Sysco Reports Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2025 Results

HOUSTON, April 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sysco Corporation (NYSE: SYY) (“Sysco” or the “company”) today announced financial results for its 13-week third fiscal quarter ended March 29, 2025.

Key financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2025 include the following (comparisons are to the same period in fiscal year 2024):

• Sales increased 1.1%; U.S. Foodservice volume decreased 2.0%;
• Gross profit decreased 0.8% to $3.6 billion;
• Operating income decreased 5.7% to $681 million, and adjusted operating income decreased 3.3% to $773 million¹;
• Net earnings decreased 5.6% to $401 million, and adjusted net earnings decreased 2.9% to $469 million¹;
• EBITDA decreased 2.5% to $910 million, and adjusted EBITDA decreased 0.8% to $969 million^1,2;
• EPS³ decreased 3.5% to $0.82, and adjusted EPS¹ was $0.96, in-line with the same period last year;
• FY25 guidance now includes expected sales growth of approximately 3% and adjusted EPS growth of at least 1%¹; and
• Remain on target to return approximately $2.25 billion back to shareholders in FY25, with share repurchase and dividends.

“Sysco's Q3 results were negatively impacted by multiple factors: California wildfires, significantly adverse weather, and more recently, weakening consumer confidence. Each of these variables had a negative impact on foot traffic to restaurants which led the quarter, in total, to fall short of our internal expectations. Countering these headwinds as much as possible, Sysco is making progress on multiple important growth and profit improvement activities. Our local case volume has seen an improved exit velocity in March and I fully anticipate further progress on initiatives as we progress through Q4 and into fiscal 2026. Our entire team is motivated to improve our results despite the external headwinds, and we are focused on levers we can directly control. Sysco has the strongest income statement and balance sheet in the foodservice industry, and we are well-positioned to navigate a challenging macroeconomic environment,” said Kevin Hourican, Sysco’s Chair of the Board and Chief Executive Officer.

_{¹ Adjusted financial results, including adjusted operating expense, adjusted operating income (loss), adjusted net earnings, adjusted earnings per share (EPS) and adjusted EBITDA, among others, are non-GAAP financial measures that exclude certain items, which primarily include acquisition-related costs, restructuring and severance costs, and transformational project costs. Reconciliations of all non-GAAP financial measures to the nearest corresponding GAAP financial measure are included at the end of this release.
² Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) and adjusted EBITDA are non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations of all non-GAAP financial measures to the nearest corresponding GAAP financial measure are included at the end of this release.
³ Earnings per share (EPS) are shown on a diluted basis, unless otherwise specified.}

“Going forward in this dynamic environment, we will remain agile in the near-term while continuing to invest in support of long-term growth. This includes over $4 billion in liquidity, our investment grade balance sheet, and disciplined approach to capital allocation. Our recently announced 6% dividend increase also sets FY26 up to be our 56th year of delivering dividend growth. We are driving improvements across our business, which also include our previously announced $100 million of annualized cost savings that will carry into the next fiscal year,” said Kenny Cheung, Sysco’s Chief Financial Officer.

Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2025 Results (comparisons are to the same period in fiscal year 2024)

Total Sysco

Sales for the third quarter increased 1.1% to $19.6 billion.

Gross profit decreased 0.8% to $3.6 billion, and gross margin decreased 35 basis points to 18.3%. Product cost inflation was 2.1% at the total enterprise level, as measured by the estimated change in Sysco’s product costs, primarily in the dairy and meat categories. The decrease in gross profit for the third quarter was primarily driven by lower volumes and mix.

Operating expenses increased 0.5%, driven by business and sales headcount investments, as well as elevated supply chain costs. These increases were partially offset by lower annual bonus incentive compensation. Adjusted operating expenses decreased 0.1%.

Operating income decreased 5.7% to $681 million, and adjusted operating income decreased 3.3% to $773 million.

U.S. Foodservice Operations

The U.S. Foodservice Operations segment results were impacted by lower volumes from negative industry foot traffic and planned business investments, partially offset by lower annual bonus incentive compensation.

Sales for the third quarter increased 0.7% to $13.8 billion. Total case volume within U.S. Foodservice decreased 2.0% for the third quarter, while local case volume within U.S. Foodservice decreased 3.5%.

Gross profit decreased 1.9% to $2.6 billion, and gross margin decreased 50 basis points to 18.9%.

Operating expenses increased 2.7%, and adjusted operating expenses increased 2.0%.

Operating income decreased 11.5% to $754 million, and adjusted operating income decreased 9.7% to $790 million.

International Foodservice Operations

The International Foodservice Operations segment continued to deliver effective margin management and profit growth.

Sales for the third quarter decreased 1.1% to $3.5 billion. On a constant currency basis^4,5, sales for the third quarter increased 2.2% to $3.6 billion. Foreign exchange rates decreased both International Foodservice Operations sales by $114 million and total Sysco sales by $117 million during the quarter. Excluding the impact of the Mexico joint venture⁵, which was divested during the second quarter, sales grew 2.5% for International Foodservice Operations and 1.8% for total Sysco.

Gross profit increased 1.1% to $728 million, and gross margin increased 45 basis points to 21.1%. On a constant currency basis^4,5, gross profit increased 4.0% to $749 million. Foreign exchange rates decreased both International Foodservice Operations gross profit by $21 million and total Sysco gross profit by $22 million during the quarter.

Operating expenses decreased 0.6%, and adjusted operating expenses decreased 1.8%. On a constant currency basis^4,5, adjusted operating expenses increased 1.0%. Foreign exchange rates decreased both International Foodservice Operations operating expenses by $17 million and total Sysco operating expenses by $18 million during the quarter.

Operating income increased 14.3% to $96 million, and adjusted operating income increased 17.4% to $128 million. On a constant currency basis^4,5, adjusted operating income increased 21.1% to $132 million. Foreign exchange rates decreased both International Foodservice Operations operating income by $4 million and total Sysco operating income by $4 million during the quarter.

Balance Sheet, Cash Flow and Capital Spending

As of the end of the quarter, the company had a cash balance of $1.5 billion.

During the first 39 weeks of fiscal year 2025, Sysco returned $1.5 billion to shareholders via $700 million of share repurchases and $752 million of dividends.

Cash flow from operations was $1.3 billion for the first 39 weeks of fiscal year 2025, which was a decrease of $56 million compared to the prior year period.

Capital expenditures, net of proceeds from sales of plant and equipment, for the first 39 weeks of fiscal year 2025 were $363 million.

Free cash flow⁶ for the first 39 weeks of fiscal year 2025 was $954 million, which was a $90 million increase compared to the prior year period.

_{⁴ Represents a constant currency adjustment, which eliminates the impact of foreign currency fluctuations on current year results. These adjusted measures are non-GAAP financial measures.
⁵ Reconciliations of all non-GAAP financial measures to the nearest corresponding GAAP financial measure are included at the end of this release.
⁶ Free cash flow is a non-GAAP financial measure that represents net cash provided from operating activities less purchases of plant and equipment and includes proceeds from sales of plant and equipment. Reconciliations for all non-GAAP financial measures are included at the end of this release.}

Conference Call & Webcast

Sysco will host a conference call to review the company’s third quarter fiscal year 2025 financial results on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. A live webcast of the call, accompanying slide presentation and a copy of this news release will be available online at investors.sysco.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements made in this press release or in our earnings call for the third quarter of fiscal year 2025 that look forward in time or that express management’s beliefs, expectations or hopes are forward-looking statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include statements concerning: our expectations regarding future improvements in productivity; our belief that improvements in our organizational capabilities will deliver compelling outcomes in future periods; our expectations that our transformational agenda will drive long-term growth; our expectations regarding foot traffic and volume growth and benefits to gross margins; our expectations regarding the continuation of an inflationary environment; our expectations regarding improvements in the efficiency of our supply chain; our expectations regarding the impact of our Recipe for Growth strategy and the pace of progress in implementing the initiatives under that strategy; our expectations regarding Sysco’s ability to outperform the market in future periods; our expectations that our strategic priorities will enable us to grow faster than the market; our expectations regarding our efforts to reduce overtime rates and the incremental investments in hiring; our plans to improve the capabilities of our sales team; our plans to refine our engineering labor standards; our ability to deliver against our strategic priorities, including strategic sourcing efforts; economic trends in the United States and abroad; our belief that there is further opportunity for profit in the future; our future growth, including growth in sales and earnings per share; the pace of implementation of our business transformation initiatives; our expectations regarding our ability to execute our balanced approach to capital allocation and rewarding our shareholders, including the size and timing of our share repurchase plan; our plans to improve colleague hiring, retention, training and productivity; our expectations regarding our long-term financial outlook; our expectations of the effects labor harmony will have on sales and case volume, as well as mitigation expenses; our expectations for customer acquisition and retention; our expectations regarding the effectiveness of our Global Support Center expense control measures; and our expectations regarding the growth and resilience of our food away from home market.

It is important to note that actual results could differ materially from those estimated in or implied by such forward-looking statements based on numerous factors, including those outside of Sysco’s control. Such forward-looking statements reflect the views of management at the time such statements are made and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, estimates, and assumptions. Risks and uncertainties include without limitation: the impact of geopolitical, economic and market conditions and developments, including changes in global trade policies and tariffs; risks related to our business initiatives; periods of significant or prolonged inflation or deflation and their impact on our product costs and profitability generally; risks related to our efforts to implement our transformation initiatives and meet our other long-term strategic objectives; risk of interruption of supplies and increase in product costs; risks related to changes in consumer eating habits; and impact of natural disasters or adverse weather conditions, public health crises, adverse publicity or lack of confidence in our products, and product liability claims. Therefore, you should not place undue reliance on any of the forward-looking statements contained herein. For more information on these risks and other concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed or forecasted, see our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 29, 2024, as filed with the SEC, and our subsequent filings with the SEC. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable law.

About Sysco

Sysco is the global leader in selling, marketing and distributing food and related products to customers who prepare meals away from home. This includes restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments, entertainment venues, and more. Sysco operates 340 distribution centers, in 10 countries, with 76,000 colleagues serving approximately 730,000 customer locations. The company generated sales of more than $78 billion in fiscal year 2024 that ended June 29, 2024.

As the world’s largest food-away-from-home distributor, Sysco offers customized supply chain solutions, bespoke specialty product offerings, and culinary support to drive customers to innovate and optimize their operations. We act as a trusted business partner to our customers, helping them grow through our industry-leading portfolio that includes fresh produce, premium proteins, specialty products, sustainably focused items, equipment and supplies, and innovative culinary solutions.

For more information, visit www.sysco.com. For important news and key information for Sysco investors, visit the Investor Relations section of the company’s website at investors.sysco.com.

SYY-INVESTORS

Sysco Corporation and its Consolidated Subsidiaries
Non-GAAP Reconciliation (Unaudited)
Impact of Certain Items

The discussion of our results includes certain non-GAAP financial measures, including EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA, that we believe provide important perspective with respect to underlying business trends. Other than EBITDA and free cash flow, any non-GAAP financial measures will be denoted as adjusted measures to remove: (1) restructuring charges; (2) expenses associated with our various transformation initiatives; (3) severance charges; and (4) acquisition-related costs consisting of (a) intangible amortization expense and (b) acquisition costs and due diligence costs related to our acquisitions.

The results of our operations can be impacted due to changes in exchange rates applicable in converting local currencies to U.S. dollars. We measure our results on a constant currency basis. Constant currency operating results are calculated by translating current-period local currency operating results with the currency exchange rates used to translate the financial statements in the comparable prior-year period to determine what the current-period U.S. dollar operating results would have been if the currency exchange rate had not changed from the comparable prior-year period. We also measure our sales growth excluding the impact of our joint venture in Mexico which was divested in the second quarter of fiscal 2025.

Management believes that adjusting its operating expenses, operating income, operating margin, net earnings and diluted earnings per share to remove these Certain Items, presenting its results on a constant currency basis, and adjusting its results to exclude the impact of its joint venture in Mexico provides an important perspective with respect to our underlying business trends and results. It provides meaningful supplemental information to both management and investors that (1) is indicative of the performance of the company’s underlying operations and (2) facilitates comparisons on a year-over-year basis.

Sysco has a history of growth through acquisitions and excludes from its non-GAAP financial measures the impact of acquisition-related intangible amortization, acquisition costs and due diligence costs for those acquisitions. We believe this approach significantly enhances the comparability of Sysco’s results for fiscal year 2025 and fiscal year 2024.

Set forth on the following page is a reconciliation of sales, operating expenses, operating income, net earnings and diluted earnings per share to adjusted results for these measures for the periods presented. Individual components of diluted earnings per share may not be equal to the total presented when added due to rounding. Adjusted diluted earnings per share is calculated using adjusted net earnings divided by diluted shares outstanding.

Sysco Corporation and its Consolidated Subsidiaries
Non-GAAP Reconciliation (Unaudited)
Free Cash Flow
(In Millions)

Free cash flow represents net cash provided from operating activities less purchases of plant and equipment and includes proceeds from sales of plant and equipment. Sysco considers free cash flow to be a liquidity measure that provides useful information to management and investors about the amount of cash generated by the business after the purchases and sales of buildings, fleet, equipment and technology, which may potentially be used to pay for, among other things, strategic uses of cash including dividend payments, share repurchases and acquisitions. However, free cash flow may not be available for discretionary expenditures, as it may be necessary that we use it to make mandatory debt service or other payments. Free cash flow should not be used as a substitute for the most comparable GAAP financial measure in assessing the company’s liquidity for the periods presented. An analysis of any non-GAAP financial measure should be used in conjunction with results presented in accordance with GAAP. In the table that follows, free cash flow for each period presented is reconciled to net cash provided by operating activities.

Sysco Corporation and its Consolidated Subsidiaries
Non-GAAP Reconciliation (Unaudited)
Impact of Certain Items on Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA)
(Dollars in Millions)

EBITDA represents net earnings (loss) plus (i) interest expense, (ii) income tax expense and benefit, (iii) depreciation and (iv) amortization. The net earnings (loss) component of our EBITDA calculation is impacted by Certain Items that we do not consider representative of our underlying performance. As a result, in the non-GAAP reconciliations below for each period presented, adjusted EBITDA is computed as EBITDA plus the impact of Certain Items, excluding certain items related to interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization. Sysco's management considers growth in this metric to be a measure of overall financial performance that provides useful information to management and investors about the profitability of the business, as it facilitates comparison of performance on a consistent basis from period to period by providing a measurement of recurring factors and trends affecting our business. Additionally, it is a commonly used component metric used to inform on capital structure decisions. Adjusted EBITDA should not be used as a substitute for the most comparable GAAP financial measure in assessing the company’s financial performance for the periods presented. An analysis of any non-GAAP financial measure should be used in conjunction with results presented in accordance with GAAP. In the tables that follow, adjusted EBITDA for each period presented is reconciled to net earnings.

Sysco Corporation and its Consolidated Subsidiaries
Non-GAAP Reconciliation (Unaudited)
Net Debt to Adjusted EBITDA
(In Millions)

Net Debt to Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure frequently used by investors and credit rating agencies. It is an important measure used by management to evaluate our access to liquidity, and we believe it is a representation of our financial strength. Our Net Debt to Adjusted EBITDA ratio is calculated using a numerator of our debt minus cash and cash equivalents, divided by the sum of the most recent four quarters of Adjusted EBITDA. In the table that follows, we have provided the calculation of our debt and net debt as a ratio of Adjusted EBITDA.

Sysco Corporation and its Consolidated Subsidiaries
Non-GAAP Reconciliation (Unaudited)
Impact of Certain Items on Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (Trailing Twelve Months)
(In Millions)

Projected Adjusted EPS Guidance

Adjusted earnings per share is a non-GAAP financial measure; however, we cannot predict with certainty certain items that would be included in the most directly comparable GAAP measure for the relevant future periods. Due to these uncertainties, we cannot provide a quantitative reconciliation of projected adjusted EPS to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure without unreasonable effort. However, we expect to calculate adjusted earnings per share for future periods in the same manner as the reconciliations provided for the historical periods herein.