Food distributor Sysco misses revenue estimates on inflation-induced demand slowdown

(Reuters) - Food distributor Sysco Corp missed Wall Street expectations for quarterly sales on Tuesday, as inflation-hit consumers restrict discretionary spending on products such as custom cuts of meat and seafood.

Surging inflation has begun to eat into consumers' disposable income, forcing shoppers to prioritize spending on necessities, making little room for demand for non-essential items.

Even with supply chain constraints easing, Sysco is still grappling with cost pressures tied to raw materials like meat, dairy and seafood.

While higher costs have pressured several companies including soda giants Coca-Cola Co and PepsiCo to raise product prices, volatile and price-sensitive demand for food away from home products restricts Sysco from raising prices.

Shares of the Texas-based company rose 2.2% in premarket trading on Sysco's profit beat. Excluding items, it earned $1.34 per share, ahead of analysts' estimates of $1.33 per share.

The company's net sales rose to $19.73 billion in the fourth quarter ended July 1, from $18.96 billion a year ago, but still fell short of estimates of $19.99 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

(Reporting by Aatrayee Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)

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