Kraft Heinz Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results; Updates 2026 Full Year Outlook

Third Quarter Highlights

• Net sales decreased 2.0%; Organic Net Sales⁽¹⁾ decreased 1.1%
• Gross profit margin increased 60 basis points to 32.5%; Adjusted Gross Profit Margin⁽¹⁾ decreased 40 basis points to 31.9%
• Operating income decreased 14.6% to $0.9 billion; Adjusted Operating Income⁽¹⁾ decreased 15.2% to $0.9 billion
• Year-to-date net cash provided by operating activities was $3.0 billion, down 4.1%; Free Cash Flow⁽¹⁾ was $2.4 billion, down 5.2%; and Free Cash Flow Conversion⁽¹⁾ increased 11pp to 120%
• Year-to-date return of capital to stockholders was $1.4 billion

PITTSBURGH & CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Kraft Heinz Company (NYSE: KHC) (“Kraft Heinz” or the “Company”) today reported financial results for the third quarter of 2026.

“Our 2026 operating plan to turn around the U.S. business and accelerate growth internationally is on track,” said Steve Cahillane, CEO of Kraft Heinz. “Relative to last year, our market share, sales, and volume trends are improving in every region. We are increasingly meeting consumers where they are, and giving them more reasons to choose our brands.”

Cahillane concluded, “As we approach the end of the year, we are raising the low end of our Organic Net Sales outlook, reflecting the momentum we have built. That progress is supported by a strong balance sheet, which gives us the flexibility to keep investing in our brands and our people.”

Q3 2026 Financial Summary

• Net sales decreased 2.0 percent versus the year-ago period to $6.1 billion, including a 0.3 percentage point unfavorable impact from foreign currency and a 0.6 percentage point unfavorable impact from divestitures. Organic Net Sales⁽¹⁾ decreased 1.1 percent versus the prior year period. Price was flat, with positive price in the Emerging Markets segment offsetting negative price in both the North America and Europe and Pacific Developed Markets segments. Volume/mix declined 1.1 percentage points versus the prior year period, with declines in North America and Europe and Pacific Developed Markets segments, partially offset by growth in the Emerging Markets segment. The unfavorable volume/mix impact was primarily driven by declines in North America across meats, sauces, and refreshment beverages, in addition to an approximate 80 basis point headwind from inventory pull forward into the second quarter.
• Operating Income/(Loss) of $0.9 billion decreased 14.6 percent versus the year-ago period, primarily due to increased inflationary pressures in procurement and logistics costs, higher variable compensation expense, non-cash impairment losses that were $37 million higher in the current year period, unfavorable volume/mix, and increased advertising expenses. These unfavorable impacts more than offset efficiency initiatives and favorable changes in unrealized losses/(gains) on commodity hedges. Adjusted Operating Income⁽¹⁾ decreased 15.2 percent versus the year-ago period to $0.9 billion, primarily due to inflationary pressures in procurement and logistics costs, higher variable compensation expense, unfavorable volume/mix, and increased advertising expenses. These unfavorable impacts more than offset efficiency initiatives.
• Diluted EPS decreased 11.5 percent versus the prior year period to $0.46. This decrease was primarily due to the unfavorable changes in operating income discussed above. Adjusted EPS⁽¹⁾ was $0.53, down 13.1 percent versus the prior year period, primarily driven by lower Adjusted Operating Income and unfavorable changes in other expense/(income). These impacts were partially offset by lower interest expense and lower taxes on adjusted earnings, primarily due to the impact of certain discrete deferred tax adjustments and a more favorable geographic mix of pre-tax income in various non-U.S. jurisdictions.
• Net cash provided by/(used for) operating activities was $3.0 billion, down 4.1 percent versus the year-ago period. This decrease was driven by lower Adjusted Operating Income, partially offset by favorable changes in working capital. The changes in working capital were driven by favorable changes in accounts payable, which were partially offset by higher cash outflows for inventory related to stock rebuilding and increased input costs, and higher cash outflows for advertising. Free Cash Flow⁽¹⁾ was $2.4 billion, down 5.2 percent versus the prior year period, driven by the same net cash provided by/(used for) operating activities discussed above.
• Capital Return: Year to date, the Company has paid $1.4 billion in cash dividends. The Company’s strong cash flow profile supports disciplined capital allocation across all priorities including investing in the business, sustaining the dividend, and reducing debt. This financial flexibility is viewed by the Company as a competitive advantage. The Company did not repurchase any shares under its publicly announced share repurchase program.

Outlook

For fiscal year 2026, the Company is updating its outlook. The Company now expects:

• Organic Net Sales⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾ down 0.5 percent to down 1.25 percent versus the prior year. This outlook includes an approximate 100 basis point impact from incremental SNAP headwinds.
• Constant Currency Adjusted Operating Income⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾ down 16 percent to down 18 percent versus the prior year. This outlook contemplates Adjusted Gross Profit Margin⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾ that is now expected to be at the low end of the previously provided range of down 10 basis points to down 50 basis points versus the prior year, incremental investments of approximately $700 million compared to 2025, and an approximate 500 basis point headwind from lapping lower incentive compensation.
• Adjusted EPS⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾ is now expected to be in the range of $2.07 to $2.13. Additionally, the Company expects an effective tax rate on Adjusted EPS of approximately 23.5 percent, interest expense of approximately $890 million, and other expense/(income) of approximately $210 million of income for the full year.
• Free Cash Flow Conversion⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾ of approximately 110 percent.

Earnings Discussion and Webcast Information

A pre-recorded management discussion of The Kraft Heinz Company's third quarter 2026 earnings is available at ir.kraftheinzcompany.com. The Company will host a live question-and-answer session beginning today at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. A webcast of the session will be accessible at ir.kraftheinzcompany.com.

ABOUT THE KRAFT HEINZ COMPANY

Kraft Heinz (NYSE: KHC) is one of the world’s largest food and beverage companies, with approximately $25 billion in net sales in 2025 and a portfolio of iconic brands enjoyed by consumers in more than 40 countries. By investing in our capabilities and brands, including Heinz, Kraft, Philadelphia, Primal Kitchen, and Lunchables, we are unlocking the full power of our portfolio. We deliver high-quality, great-tasting, and affordable food for the consumers of today, while shaping the future of food. Learn more at www.kraftheinzcompany.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains a number of forward-looking statements. Words such as “accelerate,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “commit,” “continue,” “expect,” “will,” “guidance,” and “outlook,” and variations of such words and similar future or conditional expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company's plans, impacts of accounting standards and guidance, growth, legal matters, taxes, costs and cost savings, impairments, dividends, expectations, investments, innovations, opportunities, capabilities, execution, initiatives, and pipeline. These forward-looking statements reflect management's current expectations and are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and beyond the Company's control.

Important factors that may affect the Company's business and operations and that may cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, operating in a highly competitive industry; the Company’s ability to correctly predict, identify, and interpret changes in consumer preferences and demand, to offer new products to meet those changes, and to respond to competitive innovation; changes in the retail landscape or the loss of key retail customers; changes in the Company's relationships with significant customers or suppliers, or in other business relationships; the Company’s ability to maintain, extend, and expand its reputation and brand image; the Company’s ability to effect the previously announced separation of Kraft Heinz into two independent publicly traded companies and to meet the conditions related thereto, including obtaining applicable regulatory approvals, if work related to the separation is resumed; negative effects of the announcement pendency of the separation, including the current pause on work related to the separation, on the market price of the Company’s securities and/or on the Company’s financial performance; the Company’s ability to leverage its brand value to compete against private label products; the Company’s ability to drive revenue growth in its key product categories or platforms, increase its market share, or add products that are in faster-growing and more profitable categories; product recalls or other product liability claims; climate change and legal or regulatory responses; the Company’s ability to identify, complete, or realize the benefits from strategic acquisitions, divestitures, alliances, joint ventures, or investments; the Company's ability to successfully execute its strategic initiatives; the impacts of the Company's international operations; the Company's ability to protect intellectual property rights; the Company’s ability to realize the anticipated benefits from prior or future streamlining actions to reduce fixed costs, simplify or improve processes, and improve its competitiveness; the influence of the Company's largest stockholder; the Company's level of indebtedness, as well as our ability to comply with covenants under our debt instruments; additional impairments of the carrying amounts of goodwill or other indefinite-lived intangible assets; foreign exchange rate fluctuations; volatility in commodity, energy, and other input costs; volatility in the market value of all or a portion of the commodity derivatives we use; compliance with laws and regulations and related legal claims or regulatory enforcement actions; failure to maintain an effective system of internal controls; a downgrade in the Company's credit rating; the impact of sales of the Company's common stock in the public market; the impact of the Company’s share repurchases or any change in the Company’s share repurchase activity; the Company’s ability to continue to pay a regular dividend and the amounts of any such dividends; disruptions in the global economy caused by geopolitical conflicts (including the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East), unanticipated business disruptions and natural events in the locations in which the Company or the Company's customers, suppliers, distributors, or regulators operate; economic and political conditions in the United States and in various other nations where the Company does business (including inflationary pressures, the imposition of increased or new tariffs, instability in financial institutions, general economic slowdown, recession, or a potential U.S. federal government shutdown); changes in the Company's management team or other key personnel and the Company's ability to hire or retain key personnel or a highly skilled and diverse global workforce; our dependence on information technology and systems, including service interruptions, misappropriation of data, or breaches of security; increased pension, labor, and people-related expenses; changes in tax laws and interpretations and the final determination of tax audits, including transfer pricing matters, and any related litigation; volatility of capital markets and other macroeconomic factors; and other factors. For additional information on these and other factors that could affect the Company's forward-looking statements, see the Company's risk factors, as they may be amended from time to time, set forth in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The Company disclaims and does not undertake any obligation to update, revise, or withdraw any forward-looking statement in this press release, except as required by applicable law or regulation.

We use our investor relations website, ir.kraftheinzcompany.com, as a routine channel for distribution of important, and often material, information about Kraft Heinz, including quarterly and annual earnings results and presentations, press releases and other announcements, webcasts, analyst presentations, investor days, sustainability initiatives, financial information, and corporate governance practices, as well as archives of past presentations and events. We encourage you to follow our investor relations website in addition to our filings with the SEC to receive timely information about the Company. The information on our website is not part of this press release and shall not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any filings we make with the SEC.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The non-GAAP financial measures provided in this press release should be viewed in addition to, and not as an alternative for, results prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”).

To supplement the financial information provided, the Company has presented Organic Net Sales, Adjusted Gross Profit, Adjusted Gross Profit Margin, Adjusted Operating Income, Constant Currency Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Income/(Loss), Adjusted EPS, Free Cash Flow, and Net Leverage which are considered non-GAAP financial measures. The non-GAAP financial measures presented may differ from similarly titled non-GAAP financial measures presented by other companies, and other companies may not define these non-GAAP financial measures in the same way. These measures are not substitutes for their comparable GAAP financial measures, such as net sales, net income/(loss), operating income/(loss), gross profit, diluted earnings per share (“EPS”), net cash provided by/(used for) operating activities, or other measures prescribed by GAAP, and there are limitations to using non-GAAP financial measures.

Management uses these non-GAAP financial measures to assist in comparing the Company’s performance on a consistent basis for purposes of business decision making by removing the impact of certain items that management believes do not directly reflect the Company’s underlying operations. The Company believes:

• Organic Net Sales, Adjusted Gross Profit, Adjusted Gross Profit Margin, Adjusted Operating Income, Constant Currency Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Income/(Loss), and Adjusted EPS provide important comparability of underlying operating results, allowing investors and management to assess the Company’s operating performance on a consistent basis; and
• Free Cash Flow and Net Leverage provide measures of the Company’s core operating performance, the cash-generating capabilities of the Company’s business operations, and are factors used in determining the Company’s borrowing capacity and the amount of cash available for debt repayments, dividends, acquisitions, share repurchases, and other corporate purposes.

Management believes that presenting the Company’s non-GAAP financial measures is useful to investors because it (i) provides investors with meaningful supplemental information regarding financial performance by excluding certain items, (ii) permits investors to view performance using the same tools that management uses to budget, make operating and strategic decisions, and evaluate historical performance, and (iii) otherwise provides supplemental information that may be useful to investors in evaluating the Company’s results. The Company believes that the presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures, when considered together with the corresponding GAAP financial measures and the reconciliations to those measures, provides investors with additional understanding of the factors and trends affecting the Company’s business than could be obtained absent these disclosures.

Definitions

Organic Net Sales is defined as net sales excluding, when they occur, the impact of currency, acquisitions and divestitures, and a 53rd week of shipments. The Company calculates the impact of currency on net sales by holding exchange rates constant at the previous year's exchange rate, with the exception of highly inflationary subsidiaries, for which the Company calculates the previous year's results using the current year's exchange rate.

Adjusted Operating Income is defined as operating income/(loss) excluding, when they occur, the impacts of restructuring activities, deal costs, separation costs, unrealized gains/(losses) on commodity hedges (the unrealized gains and losses are recorded in general corporate expenses until realized; once realized, the gains and losses are recorded in the applicable segment’s operating results), impairment losses, and certain non-ordinary course legal and regulatory matters. The Company also presents Adjusted Operating Income on a constant currency basis (Constant Currency Adjusted Operating Income). The Company calculates the impact of currency on Adjusted Operating Income by holding exchange rates constant at the previous year's exchange rate, with the exception of highly inflationary subsidiaries, for which it calculates the previous year's results using the current year's exchange rate.

Adjusted Gross Profit, Adjusted Net Income/(Loss), and Adjusted EPS are defined as gross profit, net income/(loss), and diluted earnings per share, respectively, excluding, when they occur, the impacts of restructuring activities, deal costs, separation costs, unrealized losses/(gains) on commodity hedges, impairment losses, certain non-ordinary course legal and regulatory matters, losses/(gains) on the sale of a business, other losses/(gains) related to acquisitions and divestitures (e.g., tax and hedging impacts), nonmonetary currency devaluation (e.g., remeasurement gains and losses), debt prepayment and extinguishment (benefit)/costs, and certain significant discrete income tax items (e.g., U.S. and non-U.S. tax reform), and including when they occur, adjustments to reflect preferred stock dividend payments on an accrual basis. Adjusted Gross Profit Margin is defined as Adjusted Gross Profit divided by net sales.

Net Leverage is defined as debt less cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments divided by Adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income/(loss) from continuing operations before interest expense, other expense/(income), provision for/(benefit from) income taxes, and depreciation and amortization (excluding restructuring activities); in addition to these adjustments, the Company excludes, when they occur, the impacts of divestiture-related license income, restructuring activities, deal costs, separation costs, unrealized losses/(gains) on commodity hedges, impairment losses, certain non-ordinary course legal and regulatory matters, and equity award compensation expense (excluding restructuring activities).

Free Cas

Kraft Heinz Media Team
media@kraftheinz.com

Anne-Marie Megela (investors)
Anne-Marie.Megela@kraftheinz.com