Oct 26, 2026 earnings call — Record quarter volumes and margin expansion
Record third quarter consolidated volumes of 1.1 billion unit cases and total revenues of MXN 79.7 billion.
Revenue $4.4B (est $4.4B) · EPS $1.72 (est $1.89)
Key quotes
"Indeed, our record third quarter consolidated volumes demonstrated the effectiveness of our commercial strategies across our regions."
"Gross profit increased 14.5% to MXN 37 billion, resulting in a gross margin expansion of 140 basis points to 46.5%."
"For the year, we have hedged approximately 65 of our PET requirements 88% of sugar, 98% of HFCS, and 74% of aluminum."
Analyst Q&A 10
Mexico volumes and strategy
Q (Lucas Ferreira · JPMorgan): How is the Mexico consumer and how did you change strategy from Q2 to Q3? What should we expect going into next year?
A: They said the first half was hit by a large excise tax price pass-through and July began to improve. For Q4 they started RGM initiatives in August and plan more in mid-November, and daily sales are flat or gradually improving. New product launches in Mexico are doing very well and have caused supply shortages.
"That daily trend continues to improve very gradually or be flat versus prior months, but now we do not have the benefit of the base with a lower consumer backlash." — Ian Marcel Craig García (CEO)
SG&A pressure in Mexico
Q (Henrique Brustolin · Bradesco): How should we think about SG&A pressure going forward? How much is deliberate marketing/commercial vs recurring cost inflation?
A: They said volume outperformance, driven by higher multi-serve volumes like the 3-liter Coke, increased scale but also pressured profitability. Peso depreciation hit P&L through dollar accounts payable and they expect peso weakness to continue and will take mitigation actions; labor increases and higher freight also pressured SG&A. Despite these, profitability improved sequentially versus the first two quarters thanks to strong volumes and operating leverage.
"This has been driven by a significant increase in volumes in multi serve presentations specifically our 3-liter Coke presentation." — Gerardo Cruz Celaya (CFO)
Brazil tax and workweek risk
Q (Rahi Parikh · Barclays): If Brazil introduces excise or other taxes on CSDs, how would you mitigate volume impact? Also, what about the workweek reduction?
A: They said they are in close talks with the government and cannot comment until the measure is published. If the tax is not neutral they would move quickly and use RGM initiatives to cover the impact, and the workweek reduction is an industry-wide impact they would also address via RGM and productivity initiatives.
"We would need to be very, agile and move swiftly with our RGM initiatives." — Ian Marcel Craig García (CEO)
Juntos+ and sales tools
Q (Alvaro Garcia · BTG Pactual): What is next for Juntos+ and Premia incentives and guided missions with key clients?
A: They said Juntos+ is largely where it needs to be and the team is fine-tuning algorithms to raise average ticket and improve customer experience. The main uplift will come from the adviser salesforce tool: order entry rollout in Mexico this year and further rollouts in LatAm, plus a supervisor tool in Brazil to improve coaching and execution.
"What is going to be making a lot of difference to us is the adviser tool." — Ian Marcel Craig García (CEO)
Capital returns timing
Q (Henrique Morello · Morgan Stanley): Any change in capital allocation priorities after this quarter? Any chance of extraordinary dividends or buybacks in the next 12 months?
A: They said they waited this year because of the surprise excise tax and have finalized their analysis. They expect to have news early next year on the mechanism of capital return for shareholders.
"we expect to have news for you on what the mechanism of capital return for shareholders will be that we will put in place earlier in next year." — Gerardo Cruz Celaya (CFO)
El Niño early effects
Q (Thiago Bortoluci · Goldman Sachs): What early impacts from El Niño are you seeing and how are you preparing, especially for demand?
A: They said early signs are roughly neutral in Mexico, positive so far in Central America, Colombia and Venezuela, and wetter and more negative in Brazil and Argentina. Inventories and positioning are generally good, but Colombia and Venezuela are strained for capacity with very strong volume growth and low inventories, and they are investing to address that supply strain.
"So in those 2 countries, we are strained for capacity." — Ian Marcel Craig García (CEO)
LatAm SG&A excluding insurance
Q (Felipe Ucros Nunez · Scotiabank): Adjusting out insurance claims from Brazil, is SG&A in LatAm still under pressure and will that continue?
A: They confirmed SG&A pressure excluding the insurance effect. One main component is demand outpacing forecasts, especially in Colombia, which raised freight expenses and pressured SG&A, and labor expenses are pressuring results across operations. They also reminded that the base includes 180 million pesos of insurance recoveries and excluding insurance South America grew 29% EBIT.
"I will just add, Felipe, that, remember that also the base has 180 million pesos of insurance recoveries that you should also adjust for." — Gerardo Cruz Celaya (CFO)
2027 normalization and labor impacts
Q (Alejandro Fuchs · Itau BBA): Why is 2027 expected to be more normalized? Will SG&A pressure continue given labor reforms and higher minimum wage?
A: They said the Mexico comment meant they do not expect the 2025 consumer backlash or the 2026 excise tax impacts to repeat in 2027, so they plan for a more normalized year for exogenous factors. Labor increases in Mexico are treated as regular business effects, while Brazil's labor reform is an extraordinary 2027 impact they plan to address with productivity initiatives and RGM, and their share cushion allows them to pass through industry-wide impacts.
"For the case of Brazil, we do have the labor reform, as an extraordinary impact for 2027 expected." — Gerardo Cruz Celaya (CFO)
Mexico channel mix and competition
Q (Ulises Argote Bolio · Santander): Can you detail performance by channel in Mexico and how competition is evolving, especially in the central region?
A: They said they deliberately maintained scale and affordability in traditional trade after the excise tax, and that resulted in traditional trade reclaiming space versus modern trade. All channels are growing but traditional trade has been gaining points year-to-date, and they will continue to use price-pack architecture to serve channels.
"Year to date, the traditional trade is gaining a couple of points to the modern trade." — Jorge Alejandro Collazo Pereda
Margins across South America
Q (Fernando Ferreira · BofA): How are margins behaving by country in South America and where is there more room to improve?
A: They said Brazil and Colombia have had the biggest headspace for profitability improvement, with Brazil a bit ahead and Colombia showing its first significant profitability gain in four years and still much room to improve. They also mentioned Panama is being reset after prior profitability drops, and added that they do not provide specific country EBITDA margins on the call but can discuss details separately.
"Both Brazil and Colombia had been coming off as our operations with the biggest head space in terms of profitability improvement." — Gerardo Cruz Celaya (CFO)