Oct 29, 2026 earnings call — Q3 results and interim dividend
Underlying EPS increased by 22% to reach $1.21.
Revenue $16.5B (est $15.9B) · EPS $0.81 (est $1.09)
Key quotes
"Our mega brands continue to drive profitable growth across our markets, with net revenue increasing by 7.7% during the quarter."
"This marketplace continued to scale, with GMV from third-party products increasing by 45% versus last year to reach $1.4 billion."
"Given our strong balance sheet and increased capital allocation flexibility, the board has approved an interim dividend of EUR 0.40 per share."
Analyst Q&A 7
Drivers: volume, price and product mix
Q (Edward Mundy · Jefferies): How are you thinking about the three growth buckets (volume, price, mix) into next year given rising commodity pressure? And what explains the outperformance in non-alcohol — can zero-alcohol scale into a meaningful growth engine?
A: They are not giving guidance for 2027 but say the midterm plan is shifting to deliver higher EBIT. Volume is growing and net revenue per hectoliter is healthy from pricing and mix, supported by revenue-management capabilities. Non-alcohol was a multi-year investment, brings new consumers and occasions, and has grown from less than 1% to more than 1.5%, approaching 2% run rate with double-digit growth in many markets.
"Used to be less than 1% of our business. Today is more than 1.5%, approaching 2% on a run rate, and the growth rates are very good across the globe, double digits in most every market." — Michel Doukeris
China weakness vs MAZ strength
Q (Sanjeet Aujla · UBS): How much of China’s decline is weather or inventory versus consumer weakness, and will destocking finish by year-end? How much of Middle Americas (MAZ) acceleration was World Cup versus underlying consumer strength?
A: They say industry measures converge to high single-digit declines nationally, while their footprint was north of 10% down due to bad summer weather and channel exposure. The majority of the China decline was industry and inventories driven, and they aim to reach normal inventories by year end. For MAZ, execution, better consumer dynamics, favorable weather and comps, plus premium and Beyond Beer growth drove broad-based acceleration beyond just the World Cup.
"Majority of the decline in China was industry and inventories driven, while we continued to underperform in sales to consumers, this industry that was very negative." — Michel Doukeris
Brazil demand and interim dividend
Q (Andrea Pistacchi · BofA): Why did Brazil show mid-single digit sell-out but only 0.5% beer volume growth — how to bridge sell-in vs sell-out and outlook after elections? And is the interim dividend rise a rebalancing or signal of faster payout growth?
A: Fernando said the company aims for a progressive dividend and that stronger cash flow and balance sheet give more capital allocation flexibility; they announced an interim dividend of 40 euro cents versus 15 euro cents in 2025. Michel explained the Brazil gap reflects different data sources (production shipments versus Nielsen sell-out) and inventory timing; market share and brands are performing, and they expect some improvement in Q4 from election-related cash flows and seasonal weather bounce.
"We announced this dividend, this interim dividend with 40 euro cents, which compares to 15 euro cents in 2025." — Fernando Tennenbaum
Costs outlook and Michelob ULTRA expansion
Q (Robert Ottenstein · Evercore): What incremental cost pressures do you see for Q4 and 2027 and can your levers cover them to hit medium-term targets? Also, what is the strategy and traction for Michelob ULTRA as a global brand?
A: They say costs were more balanced between H1 and H2 and that some non-hedged pressures moved into the second half, but a 12-month hedge policy gives visibility and next year currently looks like a more normal year. On Michelob ULTRA, they position it in the 'balanced choices' trend; expansion outside the U.S. accelerated and in Q3 60% of the brand’s global growth came from outside the U.S., supporting disciplined global roll-out.
"If you look at the Q3, 60% of all the growth that the brand had globally came from outside of the U.S." — Michel Doukeris
EBITDA seasonality and pricing policy
Q (Mitch Collett · Deutsche Bank): Do you still expect EBITDA to be balanced H1 versus H2 with one quarter left, and are you seeing any change in industry pricing given a competitor took pricing below CPI?
A: They reaffirm that the year still looks balanced between first and second half and they remain proactive on revenue and cost management. They also state there is no change to their policy of pricing in line with CPI on average, supported by revenue-management work and year-to-date net revenue per liter up 4.3% and the quarter up 4.2%.
"I think that first and foremost, we stated this before, and there is no change on our view that we price in line with CPI on average." — Michel Doukeris
BeatBox integration and APAC SG&A drop
Q (Laurence Whyatt · Barclays): How is BeatBox performing versus expectations and how does it fit in Beyond Beer? Also, why was Asia Pacific SG&A down as a percent of sales this quarter?
A: BeatBox is in year one of integration; they are learning with the founders this year and plan full commercial integration next year with retailer resets and wholesale meetings, expecting distribution and penetration gains. On APAC SG&A, most SG&A there is variable with volumes and sales-and-marketing, so the decline was largely driven by sales activity, plus ongoing overhead efficiency actions.
"BeatBox is going through the year one of the integration, and next year is the year where it's going to be fully integrated on the commercial plans, on the sell and resets with retailers." — Michel Doukeris
Revenue mix; US EBITDA and Brazil risks
Q (Olivier Nicolai · Goldman Sachs): What was the mix component of revenue per hectoliter in Q3? In the U.S., how much of the EBITDA decline was World Cup marketing versus input and transport cost? And how do Brazil tax reform and online gambling ban affect volumes?
A: They said mix contribution was similar to H1 and estimated about 25%–30% of revenue per hectoliter comes from mix (premiumization and right categories). U.S. Q3 EBITDA was impacted by FIFA marketing costs and by unhedged input costs, notably higher transportation costs driven by diesel. For Brazil, the gambling restrictions are seen as recovering disposable income for consumers; tax reform is still uncertain and any higher tax burden would likely be passed into prices if needed.
"In a way you can say that 25% to one third of the revenue per hectoliter is a contribution from mix of premiumization, mix of the right categories." — Michel Doukeris