The Middleby Corporation MIDD reported first-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $2.16 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.94. The bottom line increased 15.5% year over year.
Net sales of $839.9 million topped the consensus estimate of $777.1 million and increased 15% year over year. The upside was driven by robust backlog conversion in the Food Processing segment, where backlog reached a record $416 million. MIDD’s organic sales increased 11.9%. Acquisitions increased sales by 1%, while movements in foreign currencies had a positive impact of 2%.
Middleby Sees Strength Across Segments
Effective from the fourth quarter of 2025, the company started reporting under two segments.
Sales from the Commercial Foodservice segment (representing 73.3% of net sales) were $615.5 million, up 9.4% year over year. Organic sales increased 8.1%. Foreign-currency translation had a favorable impact of 1.3%.
Sales from the Food Processing segment (26.7%) totaled $224.4 million, up 33.7% year over year. Organic sales increased 25% year over year. Acquisitions boosted sales by 4.5%, while foreign currency movements had a favorable impact of 4.2%.
The Middleby Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
The Middleby Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | The Middleby Corporation Quote
Middleby’s Margin Profile
Middleby’s cost of sales increased 18% year over year to $516.7 million. Gross profit increased 10.5% to $323.2 million. The gross margin was 38.5%, down 150 basis points (bps) from the year-ago quarter.
Selling, general and administrative expenses increased 16.4% year over year to $188.3 million. Operating income increased 3% year over year to $133.4 million. Operating margin decreased 250 bps to 15.9%.
Adjusted EBITDA increased 11.8% year over year to $180.6 million. Adjusted EBITDA margin decreased 60 bps to 21.5%.
Balance Sheet and Cash Flow
Exiting the first quarter of 2026, Middleby had cash and cash equivalents of $177.1 million compared with $222.2 million at the end of 2025. Long-term debt was $1.83 billion at the end of the first quarter compared with $2.13 billion at 2025-end.
In the first three months of 2026, Middleby generated net cash of $87.8 million from operating activities compared with $137.3 million in the year-ago quarter.
In the first three months, its capital expenditure totaled $7.9 million compared with $26.5 million in the year-ago quarter. Free cash flow was $79.9 million compared with $110.8 million in the year-ago quarter.
Middleby Advances Portfolio Transformation
Middleby completed the sale of a 51% stake in its Residential Kitchen business during the quarter. The transaction generated net cash proceeds of $565 million, while the company retained a 49% ownership interest in the joint venture.
The company expects the planned Food Processing spin-off to close on July 6, 2026. Management stated that the separation will create two focused, standalone businesses with distinct growth and capital allocation strategies.