Article By:
Brian Harper
Monday, September 26, 2016 7:08 PM EDT
Innovative Food is a specialty distributor of high-quality foods to higher-end chefs and kitchens. Shares are beaten down and the stock trades at a 18% EBIT/EV yield. At a mere $12.5 mil market cap, IVFH is well under the radar of most investors.
Innovative Food: Beaten Down Former Growth Darling Throwing Off Significant Cash
$IVFH has continued growing rapidly, has expanded margins, and on a ttm basis has earned around 16 cents. They'll be a full tax payer in about 2 years, so that will be a hit to earnings, but I still think they're worth $1.60-1.75 at present.
Innovative Food: Beaten Down Former Growth Darling Throwing Off Significant Cash
I think it's quite a different situation than some component maker to AAPL who has massive power over suppliers. I don't think there are any great alternatives for USFD, and the switching costs would be very high as many of the end customers have relationships with IVFH. USFD is highly unlikely to try to supply these small market, niche ingredients which IVFH provide. As a specific product gets larger, USFD ultimately takes it in house and IVFH abandons the category. And its a great biz for USFD, as the business is like a royalty, and very asset lite. $AAPL $USFD $IVFH
Innovative Food: Beaten Down Former Growth Darling Throwing Off Significant Cash
@[Brian Harper](user:32908), thanks for sharing your thoughts on $IVFH. I've been considering this stock but am concerned that 70% of #InnovativeFood's revenue comes from a single company - $USFD.
It reminds me of how $GTAT went bankrupt after $AAPL decided not to use it's screens on the #Apple Watch. Aren't there other competitors which could steal US Food's business from them?