Anheuser-Busch Q3 Beats, But Beer Volume Drops Globally

Anheuser-Busch Inbev BUD shares are trading lower on Thursday.

The company reported third-quarter adjusted earnings per share of 98 cents, beating the street view of 89 cents. Quarterly sales of $15.046 billion missed the analyst consensus estimate of $15.644 billion.

Anheuser-Busch noted that top-line growth of 2.1% was supported by revenue increases in over 60% of its markets, attributed to a 4.6% rise in revenue per hectoliter due to revenue management efforts and ongoing premiumization, estimating that market share was gained or maintained in 60% of its markets, with volumes rising in half of them.

In the third quarter, total volumes fell by 2.4%, driven by a 3.1% decrease in own-beer volumes, while non-beer volumes increased by 0.6%.

Overall volume performance was impacted by a soft consumer environment in China and Argentina.

Also Read: Estée Lauder Q1 Earnings: China Uncertainty Hits Beauty Giant, Withdraws FY25 Outlook, Stock Tanks

“Consumer demand for our megabrands and the execution of our mega platforms delivered another quarter of top- and bottom-line growth with margin expansion,” said Michel Doukeris, CEO. “Our teams and partners continue to execute our strategy and we are confident in our ability to deliver on our raised FY24 EBITDA growth outlook of 6-8%.”

EBITDA increased by 7.1% with production cost efficiencies and disciplined overhead management driving EBITDA margin expansion of 169 bps.

On Wednesday, the company approved a $2 billion share buyback program to be executed within the next 12 months. 

Outlook: Anheuser-Busch InBev has raised its 2024 outlook, now expecting EBITDA growth of 6%-8% (up from the previous estimate of 4%-8%) and projecting capital expenditures between $4 billion and $4.5 billion.

Price Action: BUD shares are trading lower by 5.9% to $59.15 at last check Thursday.

Also Read: 

• Uber Q3 Earnings: 31 Million Daily Trips, $1Billion Op Income, CEO Not Looking For Big M&A Deals, CFO Expects To Grow Organically

Photo: Engin Akyurt from Pixabay.