United Natural Foods Inc. (NYSE:UNFI) stock traded higher on Tuesday after posting fiscal fourth-quarter 2025 results that beat analyst forecasts despite weaker year-over-year sales.
The wholesale distributor reported net sales for the quarter of $7.70 billion, surpassing Wall Street’s estimate of $7.64 billion, which fell 5.6% from $8.16 billion a year earlier.
UNFI’s fourth-quarter results were heavily affected by a cyber incident in June 2025, which the company estimates led to a reduction of approximately $400 million in net sales and around $50 million in adjusted EBITDA.
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Despite these challenges, the company delivered full-year gains across several key metrics.
The company recorded an adjusted net loss of 11 cents per share, compared with expectations for a 19-cent loss. In the prior-year period, United Natural Foods reported adjusted earnings of 1 cent per share.
The natural segment delivered strong growth of 9.1%, contributing an additional $335 million in year-over-year sales.
However, this was partially offset by a 6.1% decline in the conventional segment, down $223 million, and a modest 1.7% decrease in the retail segment, totaling $10 million.
After adjusting for the extra week in fiscal 2024 and factoring in the estimated 5% impact from the cyber incident, the company achieved underlying sales growth of 1.6%.
Sandy Douglas, UNFI’s Chief Executive Officer, stated, “UNFI delivered a solid fourth quarter as we effectively navigated the cyber incident in collaboration with our customers and suppliers.”
“In fiscal 2025, we continued to enhance our value proposition and delivered above-industry sales growth, while improving our effectiveness and efficiency. This drove higher free cash flow and further strengthened our financial position,” Douglas added.
On a GAAP basis, the company reported a wider net loss of $1.43 per share, compared to a loss of 63 cents in the prior year.
The company reported adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter of $116 million, compared to $143 million during the year-ago period.
The net leverage ratio (net debt to trailing twelve-month adjusted EBITDA) declined from 4.0x at the close of fiscal 2024 to 3.3x by the end of fiscal 2025, marking strong progress toward the company’s deleveraging goals.
United Natural Foods reported cash and cash equivalents of $44 million at the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025.
Outlook
Looking ahead, the company expects fiscal year 2026 net sales to be in a range of $31.6 billion to $32 billion, slightly below the estimated $32.31 billion.
The adjusted earnings are expected to be between $1.50 and $2.30 per share, against the consensus estimate of $1.47 per share.
Net income is projected to range from $0 to $50 million. Additionally, capital and cloud implementation expenditures are expected to be approximately $250 million, while free cash flow is projected to be around $300 million.
Price Action: UNFI shares were trading higher by 7.62% to $34.18 premarket at last check Tuesday.
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