AB InBev earnings strengthen despite sales volume decline
By Josh White
Date: Thursday 31 Jul 2025
(Sharecast News) - Anheuser-Busch InBev reported stronger earnings and improved margins for the second quarter on Thursday, underpinned by higher pricing, growth in its megabrands, and continued cost discipline, although its shares were sliding after a decline in sales volumes.
The world's largest brewer said EBITDA rose 6.5% to $5.3bn, with margins expanding by 116 basis points to 35.3%.
Underlying earnings per share climbed 8.7% to 98 cents.
Chief executive Michel Doukeris said the results demonstrated "another quarter of profitable growth", highlighting the resilience of the beer category and the company's portfolio strength.
"The consistent execution of our strategy by our teams and partners drove a solid first half of the year and reinforces our confidence in delivering on our outlook for 2025," he added.
Group revenue grew 3% as price per hectolitre rose 4.9%, offsetting a 1.9% drop in volumes.
Beer volumes declined 2.2%, largely due to weaker performance in China and Brazil, while non-beer volumes were slightly higher.
Excluding those two markets, volumes rose 0.7%.
AB InBev said its 'megabrands' continued to drive growth, with combined revenues up 5.6% and Corona gaining 7.7% outside of Mexico.
The no-alcohol beer portfolio surged 33%, led by Corona Cero, which nearly doubled its volumes.
Premiumisation efforts supported a 5.1% revenue increase in above-core brands, and the broader portfolio of "balanced choices" beverages grew revenue by 7.9%.
Underlying profit rose to $1.95bn from $1.81bn a year earlier.
On a constant currency basis, underlying earnings per share grew 17.4% in the quarter, although reported revenue fell 2.1% to $15bn due to adverse currency movements.
The company said its BEES digital platform continued to scale, generating $12.2bn in gross merchandise value (GMV), up 10% year-on-year.
Marketplace sales of third-party goods through BEES rose 63% to $785m.
Direct-to-consumer revenue reached $335m, including $134m from the group's delivery brands, which recorded 18.2 million orders.
Free cash flow improved to $1.4bn in the first half, up $500m from the prior year, despite $5bn in capital and marketing investments.
Net debt-to-EBITDA increased to 3.27x from 2.89x at year-end due to seasonal factors and shareholder distributions, but remained below the 3.42x level from a year ago.
AB InBev reiterated its full-year guidance, expecting EBITDA growth between 4% and 8%.
It forecast net capex of $3.5bn to $4bn dollars and a normalised effective tax rate of 26% to 28%.
The brewer cited structural tailwinds including favourable demographics and economic development across its footprint to support long-term growth.
At 1209 CEST (1109 BST), shares in Anheuser-Busch InBev were down 9.5% in Brussels, at €52.62.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
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