Heineken is scheduled to report results for the second quarter and first half of the year on Wednesday morning, the last earnings update before the Dutch brewer's new chief executive takes the helm in October. Here is what you need to know:
SALES & VOLUME FORECAST: Total volumes--combining consolidated and licensed volumes--should have risen 0.6% organically on year between April and June, according to a poll of analysts' estimates provided by the company. That would mark a slowdown from the 1.2% growth in total volumes recorded for the first quarter, but would continue the positive turn seen in the year's opening months.
Consolidated revenue should meanwhile have risen by 2.2% over the second quarter to 8.11 billion euros ($9.33 billion,) similarly slowing from the 2.8% booked in the first quarter, analysts estimate. For the half-year taken together, revenue should come to 14.81 billion euros, 2.4% more than in the same period last year.
PROFIT FORECAST: Consolidated operating profit should have risen 3.3% on year over the first six months of 2026 to 2.18 billion euros, analysts expect.
Like many booze peers, the brewer's shares have suffered in the postpandemic lull in drinking. Investors will likely be encouraged by signs of continued volume growth but might reserve judgment until new CEO Rafael Oliveira takes the reins at the start of the year's final quarter. A former boss of coffee maker JDE Peet's, Oliveira was named in June as the successor to company veteran Dolf van den Brink, who stepped down this year after a period of declining sales.
WHAT TO WATCH:
--COST CUTTING: Heineken in February set out a plan to cut thousands of jobs as part of a drive to save up to half a billion euros this year. Markets will be listening for any new detail on an expected boost to earnings from the savings push.
--WORLD CUP TRIUMPH: Heineken rival AB InBev, brewer of Bud Light and Corona, said last week the summer's soccer world cup had helped drive demand, notably for its more premium labels. Heineken investors will be hoping the Dutch brewer has netted a similar goal. "We expect it to be a relatively positive earnings campaign for the beer and soft drinks names as they benefited from key events such as the FIFA World Cup," Berenberg's Javier Gonzalez Lastra wrote in a note ahead of the update. A weak comparison base from last year should also help, Gonzalez said.
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