Nestle beats sales forecasts as CEO's turnaround gains pace
Nestle reported third-quarter organic sales growth of 4%, above analysts’ 3.4% forecast, led by real internal growth of 2.8%. It maintained its 2026 outlook for 3% to 4% organic sales growth and said removing Russian assets would negatively affect 2026 net debt by about 900 million Swiss francs.
1. Volume-led sales growth
Nestle reported third-quarter organic sales growth of 4%, beating analyst expectations for 3.4%. Real internal growth was 2.8%, above expectations of 1.5%, while price-related growth was 1.1%, below forecasts of 1.9%. It was the first quarter since 2024 in which volume contributed more than pricing to organic sales growth.
2. Outlook and pricing
Nestle maintained its full-year 2026 organic sales growth outlook of 3% to 4%. CEO Philipp Navratil said he was pleased with progress but not satisfied, adding that there was more to do. CFO Anna Manz said the company would raise prices where possible without damaging medium-term consumer penetration and that it was likely to see more pricing in 2027.
3. Russian assets removed
Nestle said it stopped consolidating its Russian business in its financial accounts at the end of September, after Moscow seized the business. The unit contributed around 2% of group sales; its exclusion has no impact on organic sales, volumes or pricing, but affects reported sales, underlying trading operating profit and free cash flow from the fourth quarter. Nestle will remove Russian assets worth 1.6 billion Swiss francs from its balance sheet and record a non-cash charge of around 1.4 billion francs; the net asset derecognition is expected to negatively affect 2026 net debt by approximately 900 million francs.
