Sysco Corp. Earnings Beat Estimates With Help From Lower Food Costs

Sysco Corp. said Monday it had fiscal third-quarter net income of $217.1 million, or 38 cents per share, up from $177 million, or 30 cents per share for the same period last year. Adjusted earnings were 46 cents per share, beating the FactSet consensus of 42 cents per share. Sales for the quarter totaled $12 billion, up from $11.7 billion last year and above the $11.9 billion FactSet consensus. "Overall food cost deflation was 0.4% (0.8% in U.S. broadline), as measured by the estimated change in Sysco's product costs, with deflation in the meat, seafood and poultry categories partially offset by modest inflation in other categories," the food distributor said in its release. Shares of Sysco are up 0.7% in premarket trading, and 24% for the past year. The S&P 500 is down 2% for the last 12 months.