.9%
11.8%
Q4 24
6.3%
22.3%
Q3 24
1.3%
15.4%
Q2 24
1.4%
14.0%
Q1 24
1.6%
13.7%
Capex Intensity
CHEF
CHEF
MIDD
MIDD
Q4 25
0.7%
1.5%
Q3 25
1.1%
2.1%
Q2 25
1.0%
2.1%
Q1 25
1.3%
3.7%
Q4 24
0.8%
1.3%
Q3 24
0.9%
1.2%
Q2 24
1.7%
1.1%
Q1 24
2.0%
1.5%
Cash Conversion
CHEF
CHEF
MIDD
MIDD
Q4 25
3.41×
Q3 25
-0.46×
Q2 25
0.68×
1.15×
Q1 25
4.82×
1.53×
Q4 24
3.05×
2.13×
Q3 24
1.41×
1.37×
Q2 24
1.89×
1.30×
Q1 24
16.00×
1.63×

Financial Flow Comparison

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

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

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%

MIDD
MIDD

Segment breakdown not available.

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