Sysco Corp. (NYSE:SYY), a key supplier to major chains including KFC, Burger King, and Subway, saw its shares decline in Monday’s premarket trading.
The company announced its plans to acquire Jetro Restaurant Depot for approximately $29.1 billion.
Jetro Restaurant Depot
Jetro Restaurant Depot is a U.S.-based wholesale Cash & Carry supplier and operates 166 warehouses across 35 states.
In 2025, the company generated ~$16 billion in revenue, $2.1 billion in EBITDA, and $1.9 billion in free cash flow, maintaining 30 years of steady EBITDA growth.
Acquisition Details
The enterprise value is based on Sysco’s closing share price of $81.80 as of March 27, 2026.
As per the terms, Jetro Restaurant Depot shareholders will receive $21.6 billion in cash and 91.5 million Sysco shares. With this, Jetro shareholders will own about 16% of Sysco’s outstanding common stock.
The deal values Jetro Restaurant Depot at roughly 14.6x its operating income, or about 13.0x when factoring in anticipated synergies.
Sysco will fund the acquisition with $21 billion in new debt and cash on hand of $1 billion.
The company expects the transaction to close by the third quarter of fiscal 2027.
As of the end of the second quarter, Sysco had a cash balance of $1.2 billion and total liquidity of $2.9 billion.
Combined Company & Synergies
The combined company reported nearly $100 billion in net revenue for 2025, with approximately $6.4 billion in adjusted EBITDA and $5.5 billion in free cash flow. This will boost Sysco’s revenue by ~20%, EBITDA by ~45%, and free cash flow by ~55%.
The deal is immediately accretive, with Sysco expecting mid- to high-single-digit EPS growth in the first year and low- to mid-teens EPS growth in the second year.
The company expects the combination to deliver about $250 million in annualized cost synergies within three years.
This represents roughly 12.5% of Jetro’s operating income, mainly from procurement and supply chain efficiencies, with additional medium-term growth from a broader product offering and improved sales.
Executive Commentary
Kevin Hourican, Chair of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Sysco, stated, “Jetro Restaurant Depot will benefit from access to Sysco’s best-in-class foodservice supply chain and logistics capabilities and Sysco will benefit from new ways to serve local customers. The combined company will have increased purchasing efficiencies, enabling lower prices for more customers.”
“We are also pleased that Sysco is on track to deliver our 2026 guidance and build on our steady business momentum, including through local performance where we expect to deliver over 3% of local case growth in Q3 2026.”
Guidance & Buyback Pause
For fiscal 2026, Sysco reiterates expected sales growth of 3%–5% and adjusted EPS at the high end of $4.50–$4.60 (versus consensus of $4.58).
For third-quarter 2026, Sysco expects adjusted EPS of around $0.94, with USFS local case growth exceeding 3% year-over-year, at least 50 bps above prior guidance and 180 bps higher than the prior quarter.
Following the acquisition, Sysco is pausing its share repurchase program to focus on reducing net leverage by at least 1.0x within the first 24 months. It plans to resume repurchases once significant progress is made.
The company plans to release third-quarter fiscal 2026 results on April 28, 2026.
Technical Analysis
The stock is currently trading 5.1% below its 20-day simple moving average (SMA) and 5.6% below its 50-day SMA, indicating short-term weakness. Over the past 12 months, shares have increased 9.01% and are positioned closer to their 52-week lows than highs.
The RSI is at 37.98, which is considered neutral territory, while the MACD shows a value of -1.0266, below its signal line at -0.6675, indicating bearish pressure on the stock. The combination of neutral RSI and bearish MACD suggests mixed momentum.
- Key Resistance: $91.50
- Key Support: $75.50
Earnings & Analyst Outlook
Sysco is slated to provide its next financial update on April 28, 2026 (estimated).
- EPS Estimate: 95 cents (Down from 96 cents)
- Revenue Estimate: $20.57 billion (Up from $19.60 billion)
- Valuation: P/E of 22.0x (Indicates fair valuation)
Analyst Consensus & Recent Actions: The stock carries a Buy Rating with an average price target of $89.77. Recent analyst moves include:
- Wells Fargo: Overweight (Raises Target to $100.00) (February 19)
- Guggenheim: Buy (Raises Target to $95.00) (February 13)
Top ETF Exposure
- Thrivent Mid Cap Value ETF (NYSE:TMVE): 1.86% Weight
- Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Consumer Staples ETF (NYSE:RSPS): 3.05% Weight
- Invesco Leisure and Entertainment ETF (NYSE:PEJ): 5.65% Weight
Significance: Because SYY carries significant weight in these funds, any significant inflows or outflows for these ETFs will likely force automatic buying or selling of the stock.
SYY Stock Price Activity: Sysco shares were down 2.20% at $80.00 during premarket trading on Monday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Photo via Shutterstock
Recent Comments