Mondelez (MDLZ) Tops Q3 Profit Estimates as Volumes Grow

Mondelez International (MDLZ) reported third-quarter net revenue of $9.97 billion, up 2.3% year on year and a hair short of the $9.98 billion analysts expected on average, Reuters reported. Adjusted earnings of 78 cents a share beat the 71-cent average estimate by nearly 10%, according to Reuters and Investing.com. The results came out after Thursday’s close, and the stock was up 4.1% at $65.11 as of 9:31 a.m. ET on Friday.

The shares had risen 6.5% in extended trading on Thursday evening, Reuters reported, after closing up 1.1% at $62.53 ahead of the release.

What stood out

People bought more snacks. Mondelez, the maker of Oreo, Cadbury, and Milka, said in its release that volume and mix, the amount it sold and the blend of products, added 1.8 points to organic growth, while price increases added only 0.3 points. That is a turn for a company that leaned on price rises through two years of record cocoa costs. Volume and mix grew 0.7% in the second quarter, Investing.com noted, so the third quarter marked an acceleration.

Profit grew faster than sales. The adjusted operating margin widened 1.9 points to 13.9%, which the company put down partly to lower raw material costs. Reuters said cheaper cocoa and higher prices in key regions, including North America, drove the beat.

The growth came from outside Europe. Organic revenue rose 7.7% in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa and 6.9% in Latin America, but fell 2.1% in Europe, according to the release. Chief Executive Dirk Van de Put said on the call that Europe’s volume growth “was very broad-based” and that “share dynamics are improving.”

The outlook

Mondelez kept its 2026 forecast: organic net revenue growth of at least 2%, adjusted earnings per share growth of flat to 5% at constant currency, and about $3 billion of free cash flow. It now expects currency moves to add about 1.5 points to 2026 revenue growth. Van de Put said on the call that he expects volume growth to continue for the rest of the year.

The company also agreed to buy Undercover Snacks, a maker of quinoa crisps, it said in the release.

The stock went into the report up 16.2% this year and 4.1% below its 52-week closing high of $65.19 from 22 October. It hasn’t moved 5% or more in a single session in the past year.

Our take

This was a quality beat: growth came from selling more, not from charging more, and margins widened as cocoa costs eased. Revenue only matched expectations, and Europe still shrank. Next quarter we’d watch whether volume growth holds into the holiday season, as Van de Put expects, and whether cheaper cocoa keeps the margin gains coming.