Ambev Q3 Earnings Call Highlights

Key Points

• Ambev delivered broad-based Q3 growth: Volume rose 0.8%, revenue increased 7.6%, and normalized EBITDA grew 8.9% to BRL 7.3 billion, with normalized EPS up 15.4% to BRL 0.28. The company also reported 9.3% year-to-date EBITDA growth and maintained its Brazil Beer cost guidance.
• Brazil Beer gained momentum and market share: Quarterly volume increased 0.5%, supported by strong premium, balanced-choice and zero-alcohol offerings, while Brazil net revenue per hectoliter rose 5.8% year to date. Digital platforms BEES and Zé Delivery continued expanding, with Marketplace GMV up more than 80%.
• Cash generation and shareholder returns strengthened: Nine-month operating cash flow rose 39% to BRL 15.6 billion, helped by higher EBITDA and working-capital improvements. Ambev completed its prior BRL 3.3 billion buyback program and approved a new repurchase of up to 190 million shares, worth approximately BRL 3 billion.

Ambev NYSE: ABEV reported third-quarter growth in volume, revenue, profitability and normalized earnings, as the brewer cited portfolio gains, commercial execution and cost discipline across its markets.

Chief Executive Officer Carlos Lisboa said total volumes rose 0.8% from a year earlier, while net revenue increased 7.6% and normalized EBITDA grew 8.9% to BRL 7.3 billion. Normalized EBITDA margin expanded 40 basis points, and normalized earnings per share increased 15.4% to BRL 0.28.

For the first nine months of 2026, total volumes increased 0.7%, including beer growth at more than twice that pace. Net revenue rose 7.3%, normalized EBITDA grew 9.3%, and normalized EPS increased 12.3%. Lisboa said the company continued to increase market investment at a double-digit organic rate during both the quarter and year-to-date period.

Brazil Beer performance and pricing

Brazil Beer volumes rose 0.5% in the third quarter, following 5% growth in the second quarter. Across the two quarters, beer volume increased 2.7%, while Nielsen data indicated approximately 3.5% sellout growth for Ambev over the period. Lisboa attributed the difference to market-share gains.

He said Brazil’s beer industry grew about 4% in Nielsen’s third-quarter measurement, which also included some late-June demand associated with the FIFA World Cup. Taken together, Nielsen data showed industry volume growth of 1.3% across the second and third quarters, according to Lisboa, who estimated nearly half of that growth came from World Cup-related demand.

Ambev said it gained share in both on- and off-trade channels compared with the prior year, with progress in premium and zero-alcohol beer and broadly stable performance in mainstream products. Premium volumes grew at a high-teens rate in the quarter, balanced-choice products more than doubled, and no-alcohol beer grew in the “40s,” Lisboa said.

On pricing, Lisboa said Ambev’s approach remains to manage revenue per hectoliter broadly in line with inflation over time while preserving affordability and profitability. Brazil net revenue per hectoliter grew 5.8% year to date, while third-quarter net revenue per hectoliter excluding Marketplace rose 4.8%, compared with consumer inflation of roughly 5.4%, he said. The company maintained price relativity above the prior-year level.

Lisboa added that inventory levels were at an appropriate level entering Brazil’s high season. He said the company experienced a late-December pickup in demand last year that put pressure on service levels into mid-January.

Digital platforms and portfolio expansion

The company highlighted the role of its B2B platform, BEES, and consumer delivery platform, Zé Delivery, in supporting commercial execution and new revenue opportunities. BEES serves more than 1 million points of sale, according to Lisboa, and more than 80% of Ambev’s customer base has purchased through its Marketplace. Marketplace gross merchandise value grew more than 80% in both the quarter and year to date.

Zé Delivery’s GMV increased by a mid-teens percentage rate in the quarter, while its Marketplace represented nearly 20% of GMV. Lisboa said Zé connects Ambev with roughly 27 million consumers annually, while later describing its direct consumer base as roughly 20 million consumers annually. He said the platform provides data that helps Ambev test and scale product propositions.

Premium products account for around the mid-30% range of Zé volumes, compared with nearly the mid-20% range in Brazil Beer overall, management said. Balanced-choice products also over-index on the platform. Chief Financial Officer and Investor Relations Officer Guilherme Fleury cited the company’s use of direct consumer feedback in launching a pink lemonade flavor.

Margins, cash flow and shareholder returns

Fleury said consolidated cash cost of goods sold per hectoliter, excluding Marketplace, increased 6.5% in the quarter, while gross margin expanded 60 basis points. Cash selling, general and administrative expenses rose 7.6%, reflecting higher sales and marketing investment, distribution expenses and bonus accruals.

In Brazil Beer, commodity pressures from aluminum and diesel-related costs affected cash COGS per hectoliter. However, Lisboa said better sourcing, vertical integration and operational improvements generated about BRL 450 million in non-commodity savings during the first nine months. Hectoliters sold per full-time employee increased about 4% from the prior year and more than 20% over five years.

Net financial expenses totaled BRL 312 million in the third quarter, down 71% from a year earlier. Fleury cited lower costs associated with sourcing U.S. dollars in Bolivia after changes in that country’s foreign-exchange dynamics, as well as gains from translating local hard-currency balances following further currency devaluation.

Stated net income was approximately BRL 4.4 billion, down 10.2% from the prior year, primarily because the third quarter of 2025 included one-time items. Normalized net income was also about BRL 4.4 billion, rising 14.3%.

Cash flow from operating activities increased 39% to BRL 15.6 billion in the first nine months, supported by higher EBITDA and improved working-capital dynamics. The company completed its 2025 share repurchase program, representing roughly BRL 3.3 billion in cash disbursements, and paid the final BRL 1.9 billion tranche of 2025 interest on capital on Oct. 6. On Oct. 28, Ambev’s board approved a new share repurchase program for up to 190 million shares, representing approximately BRL 3 billion.

Outlook and market conditions

Ambev maintained its guidance for Brazil Beer cash COGS per hectoliter, excluding non-Ambev Marketplace products, to increase between 4.5% and 7.5% for the year.

In Latin America South, normalized EBITDA rose 41.5% and gross margin expanded 300 basis points despite a 1.4% volume decline, which Lisboa attributed largely to weather and a soft consumer environment in Argentina. Bolivia posted high-single-digit volume growth after a second-quarter disruption, he said.

Management also addressed potential Brazilian tax changes, saying it would provide more information when there is greater visibility on a proposed excise tax on alcohol. Lisboa said beer already faces a tax burden of more than 50% of the final consumer price and that Ambev supports simplification of Brazil’s tax system while seeking tax neutrality.

Regarding restrictions on online betting, Lisboa said Ambev was monitoring the debate and noted that the Brazilian Supermarket Association had cited signs of improved household consumption in food retail following new restrictions. He said the company’s focus remained on executing its strategy and supporting customers in a volatile environment.

About Ambev (NYSE:ABEV)

Ambev SA is a Brazilian beverage company headquartered in São Paulo and one of the largest beverage producers in Latin America. Its principal business is the production, distribution and sale of beer, although it also offers soft drinks, carbonated beverages, bottled water, energy drinks and other non-alcoholic products.

The company's beer portfolio includes brands such as Brahma, Skol, Antarctica, Bohemia, Original, Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona, with brand availability varying by market.

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