Middleby
MIDD on Nasdaq. Middleby sells cooking and food processing equipment to restaurants and food processors. Market value $4.8bn.
Price checks use the past 12 months to June 2026. Quality checks use five annual reports, the latest for the year to December 2025.
Should I look at this?
Worth a closer look
Why it could be worth it
What to watch out for
Nothing stood out in the numbers we check.
This is not advice. Check the numbers below.
For every $100 of what the whole company costs, it produced $10.06 of spare cash in the past 12 months. A savings account pays about $4.
You pay 11.4 years of operating profit for the business. The average large US company costs around 18.
Each dollar kept in the business earns 9 cents a year. Above 10 is good.
Quality score: 92 of 100. Price score: 66 of 100. Our list needs 70 on quality and 60 on price.
$105.92 a share, 19% above its 1-year low
Over the past year the price has ranged from $89.16 to $148.55.
Pays no dividend
Prices from Tuesday’s close (6 October).
Five years of cash, in billions
| Revenue | |||||
| Revenue | $3.3bn | $4.0bn | $3.2bn | $3.2bn | $3.2bn |
| Operating margin | |||||
| Operating margin | 19.4% | 15.9% | 20.1% | 20.4% | 18.0% |
| Debt to equity | |||||
| Debt to equity | 0.97 | 0.97 | 0.75 | 0.66 | 0.78 |
| Shares outstanding | |||||
| Shares outstanding | 0.05bn | 0.05bn | 0.05bn | 0.05bn | 0.05bn |
Health checks
- Free cash flow positive5 of 5 years
- Accounting looks honest (Beneish)Nothing unusual
- Financial strength (Piotroski)4 of 8 checks we could run
- Profit backed by cash (accruals)No
- Debt0.78× equity
- Revenue growth, five yearsSlow, 5.0% a year
- Buying back its own sharesYes, 16% fewer since 2021
The quarter to June 2026
How the business did, compared with the same quarter a year earlier.
- Sales: $876 million last quarter, up 10% on a year ago.
- Profit: $55 million, down 48% on a year ago.
- It keeps 17 cents of each $1 of sales as operating profit, down from 22 cents a year earlier.
- Spare cash over the past 12 months: $482 million, down from $606 million.
- 15% fewer shares than a year ago. Each share owns a bit more of the company.
- Debt is $1.8 billion more than cash, down from $1.9 billion a year ago.
- Sales grew on a year ago in each of the last 4 quarters.
| Quarter to | Amount |
|---|---|
| September 2024 | $770m |
| December 2024 | $829m |
| March 2025 | $731m |
| June 2025 | $797m |
| September 2025 | $807m |
| December 2025 | $866m |
| March 2026 | $840m |
| June 2026 | $876m |
| Quarter to | Amount |
|---|---|
| September 2024 | $114m |
| December 2024 | $112m |
| March 2025 | $92m |
| June 2025 | $106m |
| September 2025 | -$513m |
| December 2025 | $37m |
| March 2026 | -$50m |
| June 2026 | $55m |
From the company's quarterly reports to the SEC.
Dates
- Next results (estimated)
- n/a
- Last annual report (10-K)
- 4 March 2026
- Next quarterly (estimated, 10-Q)
- 12 November 2026
Who owns it
10 long-term investors we follow own it, unchanged from 10 last quarter. 451 funds in all.
- Heartland AdvisorsBill Nasgovitz
- Value
- $6m
- Share of fund
- 0.2%
- GAMCO InvestorsMario Gabelli
- Value
- $825,648
- Share of fund
- <0.1%
| Fund | Value | Share of that fund | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ariel InvestmentsJohn Rogers Jr. | $283m | 2.8% | Added |
| Cooke & BielerCooke & Bieler partners | $109m | 1.3% | Added |
| Select Equity GroupGeorge Loening | $98m | 0.5% | Cut |
| Boston PartnersBoston Partners team | $73m | <0.1% | Added |
| Clarkston Capital PartnersJeff Hakala | $42m | 3.5% | Cut |
| LSV Asset ManagementJosef Lakonishok | $24m | <0.1% | Added |
| Gotham Asset ManagementJoel Greenblatt | $19m | <0.1% | Added |
| Heartland AdvisorsBill Nasgovitz | $6m | 0.2% | |
| GMOJeremy Grantham | $1m | <0.1% | New |
| GAMCO InvestorsMario Gabelli | $825,648 | <0.1% |
Sold out this quarter
Largest holders overall
- Price T Rowe Associates$1.0bnCut
- BlackRock$676mCut
- Garden Investment Management, L.P.$581m
- JPMorgan Chase$423mAdded
- Invesco$323mAdded
- Vanguard Capital Management$320mCut
- Vanguard Portfolio Management$305mCut
- Ariel Investments$283mAdded
- FMR$232mAdded
- State Street$229mCut
From 13F filings for the quarter ended 30 June 2026.
Big holders and activists
6 investors own more than 5%.
- T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.Passive investor13.6%+2.1 ptsSince 31 March 2026
- at least 6.7%+0.8 pts(filed with 4 related holders)Since 6 January 2026
What they said
Item 4 of the Schedule 13D is hereby amended as follows: On January 6, 2026, GIM entered into an amendment to the Cooperation Agreement with the Issuer (the "Cooperation Agreement Amendment"), pursuant to which and subject to the terms set forth therein (i) the Issuer agreed to…
Read the filing - Wellington Management Company LLPPassive investor5.4%Since 31 March 2025
- JPMORGAN CHASE & COPassive investor5.0%Since 31 March 2026
- Select Equity GroupPassive investorat least 3.3%−2.7 pts(filed with 1 related holder)Since 31 March 2026
- Wellington Management Group LLPPassive investorat least 2.6%−3.4 pts(filed with 2 related holders)Since 31 December 2025
- Vanguard Capital ManagementPassive investorSold down below 5%Since 30 June 2026
- Victory Capital Management, Inc.Passive investorSold down below 5%Since 30 June 2025
- THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC.Passive investorSold down below 5%Since 30 June 2025
- The Vanguard GroupPassive investorSold down below 5%Since 13 March 2026
| Holder | Stake | Since | |
|---|---|---|---|
T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. Passive investor | 13.6%+2.1 pts | 31 March 2026 | |
at least 6.7%+0.8 pts (filed with 4 related holders) | 6 January 2026 | What they saidItem 4 of the Schedule 13D is hereby amended as follows: On January 6, 2026, GIM entered into an amendment to the Cooperation Agreement with the Issuer (the "Cooperation Agreement Amendment"), pursuant to which and subject to the terms set forth therein (i) the Issuer agreed to… Read the filing | |
Wellington Management Company LLP Passive investor | 5.4% | 31 March 2025 | |
JPMORGAN CHASE & CO Passive investor | 5.0% | 31 March 2026 | |
Select Equity Group Passive investor | at least 3.3%−2.7 pts (filed with 1 related holder) | 31 March 2026 | |
Wellington Management Group LLP Passive investor | at least 2.6%−3.4 pts (filed with 2 related holders) | 31 December 2025 | |
Vanguard Capital Management Passive investor | Sold down below 5% | 30 June 2026 | |
Victory Capital Management, Inc. Passive investor | Sold down below 5% | 30 June 2025 | |
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. Passive investor | Sold down below 5% | 30 June 2025 | |
The Vanguard Group Passive investor | Sold down below 5% | 13 March 2026 |
From Schedule 13D and 13G filings: anyone owning more than 5% must file one.
What insiders did
In the last 12 months, 2 insiders bought $15m of shares on the open market.
- GARDEN EDWARD PDirectorBought
- Date
- 15 December 2025
- Shares
- 14,740
- Price
- $146.92
- Value
- $2m
- GARDEN EDWARD PDirectorBought
- Date
- 12 December 2025
- Shares
- 43,838
- Price
- $146.53
- Value
- $6m
- GARDEN EDWARD PDirectorBought
- Date
- 11 December 2025
- Shares
- 44,325
- Price
- $144.55
- Value
- $6m
- Nerbonne Robert ADirectorBought
- Date
- 9 December 2025
- Shares
- 780
- Price
- $128.52
- Value
- $100,246
| Date | Who | Did | Shares | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 December 2025 | GARDEN EDWARD P Director | Bought | 14,740 | $146.92 | $2m |
| 12 December 2025 | GARDEN EDWARD P Director | Bought | 43,838 | $146.53 | $6m |
| 11 December 2025 | GARDEN EDWARD P Director | Bought | 44,325 | $144.55 | $6m |
| 9 December 2025 | Nerbonne Robert A Director | Bought | 780 | $128.52 | $100,246 |
From Form 4 filings: insiders must report trades in their own company's shares within two days.
Warning signs in its filings
Problems the company itself reported to the SEC, in its own words.
None of the warning signs we check for were found.
We look for five warning signs: doubt it can keep going, weak checks on its own accounts, a notice that its past accounts can't be relied on, a change of auditor, and one customer bringing in a big share of sales. We don't check lawsuits, investigations or debt yet.
We checked the auditor's report, internal controls, restatement notices, auditor changes and big customers in the 10-K filed 4 Mar 2026, plus the 10-Q filed 13 Aug 2026 and 17 later 8-Ks.
A 10-K is the yearly report every US company files with the SEC. An 8-K is a short notice of a big event.
What could go wrong
Cheap for a reason is the question the numbers cannot answer.
Whether the price already reflects the risks is what the deep dive is for.
What changed in the risks this year
Companies must list what could hurt them each year. These are the parts that changed since last year’s report.
The company has a significant amount of goodwill and indefinite life intangibles, which have in the past, and could in the future, become impaired and require us to record significant impairment charges.
Already happenedOn December 4, 2025, the company entered into a definitive agreement to sell a 51% stake in its Residential Kitchen business to an affiliate of 26North Partners LP, and the transaction contemplated by such agreement was completed on February 2, 2026. During the third quarter of 2025, the company identified an impairment indicator impacting the fair value of Residential Kitchen Equipment Group reporting unit in connection with conducting a strategic review of its business portfolio and performed an interim quantitative impairment test as of September 27, 2025. As a result, the company recognized non-cash impairments of $709.1 million in the three month period ended September 27, 2025, primarily associated with the interim quantitative impairment tests of goodwill of the Residential Kitchen Equipment Group reporting unit and several trademarks within Residential Kitchen Equipment Group.
Read moreUnfavorable tax law changes and tax authority rulings may adversely affect financial results.
Could happenIn recent years, the OECD has issued Administrative Guidance, including the most recent agreement to a side-by-side system released on January 5, 2026. The side-by-side agreement is intended to complement the OECD’s Pillar II model rules with the addition of new safe harbors, as well as other simplification measures, that are designed to provide clarity and reduce compliance complexity for eligible multinational companies. The Administrative Guidance generally requires further legislative or regulatory action to be effective. These potential changes increase tax uncertainty and may impact income tax expense in future years. The company will continue to monitor pending legislation and implementation by individual countries and evaluate the potential impact on the company's business in future periods.
Read more
The deep dive
Everything above is arithmetic on public filings. The deep dive reads the last ten years of annual reports, the proxy statements, and the earnings calls, then argues the case the way Buffett, Klarman, and Hohn would, and checks every claim against the source.
- What the business is worth, as a range, and the margin of safety at today’s price
- Prices to start buying, buy, and buy hard
- The three things that would make this a mistake
- Every number footnoted to the filing it came from
Your first deep dive is free.
Not advice. Numbers on this page come from SEC filings and are updated each night; prices are updated again after the US market closes. The five-year figures are rounded.