Budweiser beer in an IGA grocery store in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025.
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Shares of the world’s largest brewer AB InBev jumped more than 8% on Wednesday after the company posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter sales despite an annual decline in volumes.
The drinks maker, whose brands include Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois, reported an 3.4% increase in fourth-quarter revenue to $14.84 billion, versus the 2.9% decline to $14.05 billion forecast by LSEG analysts.
Shares pared gains slightly during the morning session and were last up 6.88% by 9:45 a.m. London time.
Full-year sales rose by 2.7% to $59.77 billion, compared to the $59.3 billion performance expected by analysts.
Total volumes declined 1.9% in the quarter and 1.4% over the full-year stretch, which the company largely attributed to weak demand in China and Argentina.
CEO Michel Doukeris told CNBC that the declines in the two markets were “very abnormal” and attributed them to industrial weakness weighing on consumer sentiment. He added that the firm expects to see some recovery into this year.
The decline in volumes was led by lower demand for the group’s beer products, compared with its non-beer brands, such as its cocktail products Cutwater Spirits and Brutal Fruit Spritzer.
The company nevertheless said it was confident about the continued resilience of global beer demand.
“Market momentum is good,” Doukeris said. “The reality is that the category is very vibrant.”
Looking ahead, Doukeris said the biggest concern for 2025 is “definitely FX [foreign exchange],” pointing to the strength of the dollar. However, he dismissed worries around the prospect of U.S. tariffs on the business.
“We don’t think that we’re going to have big topics to discuss during this year in terms of tariffs,” he said. “There is always secondary impacts, but we are watching this, the developments, and we are prepared to use other levers that we have to offset costs if we have any.”
The company is targeting earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) growth in 2025 in line with the company’s medium-term outlook of between 4% to 8%. The guidance comes after EBITDA rose 10.1% in the fourth quarter and 8.2% across the full year.
The global drinks markets has been facing shifting consumer habits, including a trend toward lower alcohol consumption.
Last month, Danish brewer Carlsberg said that, while it continues to see a “long-term future” for beer products, the company was also embracing other drinks categories to boost resilience. Around one third of Carlsberg’s portfolio now comprises non-alcoholic beverages, given the firm’s recent acquisition of soft drinks maker Britvic.
Doukeris described the shift toward alcohol moderation as a “global trend,” but said that the rise of non-alcoholic products was opening up consumption to more consumers and more drinking occasions. He also pointed to the lower calorie content of non-alcoholic beers compared to, for instance, soda and other soft drinks, saying this was driving demand among more health conscious consumers.
“The majority of the consumers are beer lovers,” he said. “Now they have the opportunity to enjoy beer in more occasions.”
