The Middleby Corporation

What they do

Middleby designs, manufactures, markets, distributes and services commercial foodservice equipment, integrated IoT solutions and universal controllers used in restaurants and institutional kitchens. Its Commercial Foodservice Equipment Group portfolio covers cooking, warming, holding, refrigeration, freezing and beverage applications sold under trade names including Blodgett, TurboChef, Pitco, Taylor, Southbend and Middleby Marshall. The company sold a 51% stake in its Residential Kitchen Equipment Group on February 2, 2026 and completed the spin-off of its Food Processing business, now named Midera, on July 6, 2026.

Revenue drivers

• Commercial Foodservice Equipment Group — The company's retained core segment, generating $630.6 million of net sales in Q2 2026 with 8.3% organic growth and a 25.8% Adjusted EBITDA margin. It sells equipment across quick-service and full-service restaurants, ghost kitchens, convenience stores, supermarkets, retail outlets and hotels.
• Food Processing Equipment Group (spun off) — Contributed $244.9 million of Q2 2026 net sales at a 20.3% Adjusted EBITDA margin, with reported growth of 13.3% driven mostly by acquisitions (11.0%) rather than organic growth (1.3%). This business was separated into an independent public company, Midera, on July 6, 2026.
• Residential Kitchen Equipment Group (majority sold) — Historically a reportable segment; Middleby sold 51% to a 26North Partners affiliate in a transaction valuing the business at $885 million, completed February 2, 2026. It received about $565 million net cash and a $135 million promissory note, and retains a 49% non-controlling interest.

Recent performance

Q2 2026 net sales were $875.5 million, up 9.9% reported and 6.4% organic over the prior-year quarter. Commercial Foodservice sales were $630.6 million, up 8.6% reported and 8.3% organic; Food Processing sales were $244.9 million, up 13.3% reported but only 1.3% organic. Operating income was $147.7 million, roughly flat versus $147.8 million a year earlier and including $14 million of strategic transaction costs. Adjusted EBITDA rose to $193.2 million from $181.6 million, while diluted GAAP EPS fell to $1.20 from $1.91 and Adjusted EPS rose to $2.35 from $2.20. Q2 ended at 2.4x net leverage.

Strategy

Management has been reshaping the portfolio: it sold a majority stake in Residential Kitchen Equipment and completed the Food Processing spin-off on July 6, 2026, leaving Middleby as a pure-play commercial foodservice company. The company is emphasizing organic growth, stating Q2 organic growth was broad-based across channels, customer types and regions. It is returning capital through share repurchases, buying 1.4 million shares in Q2 2026 and a stated 8.7 million shares over the past six quarters. It also cites strategic investments in recent years as driving current results and describes ongoing efforts to identify operational efficiencies and offset tariff and inflation costs.

Risks

• Tariffs and trade policy — Middleby states that tariffs imposed to date have increased costs for certain raw materials and components, and that retaliatory tariffs on its exports could reduce demand and sales volumes.
• Cost inflation — The company reports being negatively impacted by inflation in wages, logistics, energy, raw materials and component costs, with no assurance that pricing actions fully offset these increases.
• Equity method losses from Residential JV — After retaining a 49% non-controlling interest, Middleby recorded $28.9 million of equity in losses of affiliate in Q2 2026, weighing on net earnings.
• Customer and economic cyclicality — The company depends on the health of North American, European, Asian and Latin American economies and warns that customers may delay replacement of aging equipment in weaker conditions.

Outlook

Management raised FY 2026 guidance to revenue growth of +6% to +8% in Commercial Foodservice and said Q2 results exceeded the high end of its guidance range for revenue and Adjusted EBITDA. The Food Processing spin-off was completed on July 6, 2026, so Food Processing historical financials will be reported in discontinued operations starting in Q3 2026. The company describes confidence in its business as it begins operating as a pure-play commercial foodservice company, while noting the spin-off's expected benefits are not guaranteed.