Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) Issues Earnings Results

Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.27 by $0.15, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $334.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. Middleby had a negative net margin of 7.44% and a positive return on equity of 14.57%. The company’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.88 EPS. Middleby updated its FY 2026 guidance to 9.200-9.360 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance to 1.900-2.020 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Middleby’s conference call:

• The company sold a 51% stake in its Residential Kitchen business to 26North at an $885 million enterprise valuation, receiving approximately $565 million in cash proceeds while retaining a 49% stake and treating the JV as discontinued operations going forward.
• Middleby executed aggressive capital returns, repurchasing $710 million of stock in 2025 (reducing shares outstanding by ~9%) and repurchasing an additional ~$250 million in early 2026, with plans to continue buybacks into 2026.
• Management plans to separate Food Processing into an independent public company by the end of Q2, positioning Commercial Foodservice to operate with ~27% segment EBITDA margins and Food Processing as a growth platform targeting >20% segment EBITDA margins.
• Operational momentum: combined revenue for the two core segments was ~$866 million in Q4 with adjusted EBITDA of ~$197 million (adjusted EPS $2.14 for the quarter), while Food Processing reported strong order intake (Q4 orders ~$322 million) and a record backlog of ~$410 million.
• Headwinds remain from tariffs and higher interest costs — tariffs reduced Q4 EBITDA by ~$7 million and timing will likely cause margin dilution in H1 2026 despite pricing actions, while higher post-maturity interest expense creates an approximate $0.34 EPS headwind for full-year 2026.

Middleby Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MIDD opened at $136.10 on Wednesday. Middleby has a twelve month low of $110.82 and a twelve month high of $169.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.75 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $153.27 and its 200-day moving average is $140.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 2.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Middleby

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Middleby by 49.2% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,772,249 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $858,161,000 after buying an additional 1,902,957 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Middleby by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,153,171 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $320,112,000 after buying an additional 75,047 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Middleby by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,486,120 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $220,950,000 after acquiring an additional 58,696 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Middleby by 4.2% in the third quarter. Turtle Creek Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,461,810 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $194,318,000 after acquiring an additional 59,050 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Middleby by 40.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,432,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $212,899,000 after acquiring an additional 413,485 shares during the period. 98.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Middleby from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $187.00 price objective on shares of Middleby and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Middleby from $159.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Middleby from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Middleby in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.17.

About Middleby

Middleby Corporation is a global manufacturer and distributor of commercial foodservice and food processing equipment. The company designs, engineers and markets a wide range of cooking, baking, refrigeration, warewashing, holding and dispensing solutions. Middleby’s products serve restaurants, hotels, convenience stores, institutional cafeterias, cruise ships and other foodservice operators.

The company’s portfolio spans multiple well-known brands, including Blodgett ovens, TurboChef rapid?cook ovens, Southbend ranges and broilers, Pitco fryers, and Viking residential and commercial kitchen appliances.