Ambev Q1 2026 Earnings Call - Strong EBITDA Growth Driven by Premium Mix and Digital Platforms

Conference Moderator, Moderator, Ambev: Good afternoon, and thank you for waiting. We would like to welcome everyone to Ambev’s 2026 first quarter conference call. Today with us we have Mr. Carlos Lisboa, Ambev’s CEO, and Mr. Guilherme Fleury, CFO and Investor Relations officer. As a reminder, this conference presentation is available for download on our website, ri.ambev.com.br, as well as through the webcast link. We would like to inform you that this event is being recorded and all participants will be in a listen-only mode during the company’s presentation. After Ambev’s remarks are completed, there will be a Q&A session during which we kindly ask that each participating sell-side analyst asks only one question. Before proceeding, let me mention that forward-looking statements are being made under the safe harbor of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs and assumptions of Ambev’s management and on information currently available to the company. They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions because they relate to future events and therefore depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. Investors should understand that general economic conditions, industry conditions and other operating factors could also affect the future results of Ambev and could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. I would also like to remind everyone that, as usual, the % of changes that will be discussed during today’s call are both organic and normalized in nature. Unless otherwise stated, % of changes refer to comparisons with 2025 first quarter results. Normalized figures refer to performance measures before exceptional items, which are either income or expenses that do not occur regularly as part of Ambev’s normal activities.

As normalized figures are non-GAAP measures, the company discloses the consolidated profit, EPS, operating profit and EBITDA on a fully reported basis in the earnings release. I will turn the conference over to Mr. Carlos Lisboa. Mr. Lisboa, you may begin your conference.

Carlos Lisboa, Chief Executive Officer, Ambev: Good afternoon, everyone, thank you for joining our first quarter earnings call. As we start the year, here’s the message I would like you to take away today. In tough moments, great companies and cultures find a way to get stronger, and that is what this quarter begins to show. We entered this year in a better position than we started last year, despite the dynamic operating environment. From day one, we frame our mission around three priorities: avoid disruptions, keep momentum, and build a stronger company. Last year was demanding, and that made the third objective the hardest to deliver. As a team, we embraced the challenge, elevated our market intelligence capabilities and focused on what we could control, guided by our growth strategy. Within that context, Ambev delivered a solid start to the year.

Total volumes were broadly flat against the toughest comparison base of the year, while beer returned to growth, up low single digit. Net revenue grew high single digit, supported by net revenue per hectolitre growth. Even with continued cost pressure, we delivered double digits, EBITDA growth with margin expansion of 60 basis points, while net income grew by a low single digit. The quarter also reflected solid operational cash flow generation and continued discipline in returning cash to shareholders. That is why the first quarter matters. First, it materialize the strengthening we’ve built over the past year, boosted by continued improvement of the beer industry across most of our footprint, coupled with our commercial momentum. Second, it delivered a balanced shape of P&L from top to bottom, being a solid first step for trading the kind of year we want to have.

What give us confidence is not only the quarter itself, but how it reflects the way our strategy is evolving across the company. Under Pillar one, as the category captain, our mission is to lead, develop and grow the beer industry, bridging the gap between the category’s potential and actual consumption. Across our footprint, the mission is to continuously strengthen the core segment where many of our most loved brands sit, and which remains the foundation from which the category can expand, while continuing to build the segment, shaping the future of beer: premium, balanced choices, no alcohol and flavored beer. In doing so, we are developing a more complete portfolio and broadening the reach of the category over time. Under Pillar two, we are building a true digital ecosystem and becoming an even more outside-in organization.

On the direct-to-consumer front, we are strengthening how we understand and address consumer needs, so we can serve them better with the right products for the right occasions. On the B2B front, data, insights, and digital tools are helping us support customers better, recommending the right portfolio and activation strategy for each point of sale, and ultimately, driving stronger sell out. By doing so, we allocate resources more efficiently, improve returns, and make pillar one stronger. Under pillar three, we continue to build the muscle that makes the other two pillars scalable. The discipline we have built on revenue management, costs, expenses, cash generation, and resource allocation is what allows us to free up resources to reinvest behind our brands and strategic priorities while protecting profitability and improving return on invested capital over time.

Our ambition is for these 3 pillars to evolve simultaneously and work as a flywheel, reinforcing one another and perpetuating our profitable growth journey. As we continue to implement our strategy across our footprint, the breadth of our results stand out. We delivered flat or positive net revenue growth in all of our business units. EBITDA grew across all of them, with margin expansion in 4 out of 5. Within that, let me turn to the main highlights across our markets. In Brazil Beer, the quarter had the toughest comparison base for the industry year-over-year. In this context, it still declined by mid-single digit in the period, although improving sequentially versus the fourth quarter of last year. The distinction matters because the softness is explained much more by cyclical factors affecting occasions than about structural drivers.

Fundamentals remain solid. The weather continued to be the main drag, concentrated in the South and Southeast, but with lower intensity than in previous quarters. As we said during our last call, what changed was not whether consumers wanted beer, but how often the right occasions happened. Within that context, Ambev outperformed commercially. Our volumes grew 1.2% in the quarter, building on the progress achieved in the second half of last year, and we entered this year from a stronger commercial position, supported by continued market share progression. Brand equity also kept improving, reinforcing the link between stronger brands, better portfolio execution, and share gains across all beer segments, according to our estimates. We continue to win where the category is expanding the most. Premium grew more than 20%, led by Stella Artois, Corona, and Original.

Balanced choices grew over 70%, with Stella Pure Gold and Michelob ULTRA more than doubling. No alcohol beer grew low teens, with Corona Cero growing over 70% and Skol Zero Zero gaining traction in the regions where it has been introduced, closing the quarter, reaching double digits of the no alcohol segment mix. At the same time, our core plus value portfolio, although more exposed to weather and macro consumption dynamics, perform ahead of total industry, declining by low single digit. Even so, it continued to improve sequentially with a more balanced performance across brands and regions and gain market share versus last year. Beyond Beer also continued to gain momentum, growing in the 20s, with our portfolio addressing unmet consumer needs on more occasions, led by Beats, Brutal Fruit, and our newest portfolio member, Flying Fish.

All together, this is bringing to life the most complete portfolio we have ever had. One that allow us not only to sell more, but to sell more to more consumers on more occasions and create more value for longer. This portfolio supported a solid net revenue per active liter performance, up 8.3% in the quarter. As we began to implement our revenue management agenda, our digital platform allowed us to manage prices, discounts, and mix with more precision and better returns. On the customer side, BEES Marketplace also continued to gain relevance, with around 75% of our customer base already buying through the platform, driving GMV to double, supported by continued expansion of 3P.

On the consumer side, Zé Delivery remain a key activation stage for our brands and one of the major convenience platforms in Brazil, representing mid-single digit of our beer volumes in the country. In the quarter, GMV grew a high single digit with 16 million orders delivered to 5 million monthly active users, of which around 80% are millennials and Gen Z. In essence, Zé Delivery gives us a direct window into the future, and that is visible in our portfolio. Premium represents around mid-thirties of volumes on the platform versus nearly mid-twenties in Brazil beer, while balanced choices are around 50% above Brazil beer average. More broadly, Zé Delivery is becoming both a growth engine and a catalyst of transformation for the organization, helping us accelerate the digital data analytics and AI-driven culture, and improving how we understand consumers, develop our portfolio, and operate the business going forward.

Everything that was said translated into a solid P&L. Top line grew 9.6% and EBITDA grew 7.6% despite cost headwinds from FX and commodities. In Brazil NAB, 2025 was marked by 2 distinct phases. In the first half, strong commercial execution and favorable pricing position supported solid volume performance and market share gains. In the second half, however, despite our consistent revenue management, market share performance came under pressure as that pricing relativity became less favorable. In the first quarter of this year, we cycle a tough comparison base, and although both relativity and market share improved sequentially, volumes were still down 3.9% versus last year, underperforming the industry. Regarding our portfolio, Guaraná brand equity reached all-time high at the end of 2025, significantly ahead of its market share.

While our non-sugar portfolio grew in the mid-teens, led by Guaraná Zero, Pepsi Black and H2OH!. In the quarter, our disciplined execution showed up in the P&L with top line growth of 1.8% and EBITDA up 16.4% with 400 basis points of margin expansion. In Argentina, the macro environment has become more stable with lower inflation and less FX volatility than what we faced a year ago. That improvement, however, has not yet translated into a meaningful recovery in consumption. The beer industry remains soft in the first quarter, the demand continued to reflect a cautious consumer environment. While the industry appears to have found a more stable level since Q4, we continue to believe in a gradual recovery. Within that context, our performance in Argentina continued to strengthen.

Despite volumes declining by low single-digit, sell-out market share increased versus last year, supported by mega brands equity and consistent execution. Above core grew high single-digit, led by Stella Artois and Michelob ULTRA. We remain focused on protecting our commercial position with a disciplined revenue management agenda while continuing to invest behind our brands to reignite the category growth. As we build momentum toward the FIFA World Cup, Quilmes and Michelob ULTRA will be key consumer connection platform in the country. In the Dominican Republic, we had a solid start to the year. The consumption environment continued to improve, supported by a more constructive macro environment and healthier category dynamics. Beer continued to gain share of alcoholic beverage, helped by better price relativity. In that context, total volumes grew high single-digit, supported by disciplined commercial execution.

Market share remained stable, and Presidente’s brand health continued to strengthen, reaching all-time high levels. In Canada, the beer industry remained soft in the quarter, declining mid-single digit, affected by a weak consumer backdrop and unfavorable weather conditions. Within that context, we maintain stable share in beer and continue to gain share in beyond beer, supported by momentum of our mega brands. In beer, Busch and Michelob ULTRA were the top two fastest growing brands in the industry, while Mike’s, Natural Light and Cutwater led our market share gains in beyond beer. All in all, despite volumes declining 2%, EBITDA grew 6.7% with 160 basis points of margin expansion. With that, I will now turn it over to Fleury for financial highlights.

Guilherme Fleury, Chief Financial Officer and Investor Relations Officer, Ambev: Thank you, Lisboa. Hello and good afternoon, everyone. We entered the year maintaining the same financial discipline that has guided us over the past quarters to drive long-term value creation through our capital allocation framework. We delivered normalized EBITDA growth of 10.1%, translating to an increase of 0.3% in normalized net income. From an operating cash flow perspective, we delivered the strongest first quarter performance in the past 10 years, which not only allows us to continue investing behind our brands, but also reinforces our commitment to return excess cash to shareholders over time, materialized through the execution of our ongoing share buyback program and our IOC announcements. Let me walk you through the quarter in more details.

On the operational side, normalized EBITDA reached BRL 7.6 billion, with 60 basis points of margin expansion, supported by top line performance and continued financial discipline. Consolidated cash COGS per hectoliter excluding marketplace increased 9% in the period, with Brazil beer up 14.6%, reflecting the expected pressure from FX and commodities headwinds, which should gradually ease starting in the second quarter, as previously anticipated. That said, we continue advancing on cost initiatives towards capturing efficiencies. Consolidated cash SG&A grew 4.8% in the quarter, with efficiencies coming mainly from distribution expenses, driven by operational leverage in Brazil beer. We continued to invest consistently behind our brands in the period, and consolidated sales and marketing grew 5.1%.

Most importantly, I want to remember that our sales and marketing expenses tend to follow our mega platforms events calendar, which this year includes the FIFA World Cup in quarter 2. Looking at our financial performance, net financial expenses totaled BRL 1 billion in the quarter, about BRL 200 million higher than last year, mainly driven by higher carry costs on derivative instruments. As a result, normalized net income reached BRL 3.8 billion, which a normalized EPS of BRL 0.24, growing 0.5% versus last year. Turning to cash flow generation. Cash flow from operating activities totaled BRL 3.2 billion in the quarter, an increase of BRL 2 billion year-on-year.

This was mainly driven by improved working capital dynamics, particularly through better packaging raw materials inventory management, as well as improvement in payables, mostly coming from a reduction in barley payments in the period and lower bonus payments following last year’s performance. Cash flow used in investing activities totaled BRL 2.4 billion, BRL 1.6 billion higher than Q1 2025, mainly coming from a BRL 2 billion impact of the deconsolidation of assets previously reported as restricted cash in CAC, as per applicable accounting standards. For more details, please refer to note 5.1 to our financial statements.

Cash flow used in financing activities totaled BRL 1.2 billion against BRL 8.8 billion year-on-year, reflecting the execution of our previous share buyback program and the timing of our 2024 dividends payout, which in 2025 together consumed BRL 7.7 billion of our Q1 cash position. Under our priority to return excess cash to shareholders, we continue executing our ongoing share buyback program announced in October last year. Yesterday, the board of directors approved the payment of BRL 1.2 billion related to the second tranche of the IOC declared in December of 2025 and a new IOC declaration of BRL 700 million to be paid by December 2026. In summary, we started the year with momentum. We will stay focused on what we can control while continue to invest in long-term value creation.

At the same time, we remain mindful that the global geopolitical environment continues to be dynamic. Therefore, we are closely monitoring developments across all of our markets, and we maintain our Brazil beer cash COGS per hectoliter excluding marketplace guidance unchanged from 4.5%-7.5% increase in 2026 and continue to pursue our ambition of expanding consolidated margin over time. With that, let me hand it back to Lisboa.

Carlos Lisboa, Chief Executive Officer, Ambev: As I close, I would like to leave you with three message. First, our conviction in the category remains unchanged. Beer is one of the largest, most loved and most profitable consumer categories in the world, and its potential is far from being fully captured across our footprint. We continue to see room to broaden the category’s reach, remain relevant to consumers as their needs evolve over time, and participate in more consumption moments. Second, we have a growth formula anchored in the three pillars of our strategy, presenting encouraging results. In our view, that is the way not only to build momentum, but to make it last by turning one, two, and three into a true flywheel. Third, while the environment remains dynamic, 2026 is also shaping up to be the year of socialization.

It has started with Carnival, and the month ahead bring a strong occasion-driven calendar, including the FIFA World Cup. These are the moments when our brands connect more deeply with consumers and when, as people come together, beer becomes part of what makes those moments very special. Our ambition remains the same: always strive for our better version. This quarter was an important step in that journey, and it give us confidence in what comes next. Before I finish, I want to thank our teams across Ambev. Your ownership, resilience, and discipline in executing our strategy are what made this quarter possible. Thank you very much for joining us today. With that, let me hand it over to the operator.

Conference Moderator, Moderator, Ambev: We will now begin the Q&A session. To ask a question, we kindly ask sell-side analysts to click on Raise Hand button at the bottom of the screen. To remove a question from the queue or after your question has been addressed, please click Lower Hand button. We kindly reinforce our request that each participant asks only a single question. Our first question comes from Henrique Brustolin with Bradesco BBI. You can open your microphone.

Henrique Brustolin, Analyst, Bradesco BBI: Hello, Lisboa, Fleury. Thanks for taking my question. My question is about net revenue per hectoliter in Brazil Beer. For us at least, it was the main highlight of the quarter, especially given how your volumes also performed. If you could qualify, you know, the 8% year-on-year increase, what drove that in terms of, you know, the contribution from mix? Any contribution from price increases in case they took place in the first quarter would also be very helpful. Also seasonally, Q1 usually has a weaker pricing than Q4, right, because of state taxes in Brazil. If there was anything different in this ICMS dynamic this year that may also in part explain the pricing performance in Brazil Beer. That would be my question. Thank you very much.

Carlos Lisboa, Chief Executive Officer, Ambev: Hey, Henrique. Nice to talk to you, and thanks for the question. Look, I think it’s always important to, as you said, explain what are the components driving the net revenue per hectoliter performance. First and foremost, in terms of hierarchy, the first component is exactly you know, all the effort put behind our revenue management agenda in 2025 and the carryover we brought into the first quarter of 2026. Keep in mind that from 2024 to 2025, we didn’t have pretty much a carryover, right? In other terms, it is a easier comp. The second component in the hierarchy comes from our revenue management agenda into 2026, right? The third component comes from the mix since our, you know, above core segment continued to grow in a very solid pace, right?

All together drove a pretty healthy net revenue per hectoliter around a high single digit, as you mentioned, right? Keeping our strategy unchanged, right? We wanna keep rate broadly in line with inflation over time and capture post mix, and evolve in a solid basis moving forward. Just to complement here, Henrique, Fleury, on the tax side, there was nothing that was important to highlight during the quarter, so same as last year.

Henrique Brustolin, Analyst, Bradesco BBI: That’s very helpful. Thank you very much.

Carlos Lisboa, Chief Executive Officer, Ambev: Thank you too.

Conference Moderator, Moderator, Ambev: Our next question comes from Nadine Sarwat with Bernstein. You can open your microphone. Nadine, you can open your microphone. I believe she is having some technical issues. We are gonna go ahead to the next question from Thiago Duarte with BTG. You can open your microphone, sir.

Thiago Duarte, Analyst, BTG: Yeah. Thank you very much. Good afternoon, Lisboa, Fleury. My question is really now jumping to volumes in Brazil beer. In the presentation, we shared that the industry was down by mid-single digits in Q1. At the same time, I think, Lisboa, you continue to suggest that you think this was due to cyclical factors, such as the weather, right? Last quarter marked, I think, the fourth quarter in a row of falling industry volumes at a relatively steep pace. In theory, starting now in Q2, we are cycling through that, I think, easy comparison base. My question to you, Lisboa, and I think you’ve mentioned in different occasions in recent past how confident you are about the potential of the category.

Obviously, this year you have a positive calendar effect, such as the World Cup. My question to you is really how confident you are, now that we are cycling through this easy comparison base, how confident you are that volumes can grow in the balance of 2026, in the next three quarters. Thank you.

Carlos Lisboa, Chief Executive Officer, Ambev: Hey, Thiago. Nice to talk to you, and thanks for the question. Just a clarification. First, actually, the industry is cycling through the toughest comparison base, not the easiest comparison base, right? Since Q1 2025 was pretty much the only quarter when the industry pretty much landed in a positive territory. From that onwards was, man, a solid negative performance in all quarters, from 2 to quarter four, right? When the category, the industry landed around mid to low single digit in this quarter versus last year, in our point of view, is a continuation of a recovery because we are, the category is again landing in the toughest comparison moment, right? About the drivers, I think it’s always good to understand what happened last year.

We always emphasize that the issue was not whether consumers wanted beer, but how often the right occasions happened, right? Given the fact that what mostly impacted the industry were cyclical drivers, which is pretty much the same that happened in this quarter in ’26, right? Being the, you know, the most relevant impact coming from the weather. In a lower intensity vis-a-vis what we saw from quarter 2 to quarter 4 from last year, right? I think it’s important for you to keep in mind, Thiago, that the correlation between industry performance and the weather is very visible for us. This is something that we have been dedicating a lot of time and effort here to improve the capacity we have to read what is happening around us, right?

Regarding the context or in other words, cyclical drivers impacted the industry performance and also the structural drivers. When we look at everything that impacted last year the industry that still impacted this year the industry, and we look forward, we do expect that first and foremost, the calendar will bring a pretty interesting ground for the industry to continue recovering moving forward. A combination of long holidays, a combination of FIFA World Cup coming exactly in the moment when the industry declined the most. High single digits against 2024. After that, have in mind that, you know, the major impact came from the weather. We don’t expect, despite the fact that we don’t control this piece.

We don’t expect the weather to impact the industry the same way it happened because, right, the issue came from the distance, the gap between, you know, a very warm weather in 2023 and 2024 against a cold and long winter time in 2025. That gap was the main reason why, right, we saw such a big decline, which is very unusual for the beer industry to, you know, face in a, in a region like Brazil, right? The other piece of the equation, which is still in place by the way, right, is the households, household income pressure, which is something that we continue to pay attention. However, the category usually shows its resilience in moments like that.

Beer is seen as an affordable entertainment for consumers in Brazil, and that give us the chance to, despite the pressure, continue to see, you know, and drive category industry momentum moving forward. I hope to have answered your question.

Guilherme Fleury, Chief Financial Officer and Investor Relations Officer, Ambev: Lisboa, Fleury here. If I could just add, I think we all heard Lisboa mentioning a few moments ago about the momentum of our portfolio this year compared to what we had before. The compounding effect about the momentum of our portfolio is also very relevant when you think about volume for this quarter and when you were to put together a view for the year.

Thiago Duarte, Analyst, BTG: Yeah, yeah. That’s clear. Thank you both.

Carlos Lisboa, Chief Executive Officer, Ambev: Thank you.

Conference Moderator, Moderator, Ambev: Our next question comes from Lucas Ferreira with JPMorgan. You can open your microphone.

Lucas Ferreira, Analyst, JPMorgan: Yes. Hi, guys. Thank you very much for the time. I wanted to explore Fleury and Lisboa, this topic you just mentioned about the momentum of the brands. If you can go down into the category levels and also brand specific, especially the key brands in premium and core, how they have been performing. What has been sort of the surprise in your view of in terms of resilience, right, in this tough environments in both premium and core. Especially in core, how things look like, you know, in your view going forward at through the rest of the year. Which seems where, you know, maybe the market’s a bit more competitive or maybe where you guys had a bit more trouble.

Basically, how to think about this momentum going forward, especially regarding the core segment, which was maybe on the weak side this quarter? Thank you.

Carlos Lisboa, Chief Executive Officer, Ambev: Thank you, Lucas. I think the first point to highlight here is the mission we set for ourselves to really not only lead, but also develop and make this industry, the category, grow over time. In other words, we wanna be truly a captain of the category here in Brazil. With that in mind, the way we should, you know, land this mission is by, you know, protecting, elevating the brands that compose, in our point of view, the core of this category here, our domestic, right, large core brands. We have been doing that, and we discussed about it, last year. Also putting, you know, efforts behind a portfolio playing this game.

We wanna have more than one core brand playing this role because we know that Brazil is a very large country, and our competitive dynamics, they change depending on the region, right? In other words, it’s important for us have more than one brand, and this is a large piece of the equation, piece of the category, and we have a very high share level there, right? By having this, you know, strong core segment, you can really play the game to expand the category, right? Develop the category to attract more consumers to jump into more occasions, right? We are doing so in a pretty, you know, solid way. I think the first point to highlight is the premium segment. Again, a portfolio game.

There we find brands like Stella Artois, Original, right, Corona, you know, placing very solid and consistent, right, volume performance along quarter-over-quarter. You know, taking us to regain the leading position and also today having the, you know, the brands growing the most in the Brazilian market within this segment. On the other side of the story, a new, you know, a new toy for us, right? The one we call balance portfolio, right? The piece of the portfolio composed by no-alcohol beers, right? Which by the way, continue to, you know, to deliver very solid results. You know, the new brands like, you know, Stella Artois Pure Gold and Michelob ULTRA, which have been, you know, growing in exponential way here.

All together, this portfolio jumped from 1.5% of our mix, right, to this quarter delivering almost 4% of our mix. It’s a very solid pace of growth, right? We are complementing this game with new members like Flying Fish, right? We are bringing to life the versatility that the category brings to us, right? By doing so, we are, you know, creating new experience to our consumers to learn, you know, everything that beer can be here. This is what really excited us, and it’s nice to be part of a global enterprise. Because we It’s almost like having crystal ball in your hands, right?

We know what beer can be, and we know that we can make this love category even stronger in Brazil, and this is exactly the mission that we set for ourselves since day one. I can guarantee you know, all InBev, you know, partners, they are in love with this idea, right, to drive this category even further.

Lucas Ferreira, Analyst, JPMorgan: Thank you, Lisboa.

Carlos Lisboa, Chief Executive Officer, Ambev: Thank you.

Conference Moderator, Moderator, Ambev: Our next question comes from Carlos Laboy with HSBC. You can open your microphone. You can open your microphone, sir. I believe he’s having some technical issues as well. We’re gonna go ahead to our next question from Ben Theurer with Barclays. You can open your microphone.

Ben Theurer, Analyst, Barclays: Good morning, or good afternoon. Lisboa, Fleury, thanks for taking my question. I just wanted to follow up a little bit on the COGS outlook. If you could help us understand and frame maybe the cadence throughout the year. Obviously, we saw the pressure as in first half as expected. Just given the current environment with higher aluminum prices, et cetera, how should we think about the cost flow through for you guys based on the hedges for the rest of the year? Thank you.

Guilherme Fleury, Chief Financial Officer and Investor Relations Officer, Ambev: No, thank you, Ben. When we do, and as we have done last year, let me go back a little bit for 2025, which will probably ease for you to understand how we are working in 2026. When we start the year, we have extensive analysis, and we have our hedges, which give us a very good predictability on the forecast going forward. Last year, you remember that was a very tough year for us because when we gave the guidance to the market, we didn’t have a view about how the industry would perform throughout the year. Last year, I would start by saying that we had to reignite the muscle of the organization of looking into very details of cost, production, distribution, so on and so forth.

That is working altogether different areas, which allowed us to end the year despite the volume decrease, at the lowest part of our cash COGS guidance for the year. When we are starting 2026, what we have said to the market is our range between 4.5 for Brazil beer cash COGS per hectolitre exclude the marketplace from 4.5 to 7.5. We understand that the market is still dynamic. That’s what I just said to you guys. The information that we have today, with also the discipline, with also the cost discussions and projects looking forward to different areas, we are maintaining our cash COGS from 4.5 to 7.5 for the year.

We know, and that’s something that I also comment, that we know that Q1 is probably the highest on cost, and that should start easing through the second quarter onwards. Allow me also to mention one thing that make very clear for everyone. When we think about not direct costs, but investments that we do in sales and marketing, we understand and we made it clear that Q2 is probably will be more skewed when I look into the FIFA World Cup and activations that we have compared to the prior years. Probably expect Q2 to be more skewed on the sales and marketing on H1. We are confident that we’re working very hard to maintain the guidance throughout the year.

Ben Theurer, Analyst, Barclays: Thank you very much.

Conference Moderator, Moderator, Ambev: Our next question comes from Gustavo Troiano with Itaú BBA. You can open your microphone.

Gustavo Troiano, Analyst, Itaú BBA: Hello, everyone. Thanks for taking my question. My question also relates to Beer Brazil, especially on the FIFA World Cup impacts here. Basically, I just wanted to understand your perspective on how much of that consumption related to the World Cup is something that you can already see a few months in advance from the event, so potentially starting to flow through your results as early as the first quarter versus something that really only becomes clear as we get closer to the event itself by the second quarter. How do you think it works, this timeline for this demand to flow through your P&L? Related to this timeline, I was wondering whether you’re already seeing any early pricing movements from competitors ahead of this demand peak.

Would you say that this period ahead of the World Cup could create any opportunity to fine-tune relative pricing across SKUs, or whether if you think it makes sense to adjust pricing ahead of the World Cup as well? Thank you very much.

Guilherme Fleury, Chief Financial Officer and Investor Relations Officer, Ambev: Hi, Gustavo. Thank you for the questions. I will keep the protocol in place. I’m gonna answer one question to give you all the chance to interact with us, okay? Regarding your first question, World Cup contribution. Look, historically, the World Cup usually bring a contribution of around 0.3 to 0.4 industry growth year-over-year, annually speaking. That contribution usually impacts as well, you know, the second to third quarters. Which is exactly when we’re gonna see, you know, the event taking place. For sure, you have prep games in different regions across our footprint, and those are moments as well when we activate our brands, right, with campaigns, promo, different sorts of activations. That create additional consumption moments. Which is good for the category.

Keep in mind that in Brazil, what we missed the most last year were occasions, frequency. Whenever you have the chance to activate frequency, it is good for us on a year-over-year basis. I think you saw during the beginning of the session, we already have our portfolio of brands, exploiting the moment in different ways. This is beautiful because, you know, we have a complementary, you know, portfolio of brands, and they can, you know, use the platform to create new bonds with consumers in different ways.

Carlos Lisboa, Chief Executive Officer, Ambev: This is wonderful in my point of view as a marketer, right? This is exactly what you’re gonna see moving forward and gaining even more traction, right? As we speak, our teams are ready to land everything that we developed last year to reach such a unique moment for us in pretty much, you know, across our footprint in a very stronger way to keep our momentum forward. As, you know, Fleury mentioned before, we jump into this year with our portfolio delivering solid results, right, across the board from core to high-end to beyond and, you know, flavor BEES. Now, you know, the World Cup comes in a very interesting moment for us to keep this momentum forward, right? That’s it.

I think very excited about the opportunity and ready to make it happen.

Guilherme Fleury, Chief Financial Officer and Investor Relations Officer, Ambev: Just to add one thing here, Lisboa. I think it important to remember that on this World Cup, different from the prior, our digital platforms are much more evolved, so we’re gonna see a lot of activations through something that we’ve been developing for a long period of time. The connection that we make with consumers through Zé Delivery and the connection that we make with our POCs, points of sales that we interact directly through BEES, I believe it’ll be amazing. We’re gonna be, we’re gonna see a lot of activation, and it’s our job, as Lisboa said, to help grow the industry.

Carlos Lisboa, Chief Executive Officer, Ambev: Well said.

Gustavo Troiano, Analyst, Itaú BBA: Thank you very much.

Carlos Lisboa, Chief Executive Officer, Ambev: Thank you.

Conference Moderator, Moderator, Ambev: Our next question comes from Robert Ottenstein with Evercore. You can open your microphone.

Robert Ottenstein, Analyst, Evercore: Great. Thank you very much. Apologies if I missed it. I know there was a question, I think it was the first question, was on the price mix. You mentioned some carryover from 2025 business mix and RGM. Can you be a little bit more specific in breaking things out? I think CPI in Brazil is running around 4%, so should we think in terms of 4% pricing and then 4% mix? How should we look at that? Perhaps in connection with that, can you give us the latest breakout of the premium segment?

What percentage of your business is premium, how much that is up, and the impact of that on the revenue per hectoliter? Thank you.

Carlos Lisboa, Chief Executive Officer, Ambev: Robert. Look, as you said, we detail a little bit, you know, what you just asked in the beginning of the conversation. I’m gonna, you know, emphasize the key message here. The revenue management agenda has a mission that is composed by twofold, right? One is protect the industry growth, category accessibility in other terms, right? While protecting our profitability, right? That’s the reason why we’re gonna always, you know, aim a rate strategy aligned with inflation over time to allow our consumers, especially those coming from mid to low socioeconomic ends, to access the category, right? That’s exactly what we see happening in the beginning of this year. The main difference is the carryover against a easier comp from last year, given the fact that we didn’t have a carryover from 2024 into 2025, right?

Three components, you know, building up the net revenue per hectoliter in part of one. First and foremost, carryover. Second point, our revenue management agenda taking place already. The third component is the mix contribution, right? To your complimentary question, the mix for us represent 20% of our, you know, volumes growing around 20%, right? In a very consistent base. That’s the reason why you see an interesting contribution coming from the mix, which usually represents around 15% of what we see in our net revenue per hectoliter performance.

Robert Ottenstein, Analyst, Evercore: Thank you.

Carlos Lisboa, Chief Executive Officer, Ambev: Thank you.

Conference Moderator, Moderator, Ambev: Thank you. This concludes the Q&A session. I would like to invite Mr. Carlos Lisboa to proceed with his closing remarks. Please go ahead, sir.

Carlos Lisboa, Chief Executive Officer, Ambev: Thank you for joining our call today. As we close, I would like to reinforce a few message. First, this quarter marked a solid first step into the kind of year we want to have. Second, our growth formula is based on the 3 pillars of our strategy working as a flywheel. When these pillars advance simultaneously, they show encouraging results, strengthening one another, and supporting our profitable growth journey. Third, we are confident in beer. It is a loved and versatile category with clear headroom to grow. 2026 is shaping up to be the year of socialization. When people get together, beer has a unique role in making those moments more special. With that, I would like to thank you all and hope to see you soon.

Conference Moderator, Moderator, Ambev: This concludes today’s presentation. You may disconnect and have a nice day.