Bernstein analyst Danilo Gargiulo increased his price target for Sysco (NYSE:SYY) to $90.00 from $83.00, while retaining a Market Perform rating on the foodservice distributor. The stock was trading at $83.92 at the time of the note, near its 52-week high of $83.96, and InvestingPro Fair Value estimates indicated the shares may be undervalued.
Gargiulo pointed to stronger-than-expected top-line results as a key reason for the target lift. In particular, Sysco outpaced its own target for U.S. local case volume growth within its U.S. Foodservice segment, recording a 1.2% increase versus consensus expectations of 0.8%. That local volume performance contributed to Sysco reporting total revenue of $82.03 billion and revenue growth of 2.92% over the last twelve months.
Bernstein highlighted that the underlying improvement occurred even as overall industry traffic slowed, noting a 200 basis point deceleration in the second quarter. The firm attributed Sysco's relative strength in part to high retention among its sales representatives. That retention, coupled with ongoing product training and deployment of the company’s AI360 tools, is cited as supporting higher sales force productivity and provides confidence in continued momentum.
The research note also flagged progress beyond the U.S. market. Sysco's international operations delivered 7.3% sales growth, a point Bernstein said was encouraging. The analyst additionally referenced Sysco's regional expansion through the acquisition of Ginsberg's Foods in the Northeast, which adds route density to the company’s network.
Other broker reactions have been largely positive following Sysco’s quarterly results. The company reported second quarter fiscal 2026 earnings per share of $0.99, topping the forecasted $0.98, and posted total revenue of $21.00 billion compared with an expected $20.78 billion.
UBS responded to the quarterly beat by raising its price target for Sysco to $95 while maintaining a Buy rating, citing improvements in U.S. local case volumes. Piper Sandler also nudged its target higher to $83 from $80 and kept a Neutral rating. Piper Sandler noted that Sysco’s total U.S. Foodservice case growth was roughly in line with expectations at 0.8%, while U.S. Local case growth reached 1.2%.
Taken together, the analyst updates and quarterly results underscore areas of positive momentum in Sysco’s business - particularly U.S. local case volumes, international sales growth, and strategic route-density enhancements via recent M&A activity - while also arriving in the context of a slowing industry traffic backdrop.