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5 Cheap Dividend Stocks: Which to Buy NowAmbev NYSE: ABEV reported stronger second-quarter operating performance, led by beer-volume growth, revenue management and margin expansion, while continuing to invest in brand activations tied to the FIFA World Cup.
Chief Executive Officer Carlos Lisboa said total volumes increased 1.4% year over year in the second quarter, with beer volumes rising by the mid-single digits. Net revenue rose 6%, normalized EBITDA increased 9%, and normalized earnings per share grew 24%.
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14 best consumer staples dividend stocksFor the first half, total volumes grew 0.7%, net revenue increased 7%, normalized EBITDA rose 10%, and normalized EPS also advanced 10%. Operating cash flow reached BRL 8 billion, which Lisboa described as one of the company’s highest first-half levels.
Beer Growth, Portfolio Mix and Digital Commerce Lisboa attributed the quarter’s performance to Ambev’s strategy of leading and expanding the beer category, digitizing its ecosystem and optimizing operations. He said beer volumes grew or remained broadly stable in seven of Ambev’s 10 largest markets, while revenue and EBITDA increased across all business units.
3 Reasons Boston Beer Stock Could Finally Hop HigherThe company’s higher-growth beer segments continued to outpace the broader portfolio. Premium volumes rose nearly 20%, while Balanced Choices volumes increased more than 60%. No-alcohol beer grew about 20%, and Michelob ULTRA grew more than 50% across Ambev’s footprint. The brand more than tripled in Brazil and Argentina during the quarter, Lisboa said.
Ambev’s BEES Marketplace also expanded. Marketplace gross merchandise value rose about 60% in both the second quarter and first half, while first-half gross margin expanded 6.7 percentage points to 22%. In Brazil, Marketplace GMV doubled in the first half, primarily driven by third-party sales.
The company said its Zé Delivery platform recorded 16% GMV growth in Brazil, with orders more than doubling on Brazilian national team match days. Premium products represented 35% of beer volumes sold through the platform, while Balanced Choices accounted for roughly 7%.
Brazil Beer Outperforms Industry In Brazil Beer, Ambev reported 5% volume growth, supported by improving industry conditions and market-share gains. Lisboa said the company expanded share for the fourth consecutive quarter, with gains across mainstream, premium, Balanced Choices and beyond-beer categories.
According to the company’s estimates, Brazil’s beer industry was slightly positive during the quarter, though adverse weather offset some incremental World Cup demand. Lisboa said the World Cup contributed an estimated 0.5 to 1 percentage point to industry growth in Brazil.
Premium beer grew in the mid-20% range and reached approximately 25% of Ambev’s Brazilian beer volumes. The company said its premium share reached an all-time high following a year of regained leadership in the segment. Balanced Choices volumes doubled from a year earlier, and no-alcohol volumes grew in the 30% range.
Brazil Beer net revenue increased 9%, EBITDA rose 13%, and EBITDA margin expanded 110 basis points. Beer distribution increased more than 6%, including growth of more than 20% in premium distribution.
Lisboa told analysts that first-half Brazilian beer net revenue per hectoliter rose about 6%, which he said was roughly 50% above inflation. He said the company intends to maintain a revenue-management approach that protects profitability while preserving consumer accessibility to the category.
Non-Alcoholic Beverages, International Markets Brazil non-alcoholic beverage volumes declined 4.4% in the quarter. Ambev said roughly 30% of the decline reflected its decision to exit a lower-return fast-food channel. CFO and Investor Relations Officer Guilherme Fleury said the effect of the channel exit would continue to be lapped through the remainder of 2026.
Lisboa said the recovery in Brazil NAB had taken longer than expected, though market share improved sequentially and approached historical levels by the end of the quarter as price-relativity pressure eased. The business delivered double-digit EBITDA growth and more than 300 basis points of margin expansion.
Elsewhere, Bolivia experienced a double-digit volume decline as social unrest and road blockades disrupted mobility and logistics. Lisboa said conditions have since normalized. Argentina was a highlight, with beer volumes growing by the low double digits, supported by market-share momentum, industry improvement and World Cup-related demand.
The Dominican Republic delivered mid-single-digit volume growth despite adverse weather in April, while first-half beer volumes rose by the high single digits. Canada reported low-single-digit top-line growth and low- to mid-single-digit EBITDA growth, with market-share gains in beer and beyond beer despite a declining industry.
Margins, Cash Flow and Shareholder Returns Normalized EBITDA rose 8.9% to BRL 6.4 billion in the second quarter, with EBITDA margin expanding 80 basis points. Consolidated cash cost of goods sold per hectoliter, excluding Marketplace, increased 2.2%, supported by productivity and operating efficiencies.
Cash selling, general and administrative expenses increased 10.7%, largely because of higher sales and marketing spending associated with World Cup activations. Distribution costs also rose, reflecting volume performance and one-time restructuring expenses in Argentina.
Net financial expenses totaled BRL 486 million, down 50% from the prior year. Fleury cited positive non-cash foreign-currency effects, including the conversion of hard-currency holdings after Bolivia’s late-June currency devaluation. He cautioned that the devaluation is expected to gradually create negative translation effects on financial and operating results.
Normalized and reported net income were each about BRL 3.5 billion. Normalized EPS was BRL 0.22, up 24.2% year over year.
First-half cash flow from operations totaled BRL 7.9 billion, up BRL 3.6 billion from a year earlier. The company said it had executed approximately 95% of its 208 million-share repurchase program announced in October, representing roughly BRL 3.2 billion in cash disbursements through July. It also cited BRL 4.2 billion in 2025 interest-on-capital payments and BRL 1.8 billion in 2026 interest-on-capital declarations, for total announced shareholder returns of BRL 5.9 billion on a pre-tax cash basis.
About Ambev (NYSE:ABEV)Ambev NYSE: ABEV is a Brazilian-based beverage company that produces, distributes and markets a broad portfolio of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. The company's core business centers on brewing and selling beer, alongside a range of soft drinks, bottled water, energy drinks and other malt-based beverages. Headquartered in São Paulo, Ambev operates an integrated value chain that covers manufacturing, packaging, logistics and commercial sales to retail, on-premise and institutional customers.
The company traces its origins to the 1999 merger of two historic Brazilian breweries, and later became part of the broader global brewing group through subsequent industry consolidations.
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