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Date
Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025 at 11:30 a.m. ET
Call participants
Chief Executive Officer — Carlos Lisboa
Chief Financial Officer and Investor Relations Officer — Guilherme Fleury
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Takeaways
Net Revenue -- Net revenue grew 4% year-to-date, driven by a 7% rise in net revenue per hectoliter.
EBITDA -- Increased 3%, with a margin expansion of 50 basis points in Q3 2025.
Normalized EPS -- Rose 8% year-over-year in Q3 2025, reflecting strong top-line and cost performance.
Share Buyback -- Board approved a BRL 2.5 billion program targeting share cancellation to return cash to shareholders.
Premium and Super Premium Beer Brazil Share -- Climbed to nearly 50%, the highest level since 2015; achieved six consecutive years of gains, totaling a 14-point increase in market share.
Bees Marketplace (Digital) -- GMV doubled to an $8 billion annualized run rate in Q3 2025, driven by expanded commercial partnerships.
Brazil Beer Volume -- Declined, fully explained by industry performance; core segment fell by low teens, but low single-digit market share gains recorded.
Cash COGS Per Hectoliter (Brazil Beer) -- Increased at a slower rate than net revenue per hectoliter year-to-date 2025.
Net Income (Normalized) -- Normalized net income reached BRL 3.8 billion, up 7% year-over-year in Q3 2025, attributed to a lower effective tax rate that offset higher financial expenses.
Net Income (Stated) -- Reported at BRL 4.9 billion, up 36% year-over-year in Q3 2025, reflecting several one-off effects, including a gain from the Barbados divestment.
Non-alcoholic Beverages (Brazil NAB) -- The non-sugar portfolio delivered double-digit growth in Q3 2025 and now accounts for over 25% of total NAB volumes in Q3 2025.
Gross Margin -- Expanded in Q3 2025, driven by revenue and cost management efforts.
Argentina Beer Volumes -- Declined by a mid-single-digit percentage, trailing the industry in Argentina in Q3 2025; attributed to unfavorable price dynamics, despite stable brand equity in Q3 2025.
Canada Performance -- Outperformed the industry in both beer and beyond-beer categories in Q3 2025, supported by last year's route-to-market expansion.
SG&A Reduction -- With executives citing both variable compensation adjustments and cost control.
Dividend Distribution -- Total announced dividends reached BRL 6 billion year-to-date as of Q3 2025.
Effective Tax Rate -- Lowered to 6.7% in Q3 2025 from 23.6% in Q3 2024, mainly due to three non-recurring items that are not expected to recur. Excluding these items, it would have been about 20% in Q3 2025.
Inventory Phasing (Brazil NAB) -- Revenue management led to sell-in exceeding sell-out, which impacted reported volumes in Q3 2025.
Summary
Ambev (ABEV +5.50%) delivered margin and earnings growth in Q3 2025, despite industry-wide volume softness, supported by higher net revenue per hectoliter and strong premium brand performance. Carlos Lisboa attributes volume declines in Brazilian beer to situational factors in Q3 2025, stating that 70% of the industry contraction was weather-related and that consumer discretionary pressure was concentrated in specific regions, while highlighting stable brand equity and increased market share. Strategic initiatives—such as digital ecosystem expansion, disciplined cost controls, and portfolio diversification—were credited for margin improvement and offsetting operational deleverage, supporting continued investments and shareholder returns.
CEO Lisboa said, "Our premium and super premium brands continue to strengthen and grew volumes by more than 9% in Q3 2025 compared to Q3 2024," reflecting a strong mix benefit amid weak overall beer demand.
CFO Fleury disclosed, "Our normalized net income reached BRL 3.8 billion, up 7% year over year, mainly driven by a lower effective tax rate which more than offset higher financial expenses."
Management confirmed that full-year Brazil Beer cash COGS per hectoliter guidance remains unchanged, with an ambition for the lower half of the 5.5%-7% range (non-GAAP).
The company completed the initial steps of its partial divestment of Barbados operations, generating a gain of $884 million—a one-off item contributing to stated net income growth in Q3 2025.
Bees Marketplace GMV doubled in Q3 2025, while the direct-to-consumer platform ZDeliver saw a 7% increase in GMV and a 9% rise in average order value in Q3 2025.
Shareholder distributions were reinforced with a new BRL 2.5 billion share buyback authorization approved on Oct. 29, 2025, following total announced dividends of BRL 6 billion during 2025.
Argentina beer volumes underperformed the industry amid pricing dynamics in Q3 2025, while the company generated offsetting strength in Bolivia within the same region.
Carlos Lisboa’s attribution of industry volume declines to "situational" rather than "structural" drivers may signal confidence for normalization in future quarters, subject to macro and weather conditions improving.
Industry glossary
Net Revenue Per Hectoliter: Net sales revenue divided by hectoliters of product sold; used to assess average selling price and mix effects.
Buyback Program: Company initiative to repurchase its own shares from the market, typically to reduce share count or return value to shareholders.
Gross Merchandise Value (GMV): The total value of merchandise sold over a specified period through a commerce platform, before deductions.
COGS per Hectoliter: Cost of goods sold divided by hectoliters; a per-unit production cost metric.
SKUs per POC: Number of distinct product stock-keeping units placed per point of contact/customer.
Full Conference Call Transcript
Mr. Carlos Lisboa, Ambev S.A.'s CEO, and Mr. Guilherme Fleury, CFO and Investor Relations Officer. As a reminder, this conference presentation is available for download on our website, ir.ambev.com.br, as well as through the webcast link. We would like to inform that this event is being recorded and all participants will be in a listen-only mode during the company's presentation. After Ambev S.A.'s remarks are completed, there will be a Q&A section 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 Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1996.
Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs and assumptions of Ambev S.A.'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 S.A. 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 percentage changes that will be discussed during today's call are both organic and normalized in nature.
And unless otherwise stated, percentage changes refer to comparisons with third 2024 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.A.'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. Now I will turn the conference over to Mr. Carlos Lisboa. Mr. Lisboa, you may begin your conference.
Carlos Lisboa: Good afternoon, everyone. It is a pleasure to be here with you again and thank you for joining our call today. We closed the second quarter making important decisions to position ourselves well for the remainder of the year. Reflecting on the third quarter, these choices were even more relevant. As industry volumes remain softer than expected, mainly in Brazil, this quarter reflects the results of our choices. Our brands continue healthy, with most of our top 10 markets maintaining or improving brand equity, particularly in Brazil. Net revenue grew supported by resilient net revenue per hectoliter growth up 7%.
Top line performance combined with cost initiatives drove EBITDA growth of 3%, 50 basis points of margin expansion while normalized EPS grew 8%. Looking at the film, rather than the photo, in a year-to-date perspective, we are positive about the decisions we have made and the resilience of our business. Supported by the strength of our brands and our solid market share, top line grew 4%, driven by a healthy net revenue per hectoliter of 7%, which led to EBITDA growth of over 7% with 120 basis points of margin expansion. Cost initiatives continue to make a difference with cash COGS per hectoliter growing below net revenue per hectoliter and normalized EPS grew above 7%.
Following our capital allocation strategy, and confident in our long-term value creation potential, on October 29, the Board of Directors approved a BRL 2.5 billion share buyback program, with the main purpose of canceling shares as a way to return cash to shareholders. Behind these results lie the foundations of our growth strategy. Starting with pillar number one, lead and grow the category. To be a true category captain, we must place our customers and consumers at the center of our decision-making process, being able to better understand and serve the demand. A capability that becomes even more important when the operating environment turns more dynamic. Allowing us to number one, lead the beer category. Our core brands remain resilient.
Even though volumes decline given its higher sensitivity to industry environment. Our premium super premium brands strengthen and continue to grow in volumes more than 9%. And number two, shape new avenues of growth. The balanced choice portfolio grew 36%, including non-alcohol beers growing above 20%. Continued to expand ahead of the company's volume. As leaders, we continue to develop the category aiming not only to sell more but to expand the consumer base and the number of occasions over the long term. Ultimately, creating sustainable value. As for Pillar two, digitize and monetize the ecosystem. This pillar continues to be instrumental to our business. It provides valuable insights into our consumer customers, and operations while expanding our addressable market.
The third quarter marked another solid step towards making our digital ecosystem a competitive advantage for our company. When it comes to new growth engines, Bees Marketplace maintains its strong momentum. With GMV growing 100% to an annualized $8 billion driven by the expansion of our commercial partnerships. Meanwhile, on the direct-to-consumer front, ZDeliver recorded a 7% increase in GMV, supported by a 9% rise in average order value. In revenue management, BIS continues to enable more assertive and data-driven decisions. With a more granular view of elasticity by brand, pack, and customer, we can optimize our discounts and promotions to improve the return on every real invested.
For example, this quarter in Brazil, we increased the number of SKUs per POC by 5% and improved by 30% the return on promotions. And in cost and expenses management, these also play a key role in the SKU optimization program we mentioned last quarter. It helps us expand the distribution of our main SKUs, improving production efficiency while ensuring that our customers continue to find the right portfolio for their businesses. In summary, the combined impact of the revenue and cost management led to an expansion of our gross margin in the quarter. Speaking of cost performance, let's move into pillar number three, optimize our business.
This year, we have been emphasizing our disciplined approach to costs, and this quarter clearly shows why it matters. While we expected costs to continue to accelerate, driven by FX, commodities, and the operational deleverage from lower volumes, our efficiency efforts paid off. We managed to keep costs mostly in line with the previous quarter, freeing up resources to continue investing in the long-term growth of our business. Looking ahead, there's still work to be done as we pursue the lower half of our Brazil beer cash COGS per hectoliter guidance, which will support our ambition of protecting consolidated EBITDA margins in the full year.
Speaking of margins, our disciplined approach to revenue, cost, and expense management once again delivers results. Four of our business units expanded EBITDA margins, and all of them delivered growing or flat EBITDA consistent with the last two quarters. Now let's turn to the commercial highlights from our main markets. Starting with Brazil Beer, this was the second consecutive quarter of industry softness. It is understandable that this can raise some concerns about the category's prospects. So before we go into our business performance, I would like to take a moment to share a few insights into what we see as situational factors, meaning either short-term or cyclical, and structural factors that may impact the industry over time.
Over the past two quarters, the beer category equity has improved, which is a good proxy for future share of growth. While consumers' participation in beer remains stable, this reinforces our view that there are no meaningful short-term structural changes in consumer behavior toward the category. The industry's decline was mostly related to fewer consumption occasions, particularly in the on-trade channel, which was affected by two main factors. Number one, weather. The past six months were colder than normal, especially in the 2023 and 2024 were the two warmest winters on record. This impact, according to our estimates, represents approximately 70% of the industry decline. And number two, consumer purchasing power.
The macro environment, particularly in the North and Northeast, continued to constrain discretionary spending. These are situational drivers for their short-term or cyclical nature, underpinning our confidence in the long-term fundamentals of both the category and our portfolio. That said, let me share three potential trends and needs that can turn into structural drivers. Number one, the beer category in Brazil has evolved. We value it, and we were part of it. However, easy-to-drink beers are still the preferred choice of Brazilians. Number two, certain groups of consumers prefer sweeter beverages. And number three, more consumers are seeking a balanced lifestyle. As a consequence, and not by coincidence, we have been working to address these trends and needs.
Our portfolio of brands spans a wide range of liquid profiles. Our easy-to-drink brands are relevant in all price segments, and the brands that are growing the most in our portfolio address such needs. We already lead the ready-to-drink space with products such as beets and bruta fruit, which cater directly to the sweet-seeking consumers. Additionally, we are launching Flying Fish, a successful international brand with the aim of developing the flavor beer segment in Brazil. This segment has been growing globally, reaching over 3% mix of the beer industry in several countries.
And for balance, lifestyle seekers, our non-alcohol portfolio, together with Stella Pure Gold and Michelob Ultra, has a stronger appeal, offering moderation alternatives without giving up the great beer experience. In summary, while we read the current industry headwinds as situational, our strong portfolio and innovation agenda ensure we remain well-positioned to capture future growth and keep shaping the beer category. Now, let's move to our performance in Brazil Beer. Over 100% of the volume decline is explained by the industry performance. Our brands once again improved equity, gaining low single-digit sell-out market share according to Nielsen, while expanding net revenue per hectoliter. The market share gains came across all relevant segments.
In the core segment, volume declined by low teens reflecting the overall industry context. However, the market share progressed versus last year as relative price improved through the quarter. Premium and super premium brands once again stood out, growing mid-teens and gaining sell-out market share, reaching close to 50%. After six years of consistent recovery, we achieved the highest share level since 2015, according to our estimates. This performance was driven by Original, Stella Family, and Corona, the latter two at the top end of the price index. And our balanced choice portfolio maintains strong momentum, growing mid-60s. Stella Pure Gold more than doubled its volumes.
Michelob Ultra grew over 80%, and our non-alcohol beer portfolio expanded by low 20s, further strengthening our leadership in the segment. Moving to Brazil NAB, throughout 2025, the CSD industry has experienced a deceleration from up low single-digit in Q1 to down mid-single-digit in Q3, according to Nielsen. Driven by similar situational factors that impacted the beer industry. In addition, our revenue management decisions last quarter led to an inventory phasing into this quarter, impacting selling performance. In this context, our brands continued to strengthen, and our market share grew year-to-date and was stable to low single-digit, down in the quarter according to our estimates, with a net revenue per hectoliter above inflation.
Our non-sugar portfolio once again delivered double-digit growth and now accounts for more than 25% of total NAB volumes. In Argentina, the consumption environment remained challenging. Our beer volumes declined mid-single-digit, underperforming the industry, reflecting an unfavorable temporary price relativity dynamics. However, brand equity remains stable, supported by the strength of our mega brands. Furthermore, we remain constructive on the long-term prospects for both the country and the beer category. In The Dominican Republic, the operating environment and beer share of throat continued to improve sequentially, supported by a healthier price relativity across categories. Presidential brand, the cornerstone of the category, strengthened its equity once again, reinforcing its leadership and cultural connection with consumers in the country.
Finally, in Canada, the beer industry declined by mid-single-digit in the quarter. We estimate that we outperformed the industry in both beer and beyond beer. The Ontario market continued to progress, supported by the route to market expansion implemented last year. Our beer performance was led by Michelob Ultra, Busch, and Corona, which we estimate were among the top five volume share gainers in the industry. Now, let me hand over to Flori who will walk you through our financial performance in more detail.
Guilherme Fleury: Thank you, Lisboa, and hello, everyone. Today, I would like to walk you through our financial performance highlights using our capital allocation framework. Starting with our priority number one, to invest in our business. Here, our focus is to allocate capital efficiently and maximize return on investments. One way we do that is by driving efficiencies across our cost and expenses baselines, freeing up resources to continue to invest behind our business and our brands, strengthening the connection with our consumers.
Building on that, in quarter three, our disciplined cost management allowed us to quickly adapt our brewing processes to a more challenging operating environment and deliver strong productivity with tighter process controls and lower conversion costs, mainly in our vertical operations. As a result, we expanded EBITDA margin in most of our business units once again. Now, moving to net income. Our normalized net income reached BRL 3.8 billion, up 7% year over year, mainly driven by a lower effective tax rate which more than offset higher financial expenses. Our stated net income reached BRL 4.9 billion, up 36% versus last year, reflecting one-off effects I'll detail in a moment.
In this quarter, our net financial expenses closed at BRL 1.1 billion, about BRL 400 million higher than last year, mostly due to two factors we already addressed in quarter two. One, a higher FX hedging carry costs in Brazil due to interest rate gap between Brazil and The U.S. And two, the cost of sourcing U.S. Dollars in Bolivia. On income tax, our effective tax rate in quarter three was 6.7%, compared with 23.6% a year ago. The decline reflects mostly three one-offs which total million and didn't have a relevant cash tax impact in the quarter. Excluding them, our effective tax rate would have been around 20%, consistent with recent levels. Let me go over them.
One, following a change in legislation, we recognize a partial reversal of previously recorded tax liabilities associated with the 2017 amnesty program as detailed in note 8.2 to our Q3 financial statements. Number two, fiscal incentives recognition. And number three, the Barbados divestment that generated a gain of $884 million where part of it was non-taxable in Dominican Republic. The sale of Barbados is a tangible example of our second capital allocation priority at work. Evaluate inorganic opportunities. Here, we completed the first steps of the transaction transferring control to Colescap, a long-term partner in the Caribbean. The transaction simplifies our structure and keeps our brands in the region. Further details are disclosed in Note one of our financial state.
Lastly, regarding our third priority, return cash to shareholders over time, as we approach the end of the year, I remain confident in the consistent cash generation of our business. Cash flow from operating activities remained solid, totaling billion, despite softer volumes and higher cash taxes this quarter. Versus 2024, our cash flow from operating activities is down BRL 1.2 billion, mainly due to a slower monetization pace of existing income tax credits in Brazil. These credits will continue to be used over time aligned with our tax strategy and are detailed in Note seven to our Q3 financial statements. Lastly, during the year, we already announced a total dividend of BRL 6 billion.
Also, as Lisboa mentioned, we are starting a new BRL 2.5 billion buyback program after the completion of the previous one in June. Both the dividend distribution and the share buyback program reinforce our confidence in our business and our commitment to returning cash to shareholders over time. With that, let me hand it back to you, Lisboa.
Carlos Lisboa: Thank you, Flori. As we start the fourth quarter, I believe that we are well-positioned to close the year on solid footing and to start 2026 with strong momentum. We are also excited for the FIFA World Cup next year. A great opportunity to connect again to two of the greatest passions in Latin America: beer and soccer. To close, I want to thank our team for their resilience, especially in moments like this. Our great and focus on what we can control are inspiring and give me even more confidence that we are becoming a better version of ourselves. Thank you for your attention and I will now hand it back to the operator for the Q&A.
Operator: We will now begin the Q&A session. To ask a question, we kindly ask sell-side analysts to click on the raise hand button at the bottom of the screen. To remove a question from the queue or after your question has already been addressed, please click the lower hand button. We kindly reinforce our request that each participant asks only a single question. Our first question comes from Lucas Ferreira with JPMorgan. You can open your microphone.
Lucas Ferreira: Hi, guys. I hope you hear me well. My question is on the COGS line. I think there was one of the positive surprises we had with the results, especially in a quarter where production probably was softer, right? I was expecting some sort of effect of lower fixed cost dilution, but the COGS came better than expected. So if you guys can explore that in a bit more detail why the costs were lower specifically this quarter? Does it have to do with the hedging strategies, some sort of a calendarization of that hedge effect or but also on the initiatives for reducing your cost base, if you can get into this?
And then since you're reiterating the guidance, what would imply for the fourth quarter like sort of big acceleration of the cost per hectoliter? If this acceleration also has to do with sort of the hedging or if there's anything else that we have to be aware of?
Guilherme Fleury: Hi, Lucas. It's Flori here. Can you hear me well?
Lucas Ferreira: Okay. No, great. Very well. Thank you very much.
Guilherme Fleury: Okay. So Lucas, let me just start by saying that as you probably remember, I think Ambev S.A. is being known for its very strict discipline and action-driven organization. And I think that comes on over time working in emerging markets. We develop a capacity of navigating volatility while delivering results. Why I'm starting with that is because if you go back one step in Q2, I mentioned to you guys that most of the benefit that we were having in our COGS was related to the SKU rationalization and what we control. On Q3, it's not different from that.
It comes from a series of initiatives on what we can control that goes from production cost to breweries footprint and production and also utilizing our vertical operations in which we normally have better costs. So in essence, I think this is what the company does well, is very focused on what we control a series of initiatives. And I might frustrate you, there is no one single one but there's a collection of initiatives that has been working through. The organization with PMOs, of course, with Lisboa and myself with several areas. So that's how we were able to achieve I would say, a positive cash COGS increase compared to what we have said before.
Now moving to guidance, I think Lisboa made it very clear on his initial speech, but I will reinforce the guidance is the guidance. We are not changing our guidance for Brazil Beer cash COGS per hectoliter, marketplace. What it's important to highlight is now with what we know, we will continue to work very hard to deliver the guidance within the first half of the range, if I may say 5.5% to 7%, which is our ambition. And by doing that, together with our continued disciplined revenue management, I believe we could potentially look into the expansion of margins over time.
Operator: Our next question comes from Henrique Brustolin with Bradesco. You can open your microphone.
Henrique Brustolin: Hello, Lisboa, Flori. Thanks for taking my question. I wanted to explore a little bit more the beer industry environment in Brazil. Very interesting the comments you made, Lisboa, in terms of the weather, the 70% of the decline and the remainder, the weaker consumer. I would like to hear a little bit more how you see this trend shaping up into Q4, especially if you could comment on the consumer part of this equation?
And also, given that the headwinds were apparently different right, in the North Northeast than to the South Southeast, if you also saw any big difference in terms of the volume performance across these two regions or even how the portfolio performed within the different categories? These would be my questions. Thank you.
Carlos Lisboa: Hey, Henrique. Nice to talk to you. Thank you for the question. Let me highlight a few points here to clarify some of your doubts. Right? First and foremost, everything that we see somehow is very aligned with what we flagged in our second quarter result announcement, right? So but having said that during the quarter, we saw the most important driver, situational driver which was the weather, gaining even more relevance, right, since the wintertime pretty much took the entire quarter. Right, different from what happened in quarter two when mostly impacted June. Right? So I think the most important point to have in mind is the fall.
The underlying consumer engagement which we measured based on participation and category equity, remains very solid. Right? And the decline was pretty much connected to a reduced number of occasions, right? And the reason why for that is exactly the two situational factors that I flagged in the beginning of the conversation this morning in the session, right? South and Southeast, pretty much the regions where we see accounting for the majority of the volume in Brazil, pretty much 60%. Impacted by colder and rainier conditions, compared to a drier, right, and hottest conditions last year. Right.
And the North to Northeast, the other impact, which is connected to right, disposable income constraints, which by the way, also impacted the first quarter. This was not necessarily right, a surprise for us. We have been measuring that since the beginning of this year. Right? So it's interesting to see that, especially the weather but also, right, the disposable income constraint, impacted mostly something that we also highlight during the second quarter announcement, the out-of-home occasion, which is very relevant for beer in Brazil, right? In other words, impacting particularly bars and restaurants. Right. So now moving towards your question about what's coming, right, more.
So when we reflect about the situational end right, which is weather and income, the weather remains in October still a concern for us, Henrique, because we haven't seen any meaningful change. On the other hand, on the structural end, we also see a continuation of a good momentum our brands, right, presented in Q3. Which is what gives us confidence that we are well-positioned right, for the quarter to come, the last quarter to come this year, which will give us a pretty nice carryover into next year, which was the part of what we sorry that we had a technical issue, but I was highlighting that we feel good and optimistic about the year to come.
Because we're going to have the chance to jump into a year when we won't probably see that much of a hard comp impact coming from the weather, which was the most important detractor right, situational detractor for us this year. Combined with the chance to put together, unite two amazing passions for Latin Americans right, which are beer and soccer, with the World Cup.
And on top of that, as I mentioned before, this year, when we reflect about participation and occasions, occasions, right, were more impacted by the two situational factors, and next year, we're going to have the chance, right, to explore more occasions since the World Cup time will match exactly with the hardest period for us in the year. And on top of that, especially in Brazil, we're going to have a pretty interesting number of holidays that will help us create new consumption occasions for us.
Henrique Brustolin: That's very clear, Lisboa. Thanks very much.
Carlos Lisboa: Thank you.
Operator: Our next question comes from Nadine Sarwat with Bernstein. You can open your microphone.
Nadine Sarwat: Hi. Thank you for taking my question, guys. Great to see your comment on Ambev S.A. reaching nearly 50% share of Brazil premium and super premium beer for the first time in a decade. And I appreciate the comments that you made in your prepared remarks. With that benefit of hindsight now of the six years of seeing that improvement that you called out, can you comment on which initiatives you feel have been the most successful in getting you and your brands to this point in that segment? And what are your aspirations for your share of that segment over the coming quarters and years? Thank you.
Carlos Lisboa: Hi, Nadine. Thank you for your question. Very interesting. As you said, it was a true V curve for us. Since 2015, until today, right? And just to emphasize what you said, in the last six years, we gained 14 points of market share. Consistent every single year. And that came mostly as a consequence of our ambition of being a true category captain. Right? A captain that will bring to our consumers not only in Brazil, but across the board in all our markets.
But since your question is about Brazil, but especially in Brazil, right, more and more alternatives to enjoy beer in different occasions and by doing so, expanding our portfolio we also have a chance to bring more consumers to our portfolio. Right? So if I have to answer your question with just one point, that will be my answer. Right, because we are here to build a portfolio strong enough to make our category even more appealing to our consumers. And by the way, being Brazil, has one of the strongest equities across all markets globally. Okay? And the point about the portfolio that I also like the most is the fall.
We know that as consumers graduate and as we bring new consumers to the category, they want to have optionality. Right? They want to attend different needs in different occasions. And that's exactly when the portfolio makes a difference. Right? And today, we have a pretty interesting portfolio with complementary roles to play this mission. Right? From Original to Spaten, right, in the first layer of the premium. And then to Corona and Stella family in the latter part of the pricing index with different emotional and functional benefits. And the interesting piece of that is that since they are complementary, they are bringing incrementality for us. Instead of only cannibalization. Right?
And this is the, in my point of view, the magic around what we are doing here. And it's very interesting because the same way we are building premium, now we are building a new growth engine that we call right, balanced. And the balance piece is also gaining a lot of acceleration right? And on top of that, something that I'm not sure you know, was that clear for you all, we are building a new growth engine beyond beer. And that beyond beer business, during the last three years, have been growing double digits. And we have been growing ahead of the industry.
And today, are also the leaders as we are the leaders in beyond, as we are the leaders in premium, right? So in essence, we are leading where growth is and where growth will be. The future.
Nadine Sarwat: Very clear. Thank you.
Operator: Our next question comes from Thiago Duarte with BTG. You can open your microphone.
Thiago Duarte: Hello. Good afternoon. It's everybody. Hey, Thiago.
Guilherme Fleury: Hey, Thiago.
Thiago Duarte: My question is, I'm trying to get a sense of the sustainability of the SG&A reduction that we saw, not only this quarter, but I think throughout the year, although it might have been stronger this quarter. In the release, you mentioned the variable compensation accrual changes. You also mentioned the phasing in marketing expenses in CAC. So my question is of the 0.4% consolidated organic reduction year over year in SG&A in the quarter. How much would you say is related to this phasing of marketing and bonus accruals? And how much you believe it's more of a sustainable gain efficiency that you saw in expenses. Then if I may, a quick second question. Related to pricing in Brazil.
Beer Brazil. So I think that's more to you, Lisboa. Looking at the volume per performance of the last two quarters, how surprised are you of the demand reaction to the price hike that you guys implemented ahead of the second quarter? And how that potentially affects the implementation of pricing that you normally do historically in Q4? Of every year. Those will be my questions. Thank you.
Guilherme Fleury: Thiago, do you want me to start and Thank you. Thiago, you very much for your question. Let me start more broadly, then I'll go into the details. If you look into our consolidated income statement, but that applies to most of the markets in which we operate. What we've been doing is we continue despite the impact that you had in volume, we continue to invest in sales and marketing as a percentage of net revenue, it slightly increased quarter over quarter and that is the investment that we're very careful of maintaining. Why talking about sustainability is that is the one that connects our brands with our consumers.
And that's how we connect with our flywheel on value creation. Specifically, what happened throughout the year is like we've been I would say, managing well distribution costs even with lower volumes. So we were able to have a better absorption of fixed costs even with declining volume. And on administrative expenses, I think here it connects a lot with the way we compensate our executives and our employees. If you remember, Ambev S.A. is very well known for having a part of the compensation, which is variable which is important for us and it's very connected with the performance of the year. Before we were to summarize, there are three parts.
One is base salary the other one is the variable compensation and we also have long-term incentive plans that are discretionary and distribute in order to make for the variance in value creation over time. This long-term incentive is normally share related. So the employees executive receive with a tenure of three years with that. Specifically this year, I'm talking about variable compensation, this connects a lot with our company, which is in a difficult year even though we've been working very hard on the levers that we can control we are delivering still, like, margin expansion, so on and so forth.
It's also we've been going through a difficult time is not structured as is Boris said is conjunction that affects the volume. Therefore, the variable compensation of our teams were aligned with that and with what we know today what we have done was an adjustment on the accrual that we've been paying throughout the year. So to summarize, we are continuing to invest in what is very important, is sales and marketing, Our focus and discipline is also helping on the distribution and on the admin that is very connected with how we see the performance of our company with this adjustment on the variable compensation for the year. Now I'll turn to Lisboa.
Carlos Lisboa: Hey, Thiago. Let me touch on the second part. I think the most important message for you is the following. According to our modeling industry modeling, our price increase has no impact whatsoever. On the industry performance this year due to the fact that prices for the industry for beer they are still below inflation. What brings somehow a small impact very small compared to the situational factors that I flagged before, is the mix piece. Because it continues to grow way ahead of volume average growth right, with a higher price level. But in the end, consumers always have a chance, right, to choose brands without such a higher price to consumer, right.
And that's the benefit of having again a strong portfolio of brands. And that's exactly what we hold here in Brazil. Right? Not only strong core brands, with different competitive situations by region, which differ a lot by the way, in Brazil. Brazil is a continent Right? And on top of that, we have the premium portfolio that also gives us optionality to play around. And it's very interesting because we are gaining new capabilities with our digital ecosystem. Right? And these within BIS, we have AI-powered revenue management. In other words, we can personalize promotions, right, to boost sales, optimize discounts and increase ROI. Simultaneously. Right?
In the end, just to finalize the point in somehow addressing the final piece of your question, in terms of ambition, our ambition is always to keep our prices in line with inflation because we know the pricing component is a very important, right, accessibility for consumers in Brazil. Right? And in a good part of our consumers come from the middle, low current right, of the population. So it's important for us to always keep control in order to allow them to stay connected to the category.
Thiago Duarte: Very helpful. Thank you.
Carlos Lisboa: Thank you.
Operator: Next question from Isabella Simonato with Bank of America. You can open your microphone.
Isabella Simonato: Thank you. Hi, Lisboa. Hi, Flori. Thank you, for the call. I would like to follow-up on your last answer right about price and volume correlation. I mean, I understand that beer in inflation is pretty much in line with general inflation in Brazil, but, I my guess is that the timing of the price increase, right, that you guys did in June, and that followed by the competition. In the middle of a bad weather season, right? I mean, how much could that have exacerbated or created a different elasticity, right, to that price increase in the moment that it was done. I think, that's my question. And a little bit similar to what we saw on NAB. Right?
Because I think it was a really it was really surprising to see volumes coming down by that much. Especially when we look at the competition, right, volumes move up. In the quarter. So I believe you lost share, but more to understand the pricing strategy for this quarter, which unlike beer is well above inflation, Right? And to understand how you're guys seeing the volume reaction on that segment as well. And if I may, a second question on last. I think we saw a big pretty important pickup on margins. Just if you could, elaborate a little bit on the drivers of that even though volumes Argentina were not that strong, I think we'll be clarifying. Thank you.
Carlos Lisboa: Thank you, Isabella. Look, as you said, pure CPI in line with overall CPI no change there, right. According to our models, no different elasticity right, despite or caused by the unfavorable weather right? So in our point of view, the timing of our price increase was very interesting. Was came at the right moment for us. To avoid any kind of distraction vis a vis what we flagged for you all right in the beginning of this year in terms of ambition for us, right. We said we want to protect and evolve with the profitability of the industry.
We want to keep a very tight control and discipline cost expenses because in the end, we want to bring grow with profitability. That's what we said, and we continue very focused behind that. On the situational side, right, meaning weather, and disposable income, both categories, both industries, right, beer, and soft drinks, were somehow impacted. Right? But always keep in mind that for beer, the impact is harder. Because it's impacting mostly right, the most important occasion for the category. Which is out of home, Right? And you all know what I'm saying here. Right? But pay attention to the following. The point about I think it's it's a little bit tricky to compare the both. Business, right?
We took the price increase for beer in the second quarter of this year. During the third quarter, we saw the relativity right, change, right, gap shortening. And that gave us the chance to put our share back on track. In fact, we see the balance between share and relative price even in a better position today than before than last year right, which is very interesting for us. Right? On the contrary, actually, what happened with soft drinks, we increased we had our revenue management agenda impacting mostly the end of the quarter two right? And that brought an impact and a difference between sell in and sell out.
According to Nielsen, right, the industry the CSD industry declined by mid-single digits which was pretty much in line with our sell out. Okay? The difference comes exactly from the inventory. And that is the consequence of our revenue management decisions in the end of quarter two.
Guilherme Fleury: Now moving to Isabella, to your question about LAS. I think when we look at LAS, their story, you need to understand of two different markets. That consolidates into that. One is Bolivia and one is Argentina. Let me start with Bolivia. Bolivia continued to be a market that we are delivering strong results throughout the P&L, which is more than offsetting the impact that we had in Argentina which in the quarter if I may say, the demand was still recovering but not there yet. So there were impacts on inventory level and also we couldn't fully implement our revenue management in Argentina in the quarter. Given the economic situation there.
So it's a story of two markets, one is Argentina that is tougher. The other one is Bolivia. Overall, it's very important to highlight that we remain very confident about the two markets. And specifically in Argentina, is being a more difficult environment, just to remember that we're operating there since 2000, and we believe that we have the best portfolio of brands connect with the people, the right initiatives there, on revenue management and cost to make it continue to be an important engine for our company going forward.
Operator: Thank you. This concludes the Q&A session. And I would now like to pass the word back to Ambev S.A.'s team for closing remarks.
Carlos Lisboa: Thank you for joining our call today. I would like to leave you with a final message. We are becoming a true ambidextrous company. Making progress in all three pillars of our strategy resulting in growth, with profitability. Year to date, our top line grew 4% while EBITDA was up 8% and EPS grew 7%. We are taking Market Intelligence to new levels. Better understanding our consumers, their trends, and translating them into actionable insights. Making an already loved category even stronger. All in all, we are leading where growth is. Especially in our main market Brazil. Thank you and see you soon.
Operator: Thank you. This concludes today's presentation. You may disconnect and have a nice day.