Sysco Stock to Post Q4 Earnings: What Investors Should Know

Factors Likely to Influence SYY’s Upcoming Results

Sysco’s fiscal fourth-quarter performance is likely to have been supported by continued momentum in its core U.S. Foodservice business. In the fiscal third quarter, local case volumes increased 3.3%, marking the strongest quarterly growth in more than three years. The company has been witnessing improved sales productivity, stronger customer retention and healthy new customer wins. These factors are likely to have supported market share gains despite an industry backdrop marked by soft restaurant traffic. The Zacks Consensus Estimate indicates an increase of 3.3% in the U.S. Foodservice Operations revenues.

The International segment is also likely to have contributed to revenue growth, backed by healthy local case expansion and continued operational strength across geographies. The business has been benefiting from expanded supply-chain capacity, greater availability of Sysco-branded products and higher sales headcount. These factors are likely to have continued supporting volume growth and operating performance in the fiscal fourth quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate indicates an increase of 6.7% in the International Foodservice Operations revenues.

On the profitability front, the fiscal fourth quarter is likely to have benefited from strategic sourcing initiatives, a favorable customer mix and disciplined management of product costs, which contributed to gross margin expansion in the fiscal third quarter. Continued improvements in supply-chain productivity, including better warehouse efficiency, fill rates and order accuracy, are also likely to have supported earnings growth in the fiscal fourth quarter.

Despite these positives, results are likely to face some pressure from higher operating expenses. Continued investments in sales headcount and capacity expansion are likely to have kept costs elevated in the fiscal fourth quarter. In addition, persistent softness in restaurant foot traffic, particularly among national restaurant customers, might have weighed on overall volume growth, partly offsetting the benefits from continued productivity gains and margin expansion.

Earnings Whispers for SYY

Our proven model conclusively predicts an earnings beat for Sysco this time. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat, which is the case here.

Sysco carries a Zacks Rank #3 and has an Earnings ESP of +0.20%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

More Stocks With the Favorable Combination

Here are a few other companies worth considering, as our model shows that these, too, have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this reporting cycle.

The Kraft Heinz Company KHC currently has an Earnings ESP of +0.82% and a Zacks Rank of 2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Kraft Heinz’s upcoming quarterly earnings per share is pegged at 53 cents, implying a 23.2% year-over-year decline. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for quarterly revenues is pegged at $6.2 billion, which indicates a decrease of 3% from the figure reported in the prior-year quarter. KHC has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 10.2%, on average.

US Foods Holding Corp. USFD currently has an Earnings ESP of +1.10% and a Zacks Rank of 2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for upcoming quarterly earnings per share is pegged at $1.37, implying 15.1% year-over-year growth.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for quarterly revenues is pegged at $10.5 billion, which indicates growth of 3.8% from the figure reported in the prior-year quarter. USFD has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 1.4%, on average.

Kimberly-Clark Corporation KMB currently has an Earnings ESP of +1.43% and a Zacks Rank of 3. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Kimberly-Clark’s upcoming quarterly revenues is pegged at $4.23 billion. The figure implies a 1.7% increase from the prior-year quarter. 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Kimberly-Clark’s quarterly earnings per share is pegged at $2.00, indicating a 4.2% gain from the year-ago period. KMB delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 19.1%, on average.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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