USFD vs SYY Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
US Foods and Sysco both operate in foodservice distribution supplying restaurants and institutions across the United States, but Sysco is the larger of the two with a more global footprint, while US Foods is a somewhat smaller distributor with a particular focus on building independent restaurant customer relationships.
US Foods offers exposure to independent restaurant customer relationship growth and margin improvement initiatives, while Sysco offers exposure to the largest scale and most diversified customer base in foodservice distribution. Consider whether you prefer US Foods' independent customer focus or Sysco's scale and diversification advantages.
USFD holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. USFD has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+18.61% vs -2.97%), though SYY has the better forward P/E setup (15.23x vs 18.84x for USFD). SYY leads on both revenue growth (4.70%) and operating margin (4.84%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies similar upside for both: +11.38% for USFD and +10.21% for SYY.
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- Want exposure to growth in higher-margin independent restaurant customer relationships
- Believe growing private label penetration can support margin improvement
- Value ongoing operational efficiency initiatives
- Are comfortable with independent restaurant customer sensitivity to local economic conditions
- Want exposure to the largest and most diversified foodservice distributor in the U.S.
- Believe scale provides durable purchasing and logistics advantages
- Value diversification across restaurant, healthcare, and education customer segments
- Are comfortable with the low-margin nature of the foodservice distribution business
| Metric | USFD | SYY |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 53.6 | 42.1 |
| AI ranki | #330 | #969 |
| Latest closei | $92.16 | $79.11 |
| 1M returni | -13.80% | -3.48% |
| 6M returni | +3.17% | -3.13% |
| 1Y returni | +18.61% | -2.97% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | USFD | SYY |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $11.7K (+17.0%) started 2025-09-17 | $9.59K (-4.1%) started 2025-09-17 |
| 5Y ago | $27.63K (+176.3%) started 2021-09-17 | $12.69K (+26.9%) started 2021-09-20 |
| 10Y ago | $39.86K (+298.6%) started 2016-09-19 | $25.77K (+157.7%) started 2016-09-19 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | USFD | SYY |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $22.51B | $39.26B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 32.01 | 22.39 |
| Forward P/Ei | 18.84 | 15.23 |
| Price/Salesi | N/A | N/A |
| EV/Revenuei | 0.69 | 0.62 |
| Analyst targeti | $115.88 | $90.31 |
| Target upsidei | +11.38% | +10.21% |
| Metric | USFD | SYY |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 4.50% | 4.70% |
| Earnings growthi | 29.20% | 5.30% |
| EPS growthi | +29.20% | +5.30% |
| FCF margini | +2.01% | +2.26% |
| Operating margini | 4.20% | 4.84% |
| Profit margini | 1.81% | 2.08% |
| ROIC proxyi | 16.35% | 77.69% |
| Return on equityi | 16.35% | 77.69% |
| Dividend yieldi | N/A | 2.67% |
| Payout ratioi | 0.00% | 59.29% |
| Dividend growth streaki | N/A | No increase yet |
| Betai | 0.82 | 0.64 |
| Debt/equityi | 126.31 | 564.59 |
| Current ratioi | 1.14 | 1.28 |
| Quick ratioi | 0.67 | 0.73 |
Over the past year, USFD and SYY have moved moderately in the same direction (correlation of 0.40), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | USFD | SYY |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +16.97% | -4.06% |
| CAGRi | +17.00% | -4.07% | |
| Volatilityi | 29.94% | 27.24% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.52 | -0.18 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.87 | -0.24 | |
| Max drawdowni | 21.09% | 23.98% | |
| Current drawdowni | 16.93% | 13.22% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 6.78% | 9.81% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 8.62% | 11.36% | |
| Max daily dropi | 5.62% | 15.28% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 10.75% | 15.07% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +176.26% | +14.53% |
| CAGRi | +22.54% | +2.75% | |
| Volatilityi | 29.93% | 23.73% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.68 | 0.04 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.04 | 0.06 | |
| Max drawdowni | 32.80% | 27.33% | |
| Current drawdowni | 16.93% | 13.22% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 7.72% | 10.39% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 10.44% | 11.79% | |
| Max daily dropi | 11.34% | 15.28% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 19.56% | 15.07% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +298.62% | +100.75% |
| CAGRi | +14.84% | +7.22% | |
| Volatilityi | 39.06% | 30.41% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.43 | 0.23 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.65 | 0.34 | |
| Max drawdowni | 77.30% | 63.40% | |
| Current drawdowni | 16.93% | 13.22% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 12.85% | 10.00% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 18.50% | 13.32% | |
| Max daily dropi | 25.30% | 21.11% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 62.97% | 43.83% |
| Category | USFD | SYY |
|---|---|---|
| Company | US Foods Holding Corp. | Sysco Corporation |
| Sector | Consumer Defensive | Consumer Defensive |
| Industry | Food Distribution | Food Distribution |
| Core business | A foodservice distribution company supplying food and related products to restaurants, healthcare facilities, hospitality businesses, and other foodservice customers across the United States. | The largest foodservice distribution company in the United States, supplying food and related products to restaurants, healthcare facilities, educational institutions, and other foodservice customers globally. |
| Investor focus | Independent restaurant customer case volume growth, private label penetration and margin contribution, and progress on operational efficiency initiatives. | Local customer case volume growth, gross margin trends, and international segment performance alongside its core U.S. foodservice distribution business. |
- Strong relationships with independent restaurant customers provide a higher-margin customer segment relative to large national accounts
- Growing private label penetration provides a margin-accretive alternative to national brand products
- Ongoing operational efficiency initiatives have supported margin improvement over time
- Largest scale in foodservice distribution provides significant purchasing and logistics network advantages
- Diversified customer base spanning restaurants, healthcare, and education reduces reliance on any single end market
- International operations provide geographic diversification beyond its core U.S. distribution business
- Independent restaurant customer base can be more sensitive to local economic conditions than larger national account customers
- Foodservice distribution is a relatively low-margin business requiring scale and efficiency to drive profitability
- Faces intense competition from larger distribution peers and regional foodservice distributors
- Foodservice distribution is a relatively low-margin business requiring scale and efficiency to drive profitability
- Local independent restaurant customer volume can be sensitive to broader restaurant industry health
- Faces competition from other large national distributors and smaller regional foodservice distribution companies
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