Chefs' Warehouse (CHEF): Assessing Valuation After Strong Multi‑Year Share Price Gains

Chefs' Warehouse (CHEF) has quietly rewarded patient investors, with the stock up about 34% over the past year and nearly 88% in the past 3 years, outpacing many consumer names.

See our latest analysis for Chefs' Warehouse.

With the share price now around $64 and a strong year to date share price return, recent gains suggest momentum is still building. This is supported by steady revenue and earnings growth as investors increasingly price in its niche, premium positioning.

If Chefs' Warehouse has you thinking about what else could quietly outperform, this is a good moment to explore fast growing stocks with high insider ownership.

Yet with shares trading near record highs and analysts still seeing upside, the key question now is whether Chefs' Warehouse remains undervalued relative to its growth trajectory or if the market has already priced in the next leg of expansion.

Most Popular Narrative: 15.3% Undervalued

With Chefs' Warehouse last closing at $64.46 against a narrative fair value of $76.13, the story leans toward upside built on premium growth.

Operational improvements, such as investments in procurement, digital ordering (now ~60% of specialty sales), predictive demand forecasting, and inventory optimization technology, are already contributing to margin efficiency and scalability, laying the groundwork for further net margin and earnings expansion as these initiatives mature.

Read the complete narrative.

Want to know how modest revenue growth, rising margins, and a punchy future earnings multiple can still justify upside from here? The full narrative unpacks the precise growth runway, profitability path, and valuation math behind that target, step by step, in a way the current share price does not fully reveal.

Result: Fair Value of $76.13 (UNDERVALUED)

Have a read of the narrative in full and understand what's behind the forecasts.

However, persistent labor cost inflation and challenges integrating acquisitions like Hardie's could squeeze margins and undermine the premium growth story investors are betting on.

Find out about the key risks to this Chefs' Warehouse narrative.

Another View on Valuation

On earnings, Chefs' Warehouse looks much richer than the story suggests. The stock trades on 35.2 times earnings, versus 28.2 times for peers and 21.5 times for the broader Consumer Retailing group. Our fair ratio is 16.6 times, which raises the risk of a sharp derating if growth cools.

See what the numbers say about this price — find out in our valuation breakdown.

Build Your Own Chefs' Warehouse Narrative

If you see the numbers differently or want to test your own assumptions, you can build a complete narrative yourself in just a few minutes, starting with Do it your way.

A great starting point for your Chefs' Warehouse research is our analysis highlighting 3 key rewards and 2 important warning signs that could impact your investment decision.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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