Sysco CEO Highlights Accelerating Progress Led By Improving Restaurant Traffic: ‘Good To See The Industry Stabilizing After A Rocky Start’

Sysco Corp (SYY) CEO Kevin Hourican said on Tuesday that traffic to restaurants improved throughout the quarter, helping the food distributor beat fourth-quarter sales and profit expectations.

With improving restaurant traffic and Sysco-specific initiatives in place, the progress accelerated throughout the quarter and has continued into July, Hourican said during a post-earnings call.

Retail sentiment on Sysco improved to ‘neutral’ from ‘bearish’ a day ago, with chatter at ‘normal’ levels, according to Stocktwits data.

Sysco is a food distributor that serves supplies to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments, and entertainment venues. Its U.S. foodservice volumes remain soft as many diners are opting for at-home meals, driven by cautious consumer behaviour resulting from macro uncertainties tied to tariffs.

Shares of Sysco were down 2% during midday trading. Sysco said total case volume within U.S. Foodservice decreased 0.3% for the fourth quarter.

“It is good to see the industry stabilizing after a rocky start to the calendar year,” Hourican added.

The company noted that it saw strong demand in its international segment, with strength delivered from across all geographies, with notable performances from Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, and Latin America. 

Sysco expects fiscal 2026 sales of about $84 billion to $85 billion and adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of about $4.50 to $4.60.

Wall Street analysts have estimated net sales of $84.46 billion and EPS of $4.70, according to data compiled by Fiscal AI.

Sysco’s fourth-quarter net sales of $21.14 billion topped analysts’ estimates of $21.03 billion. Its quarterly adjusted profit of $1.48 beat expectations of $1.39.

The stock has gained over 3% so far this year and in the last 12 months.

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