Nestlé Q1 2026 sales beat expectations as coffee, pet food drive organic growth
Nestlé exceeds Q1 expectations with strong coffee and pet food demand, balancing pricing and volume growth while maintaining its full-year outlook despite currency-driven sales decline.
SWITZERLAND – Nestlé reported better-than-expected first-quarter sales growth for 2026, supported by strong demand for its coffee and pet food products, alongside steady performance across its food and snack categories.
The company recorded organic sales growth of 3.5% in the three months ended March, exceeding analyst expectations of 2.4%. Organic sales exclude the impact of currency fluctuations and acquisitions, providing a clearer measure of underlying business performance.
Growth was driven by a combination of improved volumes and stable pricing. Nestlé’s real internal growth (RIG), which reflects changes in sales volumes, rose 1.2% during the quarter, outperforming analyst forecasts of a modest 0.1% increase.
The company also implemented price increases of 2.3%, in line with expectations, supporting revenue growth while maintaining demand across key markets.
Coffee emerged as a standout category during the period, with organic growth of 9.3%. This was driven by pricing of 5.7% and supported by positive volume growth of 3.5%. Performance in Nescafé was particularly strong, recording double-digit organic growth across multiple markets.
Nestlé’s Food & Snacks segment also delivered solid results, posting organic growth of 4.2% with a balanced contribution from both pricing and volume.
Confectionery led the category with high single-digit growth, supported by improving volumes, although performance in frozen foods remained weaker due to ongoing category softness.
Commenting on the results, Philipp Navratil said: “Our first-quarter performance demonstrates that our RIG-led growth strategy is delivering. Results were strong across most Zones and categories, particularly in Coffee and Food & Snacks. Growth in emerging markets stood out.”
He added: “In Europe and the US our performance was robust as our teams successfully navigated the customer and consumer environments. Building on the momentum in the first quarter, we continue to execute our strategy to deliver a stronger Nestlé. In an uncertain and complex environment, I would like to thank all our people for their dedication and our customers and consumers for their trust.”
Despite strong organic growth, reported sales declined by 5.8% to 21.3 billion Swiss francs (US$27.12 billion), in line with analyst estimates. The decrease was attributed to currency movements and other external factors rather than a slowdown in core business performance.
Nestlé maintained its full-year outlook, projecting organic sales growth between 3% and 4% and expecting an improvement in its underlying trading operating profit margin.
The company said the outlook reflects continued confidence in consumer demand and the effectiveness of its pricing and volume strategies.
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