Brazil brewer Ambev beats profit forecasts, plans share buyback (updated)

Ambev SA

30/10/2025 12:11

Adds context, details from earnings report and analyst comments from paragraph 3

Oct 30 (Reuters) - Brazilian brewer Ambev ABEV3.SA beat third-quarter net profit expectations and announced a new share buyback program on Thursday, but warned of industry weakness as volumes dipped.

Ambev, one of Brazil's biggest firms and a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev ABI.BR, said that "disciplined" cost and expense management had helped it improve margins.

The brewer posted a bottom line of 4.86 billion reais ($899.35 million) for the period, a securities filing showed, up 36.4% from a year earlier and above the 3.19 billion reais expected by analysts polled by LSEG.

It also said its board had approved a new share buyback program aimed at repurchasing up to 208 million shares, or about 2.5 billion reais, within 18 months.

Ambev's adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were 7.06 billion reais, down 0.1% due to soft signs in the industry, but still above the 6.65 billion reais expected by analysts.

Total volumes dropped 5.9% due to weaker performances in Brazil and Canada, Ambev said, citing "unseasonable weather and a dynamic macro environment in key markets".

JPMorgan analysts highlighted Ambev's margin expansion and premium brand outperformance. They noted the negatives were largely volume declines and cost pressures, but they still expect a positive share reaction.

($1 = 5.4039 reais)

 (Reporting by Tiago Brandao; Writing by Isabel Teles; Editing by Gabriel Araujo and Alexander Smith)

 ((Isabel.Teles@thomsonreuters.com;))