Revised Financial Prospectus for Fiscal Year 2025 by UNFI After Suffering a Cyber Intrusion
United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI), North America's premier grocery wholesaler, has successfully restored its primary electronic ordering systems ten days after a significant cyberattack in July 2025. The company, which delivers a wide variety of products to more than 30,000 locations throughout North America, has been working closely with customers and suppliers to catch up on delayed business processes.
The cyberattack, estimated to have caused a financial impact of $350 million to $425 million in lost sales and breach-related expenses for fiscal year 2025, has not deterred UNFI from demonstrating resilience. Despite these losses, the company has revised its full-year net sales outlook upward to $31.6 billion–$31.8 billion, slightly higher than prior guidance.
The estimated net income loss due to the incident is $50 million to $60 million, and the pre-tax and free cash flow loss is $65 million to $75 million. However, the exact impacts on adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EPS are not explicitly quantified in the available sources. Management indicates, however, that the incident will not have long-term negative earnings effects.
UNFI's commercial operating capacity has been restored to normalized levels as of this week. The company incurred about $25 million in direct attack-related expenses, including $20 million for manual processes and spoilage prevention, and $5 million for cybersecurity and legal costs.
Despite the setback, UNFI's CEO, Sandy Douglas, emphasized that underlying business momentum and operational metrics like fill rates have largely recovered to pre-attack levels. This optimistic outlook is supported by the company's Q3 earnings report last month, which reflected another solid quarter of sales growth.
In the aftermath of the cyberattack, UNFI activated a network of third-party experts to help secure its data and systems. Douglas also stated that the company remains focused on adding value for its customers and suppliers while becoming a more efficient and effective partner.
UNFI's CEO, Sandy Douglas, expressed gratitude to customers, suppliers, and associates for their resilience and collaboration during the challenging period. Notably, Whole Foods Market was affected by the cyberattack, resulting in empty shelves for a period of time.
The updated full-year adjusted EBITDA outlook range is $535 million to $565 million, with a midpoint of $550 million, which includes a $40 million-to-$50 million expected impact from the cyber incident. UNFI's capital spending outlook has decreased by $50 million to $250 million, partly due to resource reallocation over the past month.
The expected negative impact of the cyberattack on UNFI's Q4 sales is approximately $350 million to $400 million in lost sales. UNFI's full-year capital spending outlook has decreased, partially due to resource reallocation over the past month. The updated net sales outlook for the year has increased by 0.6% at the midpoint to a range of $31.6 billion to $31.8 billion, which is about 2.3% higher than fiscal 2024 when adjusting for the extra week last year.
It is worth noting that UNFI has not been mentioned in any of the earlier bullet points regarding data breaches or cybersecurity incidents affecting other companies. The company continues to prioritize its mission of delivering high-quality products to its customers and partners while ensuring the security of its operations.
In conclusion, while the cyberattack caused a significant financial setback for UNFI, the company's swift response and resilience have enabled it to rebound strongly. The updated sales and EBITDA outlooks indicate a positive trajectory for the rest of the year, and UNFI remains committed to delivering value for its customers and partners.
- Despite the financial loss and short-term disruptions caused by the cyberattack, UNFI has revised its full-year net sales outlook upward, demonstrating the company's focus on technology, business, and a resilient supply chain.
- In an effort to secure its systems and data, UNFI has collaborated with a network of third-party cybersecurity experts, suggesting a heightened emphasis on cybersecurity within the company's technology-driven business operations.
