Single 132694674963b77b6ac13fa
Single 132694674963b77b6ac13fa
Equity Research
Food service remains an attractive investment despite the uncertain macroeconomic Edward Kelly, CFA
backdrop, in our view. The space continues to provide leverage to the COVID recovery Senior Equity Analyst | Wells Fargo Securities, LLC
with an inection to come, but we also believe it oers underappreciated protection in Edward.J.Kelly@wellsfargo.com | 212-214-5304
a stagation or recessionary environment. Case volumes and earnings have historically Anthony Bonadio, CFA
proven to be more resilient than one would think, stronger for longer food ination is Associate Equity Analyst | Wells Fargo Securities, LLC
Anthony.Bonadio@wellsfargo.com | 212-214-5072
actually good for this model, and a slowing economy would probably help to ease recent
labor challenges. In the end, we view the combination of continued leverage to the COVID Evan Ketterhagen
recovery plus the angle of relative defense as fairly compelling in this uncertain market. Associate Equity Analyst | Wells Fargo Securities, LLC
Evan.Ketterhagen@wellsfargo.com
We remain bullish on the space, with our rank order for the following Overweight-rated
names still PFGC ($50.33), USFD ($38.03), and then SYY ($85.14).
The Food Service Model Has Proven To Be Fairly Resilient: On the surface, food service
seems cyclical given its exposure to restaurants, but this historically hasn't really proven
to be the case. Our work suggests a deep "Great Recession" type scenario is needed to
cause more material weakness in food away from home sales, but even this was proven
to be manageable. In the 2008/09 nancial crisis, SYY's organic case volume declined
in the mid-single digits in the worst quarter, but the drop in EBITDA was more modest
given the variable cost structure of the business. In the 2001/02 recession, SYY's organic
case volume remained positive every quarter during the downturn. In terms of stock
performance, SYY outperformed the S&P 500 during both periods.
Stronger for Longer Ination a Positive: Food price ination shows no sign of abating
given the added pressure of the war in Ukraine. This is good news for food service, as
the model has proven to benet from ination given its contract arrangements and
overall pricing structure. USFD's recent Q1 pre-announcement highlights this dynamic.
Ination accelerated sharply to 17%, which helped drive a meaningful sequential step-up
in gross prot per case growth (now 12% above 2019) and an earnings beat. Sustained
food ination should drive further gains in gross prot/case. Higher fuel costs represent
another issue of concern, as diesel (4-5% of opex) is now up 65% YoY. Our recent
discussions with management continue to support our view that this is a manageable
issue given surcharges and hedging.
The Labor Backdrop Could Actually Improve with Slowing Economic Growth: Labor
has been problematic for the industry, as shortages and wage ination have pressured
earnings. Conditions are beginning to improve at the margin as there are now more
drivers employed in the U.S. than pre-COVID and domestic spot rates are beginning to
ease, but pressure remains. A slowing economic backdrop could bring some relief to driver
and warehouse labor ination (combined 40% of operating expense).
COVID Recovery Marching Ahead; Calendar Q2 a Possible Inection: The recovery in
food service continues to have runway, in our view. Volumes in many channels still trail
pre-pandemic levels, especially hospitality, healthcare, and business related demand. We
expect a continued improvement in the summer months, which, when combined with
the food ination tailwind and some easing of cost pressures, could result in fairly robust
calendar Q2 earnings.
All estimates/forecasts are as of 5/2/2022 unless otherwise stated. 5/3/2022 5:00:00EDT. Please see page 14 for rating denitions, important disclosures and required analyst certications. Wells
Fargo Securities, LLC does and seeks to do business with companies covered in its research reports. As a result, investors should be aware that the rm may have a conict of interest that could aect
the objectivity of the report and investors should consider this report as only a single factor in making their investment decision.
Industry Update Equity Research
Rank Order Unchanged: PFGC remains our top idea given its leading business
momentum, recovery runway, upside to consensus, and attractive valuation. We also
continue to like USFD given the stock's attractive risk/reward. SYY remains a good story
under new leadership, but the stock has the least upside of the three, in our view.
2 | Equity Research
Food Service: Stagation Protection Adds to Attractive Reopen Narrative Equity Research
10.0%
8.0%
6.0%
4.0%
2.0%
0.0%
(2.0%)
(4.0%)
1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018
Equity Research | 3
Industry Update Equity Research
Exhibit 2 - The Great Recession Was a Troubled Consumer Period, but SYY Managed Relatively Well
30.0%
25.0%
20.0%
15.0%
10.0%
5.0%
0.0%
(5.0%)
(10.0%)
1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019
30.0% -5.0%
-10.0%
20.0%
-15.0%
10.0% -20.0%
0.0% -25.0%
1/1/2000 7/1/2000 1/1/2001 7/1/2001 1/1/2002 7/1/2002 1/1/2007 7/1/2007 1/1/2008 7/1/2008 1/1/2009 7/1/2009
SYY's Relative Share Performance to the S&P 500 SYY's Relative Share Performance to the S&P 500
Source: FactSet, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC Source: FactSet, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC
4 | Equity Research
Food Service: Stagation Protection Adds to Attractive Reopen Narrative Equity Research
still be up 5% in December 2022. PPI has a strong correlation with the food cost ination numbers
reported by the large distributors.
Exhibit 5 - Food PPI Remains At Elevated Levels Exhibit 6 - 2 and 3 Year Food PPI Continued to Trend Higher in
260 18.0%
1Q'22
16.0% 18.0%
250 14.0% 16.0%
12.0%
240 14.0%
10.0%
8.0% 12.0%
230
6.0% 10.0%
4.0% 8.0%
220
2.0%
6.0%
210 0.0%
(2.0%) 4.0%
200 (4.0%) 2.0%
Mar-20 Jun-20 Sep-20 Dec-20 Mar-21 Jun-21 Sep-21 Dec-21 Mar-22
0.0%
1Q'19 2Q'19 3Q'19 4Q'19 1Q'20 2Q'20 3Q'20 4Q'20 1Q'21 2Q'21 3Q'21 4Q'21 1Q'22
PPI: Finished Consumer Foods Index PPI: Finished Consumer Foods Y/Y (RHS)
PPI: Finished Consumer Foods Y/Y, 2 Yr Stack PPI: Finished Consumer Foods Y/Y, 3 Yr Stack
Source: BLS, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC
Source: BLS, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC
Exhibit 7 - PPI Strongly Correlated with Food Service Ination
16%
14%
12%
10%
8%
6%
4%
2%
0%
-2%
-4%
-6%
1Q05
3Q05
1Q06
3Q06
1Q07
3Q07
1Q08
3Q08
1Q09
3Q09
1Q10
3Q10
1Q11
3Q11
1Q12
3Q12
1Q13
3Q13
1Q14
3Q14
1Q15
3Q15
1Q16
3Q16
1Q17
3Q17
1Q18
3Q18
1Q19
3Q19
1Q20
3Q20
1Q21
3Q21
1Q22
U.S. Broadlines Inflation (SYY Reported) Food PPI (Finished Consumer Foods, Processed)
Equity Research | 5
Industry Update Equity Research
Exhibit 8 - SYY's Gross Prot Per Case Growth Has Historically Followed Ination
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
-5%
-10%
1Q05
1Q06
1Q07
1Q08
1Q09
1Q10
1Q11
1Q12
1Q13
1Q14
1Q15
1Q16
1Q17
1Q18
1Q19
1Q20
1Q21
1Q22
SYY U.S. Broadlines GP/Case Growth U.S. Broadlines Inflation (SYY Reported)
10%
Source: BLS, Company data, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC
While we expect all three of the food distributors to benet from this phenomenon over the coming
quarters, SYY's contract type has the most favorable breakdown, in our view. ~50% of its U.S. based
sales stem from contracts that use a percentage markup (based on our estimates), which generally has
a positive impact from ination on GP/case (see Exhibits 9 and 10 below). It also has another ~30% of
sales in the U.S. based on spot pricing, which typically is neutral to positive on GP/case.
Exhibit 9 - Percentage Markup Contracts Leveraged to Re-Ination
Fixed Fee/
Percentage Markup
Case
6 | Equity Research
Food Service: Stagation Protection Adds to Attractive Reopen Narrative Equity Research
Inflation Impact on
Neutral to Positive Positive Neutral
GP/Case
Inflation Impact on
Neutral to Negative Neutral Negative
GM
~30% of U.S. sales (~1/2 ~50% of U.S. sales (~1/2 ~20% of U.S. sales
of restaurant customers, of restaurant customers (SYGMA segment and a
SYY
which represent ~2/3 of and most non-restaurant small portion of chain
U.S. broadlines) customers in U.S.) restaurant customers)
>25% of total sales <25% of total sales (>2/3 >50% of total sales (chain
PFGC
(independent customers) of this is Vistar) customers)
The Labor Backdrop Could Actually Improve with Slowing Economic Growth
Labor has been problematic for the industry, as shortages and wage ination have pressured earnings.
Exhibit 11 below shows just how much wage pressure has accelerated recently. The average hourly
wage for transportation and warehousing employees (an estimated 40% of food service Opex) grew
6.0% in C4Q'21 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and accelerated to 7.5% in C1Q'22. Added
costs in over-time, temp workers, retention bonuses, training, and low productivity of new hires have
added to the labor cost pressures in recent quarters. For example, adj. opex/case for USFD was up
11.7% YoY and 15.2% versus 2019 in Q1'22. For reference, between 1Q'15 and 4Q'19, the largest YoY
increase in this metric for USFD was 3.6%, and we believe the annual rate of opex ination pre-COVID
was just under 2%.
Equity Research | 7
Industry Update Equity Research
Exhibit 11 - Transportation and Warehousing Average Hourly Wage Growth May be Peaking
$30 12.0%
10.0%
8.0%
$25
6.0%
4.0%
$20
2.0%
0.0%
$15 (2.0%)
1,800
1,200
1/1/2017 1/1/2018 1/1/2019 1/1/2020 1/1/2021 1/1/2022
8 | Equity Research
Food Service: Stagation Protection Adds to Attractive Reopen Narrative Equity Research
Exhibit 13 - Dry Van and Reefer Spot Prices Have Meaningfully Declined Recently
100.0%
40.0%
20.0%
0.0%
(20.0%)
(40.0%)
Apr-17 Apr-18 Apr-19 Apr-20 Apr-21 Apr-22
Equity Research | 9
Industry Update Equity Research
100
95
90
85
80
75
70
C1Q'21 C2Q'21 C3Q'21 C4Q'21
30.0%
20.0%
10.0%
0.0%
(10.0%)
(20.0%)
(30.0%)
(40.0%)
(50.0%)
(60.0%)
Mar-20 Jun-20 Sep-20 Dec-20 Mar-21 Jun-21 Sep-21 Dec-21 Mar-22
10 | Equity Research
Food Service: Stagation Protection Adds to Attractive Reopen Narrative Equity Research
Exhibit 16 - While TSA Passenger Throughput has Increased It Still Trails 2019 Numbers
80m 0.0%
70m (5.0%)
60m (10.0%)
50m (15.0%)
40m (20.0%)
30m (25.0%)
January February March April
20.0%
15.0%
10.0%
5.0%
0.0%
(5.0%)
(10.0%)
1Q'21 2Q'21 3Q'21 4Q'21 1Q'22
Equity Research | 11
Industry Update Equity Research
Exhibit 18 - SYY's Relative NTM P/E Is Exhibit 19 - USFD's Relative NTM P/E Is Exhibit 20 - PFGC's Relative NTM P/E Is
Nearly In-Line With Pre-Covid Average Lagging Pre-Covid Average Lagging Pre-Covid Average
160 140 160
100 80 100
80 60 80
60 40 60
May-16 May-17 May-18 May-19 May-20 May-21 Apr-16 Apr-17 Apr-18 Apr-19 Apr-20 Apr-21 Apr-16 Apr-17 Apr-18 Apr-19 Apr-20 Apr-21
SYY NTM P/E Relative to S&P 500 USFD NTM P/E Relative to S&P 500 PFGC NTM P/E Relative to S&P 500
Source: FactSet, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC Source: FactSet, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC Source: FactSet, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC
12 | Equity Research
Food Service: Stagation Protection Adds to Attractive Reopen Narrative Equity Research
Equity Research | 13
Industry Update Equity Research
Required Disclosures
I, Edward Kelly, certify that:
1) All views expressed in this research report accurately reect my personal views about any and all of the subject securities or issuers discussed; and
2) No part of my compensation was, is, or will be, directly or indirectly, related to the specic recommendations or views expressed by me in this research report.
Wells Fargo Securities, LLC does not compensate its research analysts based on specic investment banking transactions. Wells Fargo Securities, LLC’s research
analysts receive compensation that is based upon and impacted by the overall protability and revenue of the rm, which includes, but is not limited to investment
banking revenue.
60
50
40
30
20
10
Jul 19 Oct 19 Jan 20 Apr 20 Jul 20 Oct 20 Jan 21 Apr 21 Jul 21 Oct 21 Jan 22 Apr 22
Initiation (I); Drop Coverage (D); Overweight (BUY); Equal Weight (HOLD); Underweight (SELL); Suspended (SR); Not Rated (NR); No Estimate (NE)
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
Jul 19 Oct 19 Jan 20 Apr 20 Jul 20 Oct 20 Jan 21 Apr 21 Jul 21 Oct 21 Jan 22 Apr 22
Initiation (I); Drop Coverage (D); Overweight (BUY); Equal Weight (HOLD); Underweight (SELL); Suspended (SR); Not Rated (NR); No Estimate (NE)
14 | Equity Research
Food Service: Stagation Protection Adds to Attractive Reopen Narrative Equity Research
50
40
30
20
10
0
Jul 19 Oct 19 Jan 20 Apr 20 Jul 20 Oct 20 Jan 21 Apr 21 Jul 21 Oct 21 Jan 22 Apr 22
Initiation (I); Drop Coverage (D); Overweight (BUY); Equal Weight (HOLD); Underweight (SELL); Suspended (SR); Not Rated (NR); No Estimate (NE)
Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, or its aliates intends to seek or expects to receive compensation for investment banking services in the next three months from an
aliate of Performance Food Group Company.
Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, or its aliates managed or co managed a public oering of securities for an aliate of Performance Food Group Company within the
past 12 months.
Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, maintains a market in the common stock of Performance Food Group Company.
Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, or any of its aliates, intends to seek or expects to receive compensation for investment banking services from Performance Food
Group Company in the next three months.
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Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, or its aliates received compensation for investment banking services from an aliate of Performance Food Group Company in the
past 12 months.
Wells Fargo Securities, LLC and/or its aliates, have benecial ownership of 0.5% or more of any class of the common stock of SYSCO Corporation.
Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, or its aliates received compensation for investment banking services from SYSCO Corporation in the past 12 months.
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SYSCO Corporation currently is, or during the 12-month period preceding the date of distribution of the research report was, a client of Wells Fargo Securities, LLC.
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SYSCO Corporation currently is, or during the 12 month period preceding the date of distribution of the research report was, a client of Wells Fargo Securities, LLC.
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aliate of US Foods Holding Corp..
Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, or its aliates managed or co managed a public oering of securities for an aliate of US Foods Holding Corp. within the past 12
months.
Equity Research | 15
Industry Update Equity Research
Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, maintains a market in the common stock of US Foods Holding Corp..
Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, or any of its aliates, intends to seek or expects to receive compensation for investment banking services from US Foods Holding Corp.
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STOCK RATING
1=Overweight: Total return on stock expected to be 10%+ over the next 12 months. BUY
2=Equal Weight: Total return on stock expected to be -10% to +10% over the next 12 months. HOLD
3=Underweight: Total return on stock expected to lag the Overweight- and Equal Weight-rated stocks within the analyst's coverage universe over the next 12
months. SELL
As of May 2, 2022
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Food Service: Stagation Protection Adds to Attractive Reopen Narrative Equity Research
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