Heineken\u2019s stock fell about 1.1% on Thursday after the Dutch beer giant said it expects to sell less beer in 2026, extending its warning that tough economic conditions are hitting consumer demand.<\/p>\n
During its capital markets day in Seville, Heineken reaffirmed its long-term \u201cEverGreen 2030\u201d growth plan but didn\u2019t raise its earnings outlook, leaving some investors disappointed.<\/p>\n
Analysts at Morgan Stanley said that Heineken\u2019s mid-term growth and profit margin goals are already factored into market expectations. They added that currency challenges and weak sales trends are still dampening investor confidence.<\/p>\n
To boost performance, Heineken plans to increase its marketing budget to over 10% of revenue, up from 9.8% this year. The focus will be on promoting its key brands and improving sales of its alcohol-free \u201c0.0%\u201d beers, where it has lost ground to rivals.<\/p>\n
The company also unveiled a new product, \u201cHeineken 0.0 Ultimate,\u201d which contains no sugar or calories and will launch globally in 2026. The goal is to reignite growth in the \u201cmoderation\u201d category for health-conscious drinkers.<\/p>\n
Executives said the current slowdown in beer consumption is temporary and linked to the economic cycle, not a lasting trend. They promised to keep prices below inflation levels to make their products more affordable again.<\/p>\n
Heineken expects only about 1% growth in total beer volumes per year, with stronger demand in emerging markets balancing out weaker sales in developed countries.<\/p>\n
The brewer also confirmed plans to save \u20ac400\u2013500 million annually through digital tools and better purchasing strategies. It aims for a capital intensity of 7\u20138% and cash conversion above 90% over the medium term.<\/p>\n
Morgan Stanley said the company\u2019s strategy reinforces confidence in its long-term position but doesn\u2019t do much to calm concerns about slow short-term growth and ongoing currency pressures.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Heineken\u2019s stock fell about 1.1% on Thursday after the Dutch beer giant said it expects to sell less beer in\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":294,"featured_media":92979,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[33236],"class_list":["post-92978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-markets","tag-heineken"],"reading_time":"2 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/294"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92978"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92978\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/92979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/usa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}