Nestlé Q3 results beat forecasts on coffee strength
Coffee sales rose 3.4% as the Swiss group's quarterly revenue reached CHF 22.76 billion, while Russia came off the books entirely.
Nestlé's Q3 results beat analyst forecasts, with coffee sales growing 3.4% in the third quarter of 2026 and group revenue reaching CHF 22.76 billion, the Swiss group said in results published on 22 October.
Organic growth hit 4.0% for the quarter, built from 2.8 points of real internal growth and 1.1 points of pricing. Analysts polled by the AWP news agency had forecast only 3.5% organic growth and 1.7% volume growth, so the Q3 results landed well ahead of the City's expectations.
Coffee drives Nestlé's Q3 results
Coffee's rebound shows up first in hotel breakfasts and office pantries, long before it reaches a supermarket shelf.
Coffee sales reached CHF 6.16 billion, up from CHF 5.98 billion a year earlier, with organic growth of 3.4% split between 2.0 points of pricing and 1.3 points of extra volume. Nestlé noted the comparison base was its strongest coffee quarter of 2025, which makes the gain harder won than the headline number suggests.
The business leans on Nescafé instant coffee, Starbucks-branded retail products sold under license, and Coffee mate creamers. Coffee now accounts for 27% of sales in Nestlé's European zone, 25% in Asia, Oceania and Africa, and 19% in the Americas.
For restaurants and hotels, the figure matters beyond the share price. Nestlé's out-of-home coffee lines supply breakfast buffets, office pantries and quick-service counters in dozens of countries, so a volume-led recovery there tends to show up first in wholesale ordering, well before it reaches retail shelves.
The Q3 results landed in the same week as Starbucks reported its own uneven quarter, with US sales up but profit down after its China exit — a reminder that pricing power in coffee now varies sharply by format and region.
Confectionery gains, Russia exits the books
Food & Snacks organic growth reached 5.0% for the quarter, with confectionery named a strong driver in the Americas and KitKat cited as a contributor to a near double-digit gain in Asia, Oceania and Africa. In Europe, Food & Snacks sales fell at a low single-digit rate, though the decline eased from the previous quarter.
The quarter also marks a formal break with Russia. After a presidential decree placed its local operations under temporary external administration, Nestlé deconsolidated the business at the end of September. Russia had accounted for about 2% of group sales on an annualised basis and 3% to 4% of underlying profit and free cash flow; the move is expected to add roughly CHF 0.9 billion to year-end net debt.
CEO Philipp Navratil, in the role just over a year, said: "Our execution is driving stronger growth." Nestlé kept its full-year guidance of 3% to 4% organic growth unchanged — a target coffee alone will struggle to carry much further if pricing keeps easing into 2027.
