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UNUNFI

United Natural Foods, Inc.

$UNFI·$2.7B·Food Distribution·Consumer Defensive
$44.45+0.8%1Y+50.0%
Price updated 3h ago·X counts updated 41m ago
UNUNFI
$UNFIUnited Natural Foods, Inc.
$44.45+0.77%129 posts1×
AI analysisFundamentalsVoices on X
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On X

The complete picture of $UNFI on X — how loud the conversation is right now, how it has trended over the last two weeks, and which way the crowd is leaning.

129X posts · last 7 days
Sep 3Sep 10
Chatter Meter
1×
QuietNormal · 1×Loud

How loud $UNFI's conversation on X is versus its own normal — 1× is typical, higher means busier. Right now it's about its usual level.

AI verdictAI analysisGenerated by AI from underlying data

TickerTalks' own read on what's driving $UNFI — fundamentals, momentum, or an event — and whether it agrees with the X crowd.

Comeback attemptCooling offAI verdict · as of 2026-09-11

Catching its breath after a run — could pick back up or fade from here.

Food distributor turnaround printing $293M less revenue but $39M more EBITDA — margin reversal is the whole question.

United Natural Foods is the largest natural and organic food distributor in North America — a low-margin bulk business in the middle of a real margin-restoration turnaround. The Q4 print beat on margin gains and cost savings, but the tape is cooling on the risk that the margin reversal doesn't stick.

  • The Q4 result confirms the turnaround thesis: $293M less revenue but $39M more EBITDA — that's the classic 'less sales, more profit' outcome that a real cost-and-mix cleanup produces, and it justifies the +55% TTM move.
  • The mechanics are still thin: Q4 revenue fell 0.7% YoY at 13.7% gross margin and 1% operating margin — the operating margin is genuinely weak, and even a 100bp margin miss on a $31B revenue base wipes out most of the FY27 consensus $3.37 EPS.
  • The technicals are cooling but not broken: below the 50-day by 7%, essentially flat versus the 200-day, at 56% of the 52-week range — the tape is digesting the Q4 print, not distributing.

The setup restarts if Dec 1 FQ1 FY27 earnings confirms operating margin stays above 1% AND management provides an explicit FY27 margin trajectory. A margin reversal below 1% is what would break the turnaround; expanded margin plus a raised FY guide is the extension trigger.

What to watch: Dec 1 FQ1 FY27 earnings — operating margin sustainability (must stay above 1%), free-cash-flow trajectory, and any explicit FY27 margin guidance. A margin reversal below 1% or a soft cash-flow print is what breaks the turnaround thesis; expanded margins plus a raised FY guide is the extension trigger.

On the calendar: 2026-12-01 — FQ1 FY27 earnings

Read the AI verdict on $UNFI

  • One-line verdict on what's driving the move — fundamentals, momentum, both, or an event
  • Next dated catalyst when there is one (earnings, deal closing, activist clock)
  • Whether TickerTalks' read agrees with or diverges from the X crowd
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What it does

Plain-English summary of the business — what they sell and how they make money.

United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI), founded in 1976 and based in Providence, Rhode Island, functions as a prominent distributor of a wide spectrum of products across the United States and Canada. The company supplies natural, organic, and specialty items, alongside conventional grocery staples, fresh produce, and non-food merchandise, operating through two primary business divisions: Wholesale and Retail. Its extensive product portfolio features general groceries, fresh produce, perishable and frozen goods, nutritional and sports supplements, bulk and foodservice provisions, and personal care articles. Beyond merely distribution, UNFI also actively imports, roasts, packages, and disseminates various nuts, dried fruits, seeds, trail mixes, granolas, and a range of natural and organic snack items and confections, notably under its Woodstock brand. UNFI also manages other proprietary brands, such as Blue Marble Brands, which are made available through its wholesale segment, third-party distributors, and direct sales to retailers. Its Field Day brand products are primarily targeted at customers within the independent retail channel. Through its network of 74 retail outlets, including Cub Foods and Shoppers grocery stores, the company provides general merchandise, home goods, health and beauty care products, pharmacy services, and private label offerings. Moreover, UNFI offers a robust suite of professional services designed for retailers. These encompass operational support, marketing assistance (such as advertising and couponing), e-commerce facilitation, consumer convenience offerings, store layout and equipment procurement, electronic payment processing, comprehensive IT and data hosting, and administrative back-office management. Furthermore, UNFI delivers marketing programs, covering both consumer engagement and trade initiatives, along with strategic support for suppliers to better navigate market dynamics. Its broad customer base spans major retail chains, independent grocers, specialized "supernatural" markets, foodservice establishments, e-commerce platforms, military commissaries, and various other sales channels.

Industry overviewAI analysisGenerated by AI from underlying data

Where Food Distribution sits in its cycle right now — and what that implies for $UNFI.

Food Distribution · Consumer Defensive

Food-service distribution is consolidating around scale players able to offer broadline and specialty categories; restaurant recovery and institutional food-service demand (healthcare, education) drive volumes. Food-input inflation moderation improves gross-margin spreads for distributors.

Top industry ETF

$XLPConsumer Staples Select Sector SPDR
+8.1%YTD
+3.5%1Y

Fundamentals & catalyst

Profitability, valuation, and the next earnings event — at a glance, with rule-of-thumb signals.

Key ratios

P/E
31.9How much investors are paying per dollar of profit the company actually earned in the last 12 months. Lower means the stock looks cheaper relative to earnings.~15–25 is typical for the S&P 500; high-growth names trade 30+; hyper-growth or speculative can be 100+ or negative.
ROIC
5.8%What percentage return the business earns on every dollar of capital (equity + debt) deployed in operations. The cleanest measure of business quality.Above ~15% is high-quality; consistently above 25% suggests a real moat. Below the company's cost of capital is value-destroying.
Op margin
1.1%Operating profit (after sales, marketing, R&D, and overhead but before interest and taxes) as a percentage of revenue. The clearest view of how well the underlying business is run.Mature business above 20% is healthy; software businesses can run 30%+; commodity / retail businesses operate in single digits.
FCF yield
12.1%Free cash flow (operating cash flow minus capex) divided by the company's market cap. The cash-on-cash return you'd get owning the whole business at today's price.Above ~5% is attractive; below ~2% means you're paying up for growth. Capital-light businesses (software) run higher than capital-heavy ones (utilities).
P/S
0.1Same idea as P/E but per dollar of revenue. Useful for companies that aren't profitable yet, where P/E is meaningless.Under ~2 is cheap; software / SaaS often runs 8–15; well above 20 implies the market is pricing in very high future growth.
ROE
5.3%Net income as a percentage of shareholders' equity. Similar to ROIC but counts only the equity side.Above 20% is strong, but can be inflated by leverage — a heavily indebted company can show high ROE with weak underlying ROIC.
Gross margin
13.5%Revenue minus the direct cost of producing what was sold, as a percentage of revenue. The first read on whether the product is structurally profitable.Software / SaaS is typically 70%+; consumer goods 30–50%; commodity / hardware businesses can be under 20%.
D/E
1.9Total debt divided by shareholders' equity. Measures how much the business runs on borrowed money versus owner capital.Under 1 is conservative; 1–2 is typical for mature businesses; over 2 is leveraged and more sensitive to interest rates.

Past earnings

QuarterReportedActualEstimateSurprise
Q2 2026Sep 8, 2026$0.69$0.61+12.7%
Q1 2026Jun 9, 2026$0.77$0.78-1.7%
Q4 2025Mar 10, 2026$0.62$0.51+21.6%
Q3 2025Dec 2, 2025$0.56$0.40+40.3%
Next earningsTue, Dec 1·consensus EPS $0.64

Quarterly trend

QuarterRevenueYoYGrossOpEPSFCF
Q4 FY26$7.6B-0.7%13.7%1.0%$0.58$80.0M
Q3 FY26$7.7B-4.2%13.6%1.2%$0.54$54.0M
Q2 FY26$7.9B-2.6%13.2%1.2%$0.33$243.0M
Q1 FY26$7.8B-0.4%13.4%0.9%$-0.07$-54.0M

Forward consensus

5-year forecast · up to 7 analysts
FYRevenueRangeEPSRangeAnalysts
FY27$31.7B$31.7B – $31.7B$3.37$3.04 – $3.706
FY28$32.3B$32.1B – $32.4B$4.06$4.04 – $4.107
FY29$32.9B$32.8B – $33.2B$4.59$4.43 – $4.744
FY30$34.0B$33.9B – $34.2B$4.62$4.59 – $4.663
FY31$34.9B$34.7B – $35.1B$4.85$4.82 – $4.892

Setup & momentum

Volume, range, and moving-average position — the technical setup driving short-term moves.

Right now

Vol vs 30dToday's traded share volume divided by the average over the prior 30 trading days. ≥3× signals unusual interest; below 1× is quiet.1.0×Today's traded share volume divided by the average over the prior 30 trading days. ≥3× signals unusual interest; below 1× is quiet.
52w rangeWhere the latest close sits between the 52-week low (0%) and high (100%). Above 80% is extended; below 30% is basing or in a downtrend.56%Where the latest close sits between the 52-week low (0%) and high (100%). Above 80% is extended; below 30% is basing or in a downtrend.
vs 50d MALatest close vs the 50-day simple moving average. Positive = short-term trend is up.-7.3%Latest close vs the 50-day simple moving average. Positive = short-term trend is up.
vs 200d MALatest close vs the 200-day simple moving average. Positive = long-term trend is up.+1.3%Latest close vs the 200-day simple moving average. Positive = long-term trend is up.

Float & profile

FloatMid float · 59.6M shFree-float shares — the slice of issued stock actually available to trade. Lower buckets squeeze harder on a catalyst.Traded today1.0% of floatToday's volume as a percent of the free float. Above 5% on a single day is unusually high turnover for the available share count.β0.815-year weekly beta vs the S&P 500. Above 1.5 means the stock typically moves more than the index; below 0.8 moves less.

Insider activity

Recent open-market buys and sells by officers and directors — flagged when multiple insiders cluster.

Recent transactions

SellJun 23Mark BushwayPresident10.0K sh$516KSellMay 6Danielle BenedictChief Human Resources Officer4.8K sh$250K
+ 10 other (6 awards · 1 gift · 1 inkind · 1 exempt · 1 return) in window

See when $UNFI insiders are putting their own money in

  • Real-time open-market buys and sells from Form 4 filings
  • Cluster-buy detection when multiple insiders pile in at once
  • 30 / 60 / 180-day windows so you can spot building conviction
Free, forever. No credit card.

SEC filings

Material 8-K, 13D, S-3, and 424B5 events from the last 180 days — the filings that actually move the price.

Recent material filings

3New insider — initial holdingsAug 133
8-KOfficer or director changeJul 98-K — Item 5.02: Officer or director change · Item 7.01: Press release / Reg FD
8-KMaterial agreementJun 228-K — Item 1.01: Material agreement · Item 2.03: Material debt obligation
8-KMaterial agreementApr 28-K — Item 1.01: Material agreement · Item 2.03: Material debt obligation
3New insider — initial holdingsMar 163
+ 7 other (4 13Gs · 1 8-K · 1 10-Q · 1 earnings 8-K) in window

Recent news

Latest headlines from major outlets, sourced and timestamped — context for whatever just moved.

United Natural Foods: $293 Million Less Sales, $39 Million More EBITDAseekingalpha.com·2d agoUnited Natural Foods: Why Margin Reversal Is A Key Riskseekingalpha.com·2d agoUNFI Q4 Earnings Beat Estimates on Margin Gains and Cost Savingszacks.com·2d agoNatural Food Stocks to Watch as Clean-Label Demand Accelerateszacks.com·3d agoUnited Natural Foods to Participate in the Goldman Sachs 33rd Annual Global Retailing Conferencegurufocus.com·3d ago

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Voices on X · last 7 days

No standout posts about $UNFI on X in the last 7 days.

TickerTalks is a research tool, not financial advice. We surface social-attention data; we do not make stock recommendations. Past attention is not predictive of future price movements.

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