Performance Food Group’s (PFG) new CEO is signaling a stronger emphasis on technology and efficiency as the food distributor works through a volatile demand environment, integration costs tied to its Cheney Brothers acquisition and margin pressure from deflation in key food categories.

Scott McPherson recently succeeded George Holm as CEO. McPherson told analysts his approach will track the company’s long-running playbook of organic growth and acquisitions, but with “a little slant” toward using technology to make the company more efficient.

The Fortune 100 distributor reported fiscal Q2 net sales of $16.445 billion. That’s a 5.2% increase from $15.638 billion a year earlier. Net earnings rose to $61.7 million, a 45.5% jump from $42.4 million.

For the first six months of fiscal 2026, Performance Food Group (PFG) reported net sales of $33.521 billion, up from $31.054 billion a year earlier, an increase of 7.9%. Net earnings totaled $155.3 million, up from $150.4 million, a 3.3% increase.

How PFG grew sales in Q2

McPherson’s technology emphasis surfaced in comments about the company’s Specialty segment, which serves channels such as vending, office coffee, retail, campus and travel. While Specialty faced a sharp decline in theater-related business, McPherson said the company is seeing momentum in vending and retail and pointed to its “ecommerce platform” as part of the improvement.

At the same time, executives described the operational work required to integrate Cheney Brothers — including bringing new facilities online and absorbing the systems and process changes that come with operating as part of a public company. McPherson said Cheney-related expenses have run higher than expected, citing costs associated with facility start-ups and integration work that includes benefits, payroll and financial mapping.

Management also pointed to a “clean room” information-sharing process tied to prior discussions with US Foods as an unexpected source of internal validation. McPherson said the process gave the company more confidence in procurement-related savings targets outlined in its three-year plan, describing the savings opportunity as a function of the company’s scale and vendor partnerships.

Performance Food Group operates more than 150 locations and distributes food and related products to more than 300,000 customer sites, including restaurants, schools and health care facilities, convenience stores, theaters, vending and office coffee distributors, and retailers.

Looking ahead, the company said it expects its technology and operational initiatives — alongside continued onboarding of new business in convenience and progress integrating Cheney — to support its long-term growth plan, even as weather disruptions and category deflation create near-term noise in volume and margins.

Sign up

Sign up for a complimentary subscription to Digital Commerce 360 B2B News. It covers technology and business trends in the growing B2B ecommerce industry. Contact Mark Brohan, senior vice president of B2B and Market Research, at mark@digitalcommerce360.com. Follow him on Twitter @markbrohan. Follow us on LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and YouTube.