Budweiser Maker AB InBev Credits FIFA World Cup for Volume Lift, Sees Bigger Payoff Ahead

Akanksha Bakshi

Sun, August 2, 2026 at 8:30 PM GMT+3 6 min read

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Anheuser-Busch InBev SA stock edged higher Thursday after the brewer reported second-quarter results that beat analyst expectations, supported by organic revenue growth, higher beer volumes, and stronger underlying earnings.

The company's portfolio includes major brands such as Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois, along with more than 500 beer brands spanning traditional lagers and newer product categories.

Adjusted EPS of $1.21 beat the $1.11 estimate, while sales of $16.66 billion topped the $16.352 billion estimate.

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Earnings And Margins

Reported revenue rose 11% year over year, helped by currency translation, while organic revenue increased 5.6%.

Revenue per hectoliter rose 4.2%. Basic EPS increased to $1.90 from 84 cents, and underlying EPS rose 23.4% from 98 cents.

Profit attributable to shareholders more than doubled to $3.75 billion from $1.68 billion.

The result included $1.40 billion of non-underlying mark-to-market gains tied to derivative instruments used for equity-related hedging. Underlying profit increased to $2.39 billion from $1.95 billion.

Normalized EBITDA rose 5.8% organically to $5.94 billion, with margin expanding 4 basis points to 35.6%.

Total volumes increased 0.9%, including 1.1% growth in beer volumes, while non-beer volumes declined 1.1%.

"Cheers to beer – our performance this quarter reflects the strength of the beer category and the consistent execution of our strategy. Through investment in our megabrands and mega platforms, innovation and offering more choices across more occasions, we are strengthening the cultural relevance of our brands with consumers," CEO Michel Doukeris said.

On the earnings call, Doukeris said the 2026 FIFA World Cup provided a modest boost to beer volumes during the quarter, estimating the tournament contributed about 20 to 30 basis points of volume growth.

He said the bigger benefit would come over the longer term, highlighting the World Cup as the launchpad for Michelob ULTRA's expansion across the Americas.

Doukeris said 40% of the brand's second-quarter volume growth came from markets outside the U.S., calling the rollout "one of the best outcomes" of the company's World Cup investment.

Regional Performance

Middle Americas revenue rose 9.8%, and EBITDA increased 10.3%, while South America revenue grew 7.6% and EBITDA climbed 14.3%.

Brazil was a standout, with revenue up 7.8%, EBITDA up 16.1%, and margin expanding 230 basis points.

China remained the main weak spot. Revenue fell 8.8%, and EBITDA declined 16.1% as adverse weather and continued weakness in the on-premise channel pressured volumes.

Brand Growth And Cash Flow

Megabrand revenue increased 6.2%, no-alcohol beer revenue rose 27%, and Beyond Beer revenue grew 44%. BEES Marketplace gross merchandise value increased 50% to $1.2 billion.

First-half operating cash flow rose to $5.24 billion, while free cash flow reached $3.88 billion, up $2.53 billion. AB InBev reported $18.1 billion of liquidity and $64.2 billion of net debt.

It had completed $1.9 billion of its $6 billion buyback program as of July 24.

2026 Outlook

The company maintained its 2026 outlook for EBITDA growth of 4% to 8%, net capital spending of $3.5 billion to $4 billion, and a normalized tax rate of 26% to 28%.

The outlook reflects its current assessment of inflation and other macroeconomic conditions.

Photo by Mehaniq via Shutterstock

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