Ambev S.A. Q3 FY2025 Earnings Call

Good afternoon, and thank you for waiting. We would like to welcome everyone to Ambev's 2025 Third Quarter Results Conference Call. Today with us, we have Mr. Carlos Lisboa, Ambev'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. 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 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 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 quarter results from 2024. 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 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.

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% with 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 of 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 #1, 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 declined given its higher sensitivity to the industry environment. Our premium and super premium brands strengthened and continue to grow in volumes more than 9%; and number two, shape new avenues of growth. The Balanced Choices 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 2, digitize and monetize the ecosystem. This pillar continues to be instrumental to our business. It provides valuable insights into our consumers, 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 maintained its strong momentum with GMV growing 100% to an annualized BRL 8 billion, driven by the expansion of our commercial partnerships. Meanwhile, on the direct-to-consumer front, Zé Delivery recorded a 7% increase in GMV even amid a softer industry, supported by a 9% rise in average order value. In revenue management, BEES 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 pack by 5% and improved by 30% the return on promotions. And in cost and expenses management, BEES also played a key role in the SKU optimization program we mentioned last quarter. It helped 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 #3, 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 is 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 delivered results. Four of our business units expanded EBITDA margins, and all of them delivered growing or flat EBITDA consistent with the last 2 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 2 quarters, the beer category equity has improved, which is a good proxy for future share of throat, 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 2 main factors: Number one, weather. The past 6 months were colder than normal, especially in the South and Southeast off a tough comp as 2023 and 2024 were the 2 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 the 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 3 potential trends and needs that can turn into structural drivers. Number one, the beer category in Brazil has evolved. We value it, and we will be 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 Beats and Brutal 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 flavored beer segment in Brazil. This segment has been growing globally, reaching over 3% mix of the beer industry in several countries. And for balanced lifestyle seekers, our non-alcohol portfolio, together with Stella Pure Gold and Michelob Ultra has a strong appeal, offering moderation alternative without giving up the great beer experience. In summary, while we view the current industry headwinds as situational, our strong portfolio and innovation agenda ensure we remain well positioned to capture future growth and reshape 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 improving equity, gaining low single-digit sellout market share according to Nielsen, while expanded 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 sellout market share, reaching close to 50%. After 6 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 2 at the top end of the price index. And our balanced choice portfolio maintained 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 sell-in performance. In this context, our brands continue 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 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 remained 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. Presidente 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 5 volume share gainers in the industry.

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 #1, 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 Q3, 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 will 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 2 factors we already addressed in Q2. One, a higher FX hedging carry costs in Brazil due to the 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 Q3 was 6.7% compared with 23.6% a year ago. The decline reflects mostly 3 one-offs, which totaled BRL 630 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 recognized 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 BRL 884 million, where part of it was nontaxable in the 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 KOSCAB, 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 1 to our financial statements. 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 BRL 6.9 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 7 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.

Thank you, Fleury. 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 reconnect 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 grit 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.

Our first question comes from Lucas Ferreira with JPMorgan.

My question is regarding the COGS line. I think that was one of the positive surprises we had with the results, especially in a quarter where production was likely softer. I expected some impact from lower fixed cost dilution, but COGS turned out better than anticipated. Can you elaborate on why COGS were lower this quarter? Is it related to the hedging strategy, the timing of that hedge effect, or your initiatives to reduce costs? Also, since you're reaffirming the guidance, what does that imply for the fourth quarter in terms of a significant increase in cost per hectoliter? Does this increase also relate to the hedging timing, or is there anything else we should be aware of?

Lucas, it's Fleury here. Can you hear me well? So Lucas, let me just start by saying that, as you probably remember, I think Ambev has been known for its very strict discipline and action-driven organization. And I think that comes on over time. Working in emerging markets, we developed 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 costs, 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. It's really focused on what we control, a series of initiatives. And I might frustrate you; there's 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, excluding marketplace. What is 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.

Our next question comes from Henrique Brustolin, with Bradesco.

I wanted to explore a little bit more the beer industry environment in Brazil. Very interesting, the comment you made, Lisboa, in terms of the weather representing 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 2 regions or even how the portfolio performed within the different categories? These would be my questions.

Henrique, it’s great to talk with you. Thank you for your question. I'd like to clarify a few points. First, our observations are consistent with what we noted in our second quarter results. However, during this quarter, the significant factor affecting us was the weather, which played a larger role compared to the second quarter, where its impact was mostly felt in June. It's crucial to note that consumer engagement remains strong, as we measure it through participation and category equity. The decline we experienced was largely due to fewer occasions for consumption, which is related to two situational factors I mentioned earlier. In the South and Southeast, which account for about 60% of our volume in Brazil, the colder and wetter conditions contrasted sharply with the hotter and drier weather last year. In the North and Northeast, we are also seeing the effects of constrained disposable income, an issue we've tracked since the start of this year. The weather and income constraints impacted out-of-home occasions, which are essential for beer consumption in Brazil, particularly in bars and restaurants. Now, regarding your question about the future, the weather remains a concern as we go into October, with no significant changes observed. However, we are encouraged by the momentum our brands experienced in Q3, which gives us confidence for the upcoming quarter. This momentum will likely carry over into next year, especially since we won't face the same weather-related challenges that hindered us this year. Additionally, we have the opportunity to celebrate the World Cup, which aligns with key consumption periods. Next year, we expect to create more occasions for consumption, especially in Brazil, given the numerous holidays that can drive new opportunities.

Our next question comes from Nadine Sarwat with Bernstein.

Great to see your commentary about Ambev 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 6 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.

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 6 years, we gained 14 points of market share, consistent every single year. And that came mostly as a consequence of our ambition, Nadine, 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 markets. But since your question is about Brazil, but especially in Brazil, 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 would 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, beer in 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 following. We know that as consumers graduate and as we bring new consumers to the category, they want to have optionalities, right? They want to attend to 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 the Stella family in the latter part of the pricing index with different emotional and functional benefits. And the interesting piece of that is since they are complementary, they are bringing incrementality for us instead of only cannibalization, right? And this is, 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 balance. And the balance piece is also gaining a lot of acceleration. And on top of that, something that I'm not sure was that clear for you all, we are building a new growth engine beyond beer. And that beyond beer business during the last 3 years has been growing double digits, and we have been growing ahead of the industry. And today, we are also the leaders as we are the leaders in beyond beer, just as we are the leaders in premium, right? So in essence, we are leading where growth is and where growth will be in the future.

Our next question comes from Thiago Duarte with BTG.

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 do you believe it more relates to a sustainable gain in efficiency that you saw in expenses? Then if I may, a quick second question related to pricing in Beer Brazil. So I think that's more to you, Lisboa. Looking at the volume performance of the last 2 quarters, how surprised are you by 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 would be my questions.

Lisboa, do you want me to start?

Yes.

Thank you for your question, Thiago. I’ll begin with a broader perspective before diving into the specifics. Reviewing our consolidated income statement, which reflects most of the markets we operate in, we have maintained our investment in sales and marketing as a percentage of net revenue, which has slightly increased from quarter to quarter. This investment is crucial for us because it connects our brands with our consumers and supports our value creation efforts. Throughout the year, we have effectively managed distribution costs despite experiencing lower volumes, allowing us to better absorb fixed costs. Regarding administrative expenses, this ties closely to our executive and employee compensation structure. As you may know, Ambev offers a portion of variable compensation, which is essential and aligned with yearly performance. To summarize, our compensation structure has three components: a base salary, variable compensation, and discretionary long-term incentive plans based on share performance over three years. While the performance this year has been challenging, we continue to work on our controllable levers and have achieved margin expansion. The variable compensation for our teams reflects the difficulties we've experienced. Given our current knowledge, we have adjusted our accruals throughout the year. In short, we are committed to investing significantly in sales and marketing, and our focus on discipline helps manage distribution and administrative expenses in line with our company's performance, especially with the adjustments made to variable compensation for this year. Now, I’ll hand it over to Lisboa.

Let me address the second part. The key message for you is that our modeling indicates that our price increase has no effect on industry performance this year because beer prices are still below inflation. The only slight impact comes from the mix, as it continues to grow significantly faster than overall volume growth at a higher price level. However, consumers always have the option to choose brands that don't have such high prices, which is an advantage of having a diverse portfolio of brands. This is precisely what we have in Brazil, with strong core brands that vary greatly by region, as Brazil is vast. Additionally, we have a premium portfolio that provides us with flexibility, and we are enhancing our capabilities through our digital ecosystem. Within BEES, we have implemented AI-powered revenue management, allowing us to tailor promotions, optimize discounts, and improve ROI. To conclude, regarding our ambition, we aim to maintain our prices in line with inflation because we understand that pricing is crucial for consumer accessibility in Brazil, especially for those in the middle and lower segments of the population. Therefore, it’s essential for us to manage this effectively to keep them connected to the category.

Next question from Isabella Simonato with Bank of America.

I would like to follow up on your last answer regarding the correlation between price and volume. I understand that beer inflation aligns with general inflation in Brazil. However, I wonder how the timing of your price increase in June, followed by your competitors during a challenging weather season, may have affected the elasticity of that price increase. That's my question. It seems somewhat similar to what we observed with NAB, where it was surprising to see volumes decline significantly, especially when competitors' volumes increased in the same quarter. It appears you may have lost market share, and I want to understand the pricing strategy for this quarter, which, unlike your peers, is significantly above inflation, and how you perceive the volume reaction in that segment. Additionally, I have a second question regarding LAS. We noticed a notable improvement in margins, so if you could explain the drivers behind that, especially since volumes in Argentina were not particularly strong, I think that would be helpful.

Isabella, as you mentioned, the beer consumer price index is in line with the overall consumer price index, so there's no change there. Our models indicate that there’s no difference in elasticity despite the unfavorable weather conditions. From our perspective, the timing of our price increase was strategically advantageous and came at a moment that helped us stay aligned with our goals, which we articulated at the beginning of this year. Our aim is to safeguard and enhance profitability within the industry while maintaining strict control over our costs. Ultimately, we are focused on achieving growth alongside profitability. Regarding the current situation, both the beer and soft drink categories have been somewhat affected by factors such as weather and disposable income. However, it's crucial to note that the beer segment faces a more significant impact as it largely affects out-of-home occasions, which are vital for this category. There's a nuance in comparing both businesses. We implemented the beer price increase in the second quarter of this year, and in the third quarter, we observed a shift in relativity, which allowed us to realign our market share. Currently, we view the balance between our share and relative pricing in a stronger position than before, which is promising for us. On the other hand, in the soft drinks sector, our revenue management strategy primarily influenced the end of the second quarter, leading to a discrepancy between sell-in and sell-out based on Nielsen's data. The carbonated soft drink industry experienced a mid-single-digit decline, which aligns with our sell-out figures. The disparity resulted from inventory adjustments due to our revenue management decisions at the end of the second quarter.

Now moving to, Isabella, to your question about LAS. I think when we look at LAS, their story, you need to understand two different markets that consolidate 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 and 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, which has been a more difficult environment. Just to remember that we are operating there since 2000. And we believe that we have the best portfolio of brands that 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.

Thank you. This concludes the Q&A session. And I would now like to pass the word back to Ambev's team for closing remarks.

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 3 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.

Thank you. This concludes today's presentation. You may disconnect, and have a nice day.