AB InBev returns to growth as it cheers better beer sales

Belgian brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev sold more drinks for the first time since 2023 in the ​first quarter, as growth ​in major beer ​brands such as Corona and Michelob Ultra ended a prolonged slide in volumes.

Shares in the world’s most valuable brewer rose almost 7% as it also posted revenue and profit well ⁠ahead ‌of forecasts. Volumes, which had been expected to fall, ⁠instead rose 0.8%.

That brought AB InBev into line with rivals that in recent weeks have also reported their first volume growth in at least a year.

“Cheers to beer,” CEO Michel Doukeris said in a ‌statement, adding the performance reflected the resilience of the category despite weaker demand in key markets.

AB InBev said its top global brands, including pricier labels ​such as Corona and Stella Artois, helped lift revenues. Its push into non-beer drinks also paid off, with revenues from those brands, including canned cocktail label Cutwater, jumping 37%.

The brewer also beat expectations in Mexico, a key market, overtaking ⁠Heineken and other rivals and benefiting from the timing of Easter, analysts said.

Siphelele Mdudu, an analyst ‌at AB InBev investor Matrix Fund Managers, said it was ‌unclear how much of the company’s volume growth was thanks to such calendar effects, but the company had also executed a strategy to focus resources on a handful of key global brands ⁠well.

“They’ve got (that strategy) right; you can’t take that away from them,” he said.

AB Inbev pledged to outperform in 2026

Investors are betting 2026 will be ⁠a better year for brewers after a difficult 2025 marked by high living costs, shifting drinking habits, stronger competition from beer alternatives and poor weather.

AB ​InBev has said it will outperform ‌rivals such as Heineken and Carlsberg this year despite those challenges, which now include spillover effects from the Iran war, including higher costs for fertiliser, glass bottles and aluminium cans.

AB InBev kept its full-year guidance unchanged, saying it already reflects the “current assessment of inflation and other macroeconomic conditions”.

The company reported ​a 5.3% organic rise in operating ‌profit for the first three months of the year, topping analyst expectations for 2.6% growth.