US Foods (USFD) 28th Annual ICR Conference 2025 summary

Consumer and industry trends

• Consumer demand remains stable but pressured, with resilience in the restaurant sector and expectations for improvement in 2026 as interest rates decline and potential tax refunds or stimulus provide tailwinds.

• Independent restaurants have consistently outperformed chains due to loyal local customer bases, a trend expected to continue into 2026 and beyond.

• Restaurant industry foot traffic has held up better than other consumer sectors, with quick rebounds anticipated as sentiment improves.

Growth strategy and operational execution

• Sustained market share gains in independent restaurants, healthcare, and hospitality, with 18 consecutive quarters of share growth.

• Focus on new account generation and minimizing lost business, with recent net new account growth reaching a post-2023 high.

• Strong profit growth driven by effective execution, share gains, gross profit initiatives, and productivity improvements, offsetting cost increases.

• Continued aggressive investment in capital and operating expenses to support long-term growth.

M&A and market expansion

• Recent exploration of a large merger was ended due to regulatory and shareholder return concerns, despite strong synergy potential.

• Ongoing focus on tuck-in acquisitions of smaller companies to build local scale and delivery efficiency, with openness to larger opportunities if they make strategic sense.

• Active pipeline management and long-term engagement with potential acquisition targets.