Keurig Dr Pepper Earnings Show U.S. Drink Sales Up 10.9% and U.S. Coffee Up 2.7%
Keurig Dr Pepper earnings show its U.S. drinks business growing sales 10.9% in the third quarter of 2026, while U.S. coffee grew just 2.7%. Lower prices held coffee back, and the company trimmed its outlook for its older business, everything except JDE Peet's, because of U.S. coffee. It kept its 2026 totals.
The short answer. U.S. sales of sodas, waters and other cold drinks grew much faster than sales of Keurig coffee this quarter. Coffee sales did rise for the first time this year. Volume and mix, meaning how much the company sold and which products, outweighed lower prices. A tariff refund was the main reason coffee profit rose. Because of coffee, the company cut its forecast for its older business. It now expects adjusted earnings per share there to grow 3% to 5% at constant exchange rates, which leave out currency swings, from 4% to 6% in August. That matters beyond shareholders, because the company aims to split into a drinks company and a coffee company in early 2027, and each side will then stand on its own results.
Show the data
| Category | U.S. drinks (U.S. Refreshment Beverages) | U.S. coffee |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 2026 | 11.9% | -2.3% |
| Q2 2026 | 10.0% | -3.2% |
| Q3 2026 | 10.9% | 2.7% |
Keurig Dr Pepper third quarter 2026 at a glance
Every company reporting the same week, with its date and time, is in StockTitan's Earnings Calendar for the Week of November 2, 2026.
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Keurig Dr Pepper earnings: drinks against coffee
The cold drinks side carried the quarter. U.S. drink sales rose 10.9%, while U.S. coffee sales rose 2.7%, both against the same quarter of 2025.
The U.S. refreshment beverages business, home of Dr Pepper, Canada Dry, 7UP and Snapple, sold $3.0 billion in the quarter. People bought more of it, and the company also got better prices. Volume and mix added 7.2% and pricing added 3.7%.
U.S. coffee, home of the Keurig single-serve brewing system, sold $1.0 billion. Volume and mix rose there too, by 6.9%. But the company got lower prices, which took 4.2% off sales and left growth at 2.7%.
The gap has held all year, as the chart above shows, by the company's April and August releases. U.S. coffee sales fell in the first two quarters, so this is its first gain of 2026.
Total company sales jumped 70.6% to $7.3 billion. Most of that jump came from JDE Peet's, the coffee group Keurig Dr Pepper bought on April 1. Without it, the older business grew sales 8.6%.
Earnings per share rose too. On the adjusted basis, which leaves out deal costs and certain other items, they rose 22.2% to $0.66. As reported, they rose 20.4% to $0.59.
The drinks side grew profit from its own sales. Its adjusted operating income rose 8.3% to $884 million, which was 29.1% of its sales. Higher sales and savings did the work there, partly offset by rising costs and more marketing.
The shares moved little in thin trading before the market opened. They last changed hands at $36.92 at 7:24 a.m. ET, up 0.3% from Monday's close of $36.82, by StockTitan real-time Nasdaq data.
| Business | Q3 2026 net sales | Change vs Q3 2025 | Volume and mix | Pricing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Refreshment Beverages | $3.0 billion | +10.9% | +7.2% | +3.7% |
| U.S. Coffee | $1.0 billion | +2.7% | +6.9% | (4.2%) |
| KDP International | $644 million | +11.0% (+7.6% without currency moves) | +1.9% | +5.7% |
| JDE Peet's | $2.6 billion | New since April 1, 2026 | Not given | Not given |
| Total company | $7.34 billion | +70.6% | Legacy business +8.6%: volume and mix +6.5%, pricing +2.1% | |
Source: Keurig Dr Pepper third quarter 2026 results release, November 3, 2026. Pricing is the company's net price realization.
Why U.S. coffee sales and profit grew despite lower prices
Higher volume and a change in the products sold outweighed lower prices, lifting U.S. coffee sales. Profit grew faster, and the company says the main reason was a refund of tariffs, which are taxes on imports.
In the first half of 2026, prices rose while volume and mix fell 8.2% in each quarter. The company says part of the second quarter fall came from moving Peet's K-Cup pods into its JDE Peet's figures.
Show the data
| Category | Pricing | Volume and mix |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 2026 | 5.9% | -8.2% |
| Q2 2026 | 5.0% | -8.2% |
| Q3 2026 | -4.2% | 6.9% |
In the third quarter, prices fell while volume and mix rose. Prices took 4.2% off sales, and volume and mix added 6.9%. The release does not say why prices fell. It also does not say whether the Peet's pods move still weighed on the volume figure.
Adjusted operating income in U.S. coffee rose 11.4% to $353 million. The release says this growth was "primarily driven by the benefit from tariff refunds," with higher volume, cost savings and deal savings also helping. Those gains more than made up for the lower prices, rising costs and more marketing.
Across the whole company, tariff refunds added $99 million to operating income in the quarter, the release says. The release does not say how much of that went to U.S. coffee. Still, by the company's own words, a refund was the main reason coffee profit grew. In the second quarter, whose release mentioned no tariff refund, U.S. coffee adjusted operating income fell 24.7% to $225 million.
| Business | Q3 2026 adjusted operating income | Change vs Q3 2025 | Share of its sales | Reported operating income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Refreshment Beverages | $884 million | +8.3% | 29.1% | $820 million, +2.2% |
| U.S. Coffee | $353 million | +11.4% | 34.7% | $319 million, +34.6% |
| KDP International | $160 million | (0.6%) | 24.8% | $158 million, +3.3% |
| JDE Peet's | $480 million | New since April 1, 2026 | 18.1% | $289 million |
| Total company | $1.7 billion | +52.5% | 22.7% | $1.3 billion, +34.0% |
Source: Keurig Dr Pepper third quarter 2026 results release, November 3, 2026. Adjusted figures are the company's non-GAAP measures, which leave out deal costs and certain other items; the total includes a $99 million tariff refund benefit.
What JDE Peet's added to the quarter
JDE Peet's, the coffee group Keurig Dr Pepper bought on April 1, added $2.6 billion of sales in its second full quarter inside Keurig Dr Pepper.
The deal closed on April 1, so all of its sales and profit are new compared with a year ago. Its adjusted operating income was $480 million, or 18.1% of its sales. Its reported operating income was lower, at $289 million, because of costs tied to buying and folding in the business.
In his statement, CEO Tim Cofer credited "strong JDE Peet's profitability" for what he called solid results in coffee. The international drinks business grew sales 11.0% to $644 million. Its adjusted operating income slipped 0.6%, which the company puts down to cost pressures, including a beverage tax in Mexico, and more marketing.
The 2026 forecast and the U.S. coffee revision
Keurig Dr Pepper kept its 2026 totals. But it lowered the earnings growth it expects from its older business by one point, and it ties that change to revised expectations for U.S. coffee.
The totals did not move. The company still expects $25.9 billion to $26.4 billion of sales in 2026. It also still expects adjusted earnings per share to grow at a low double digit rate, at constant exchange rates.
What changed is the mix inside that forecast. In April and again in August, the company said its older business would grow earnings per share 4% to 6%. Now it says 3% to 5%, "due to revised expectations for U.S. Coffee."
| August 6, 2026 | November 3, 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Net sales | $25.9 billion to $26.4 billion | $25.9 billion to $26.4 billion |
| Adjusted EPS growth, total | Low double digit | Low double digit |
| Older business, EPS growth | 4% to 6% | 3% to 5% |
| Older business, sales growth | 4% to 6% | Not stated |
| JDE Peet's | An added contribution | About $8.3 billion to $8.4 billion of sales, 7 to 8 points of EPS growth |
| Currency boost | About 1 point | About half a point |
The company now puts numbers on JDE Peet's part of the forecast. It is expected to bring about $8.3 billion to $8.4 billion of sales and 7 to 8 points of the earnings growth. In August the company described its part only as an added contribution.
Two smaller changes came with it. The August release also gave 4% to 6% sales growth for the older business, and the November release gives no such figure. The expected boost from currency moves fell from about 1 percentage point to about half a point.
So the total held, while the older business, and U.S. coffee within it, is now expected to do less.
When Keurig Dr Pepper plans to split in two
The company still aims to split in early 2027, the target it gave in June, August and October. The November 3 results release names no date.
Keurig Dr Pepper plans to break into two companies. Beverage Co. will hold the drinks, and Global Coffee Co. will hold Keurig, JDE Peet's and the other coffee brands. The company has called the coffee side's exit a tax-free spin, in which current shareholders usually receive shares of the new company.
The target took shape over the year. When the JDE Peet's deal closed on April 1, the company said the exact timing was not yet set. Its teams aimed to be ready to separate by the end of 2026. It said the timing depends on milestones, including the right debt levels at each company. A June 23 release set the target of early 2027. In August, Mr. Cofer said the company was preparing for a split "in early 2027."
The leaders are in place. Tim Cofer will run Beverage Co. On October 1, the company named Russ Torres, then president and chief operating officer of Kimberly-Clark, to run Global Coffee Co. He joins on November 3, the day of these results, and will lead the coffee business until the split. The job had been open since June, when Rafa Oliveira, picked for it on April 1, said he would leave at the end of July. The company expects Global Coffee Co. to have about $16 billion of yearly sales.
Paying down debt is part of the plan. The company agreed on September 1 to sell its stake in yogurt maker Chobani for $800 million. It also agreed to sell its plant and warehouse in Allentown, Pennsylvania, for about $125 million, with the money going to pay down debt. A filing shows the deal closed on September 28. Chobani paid half of the $800 million in cash and half as a note due December 26, 2026.
In this release, Mr. Cofer said the company remains focused on "the remaining milestones to enable our planned separation." The April release named the right debt levels at each company as one of those milestones.
Dividend, share count and debt
Keurig Dr Pepper kept paying its dividend and bought back no shares this year. It ended September with $29.2 billion of debt, by its own count of principal amounts.
The company paid $938 million in cash dividends to common shareholders in the first nine months of 2026, about the same as a year earlier. Its latest quarterly dividend, declared on September 16, was $0.23 a share, payable on October 9. It also paid $107 million to the holders of its new convertible preferred stock, a kind of stock that can be turned into common shares. The company issued $4.5 billion of it in 2026, and the release lists it among the steps that financed JDE Peet's.
It made no share buybacks in the first nine months of 2026. The share count barely moved. Diluted shares, which count stock that could be issued to employees and others, averaged 1,366.1 million in the quarter, up from 1,362.9 million a year earlier.
The company tracks debt with its own ratio. It takes debt minus cash and divides it by a year of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. That ratio stood at 4.1 times at the end of September, down from 4.4 times at the end of June. That already matches the year end target the company gave in its August release; the November release does not repeat that target. The quarter brought in $1.01 billion of free cash flow, the company's measure of cash from operations after spending on plants and equipment, with proceeds from selling such assets added back.
| Item | Value | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Cash dividends paid to common shareholders | $938 million | First nine months of 2026 ($937 million a year earlier) |
| Cash dividends paid to preferred investors | $107 million | First nine months of 2026 |
| Share repurchases | None | First nine months of 2026 ($9 million a year earlier) |
| Diluted weighted average shares | 1,366.1 million | Q3 2026 (1,362.9 million in Q3 2025) |
| Total principal amount of debt | $29.235 billion | September 30, 2026 |
| Cash and cash equivalents | $1.290 billion | September 30, 2026 |
| Debt minus cash against a year of adjusted EBITDA, as if JDE Peet's had been owned all year (company measure) | 4.1x | September 30, 2026 |
| Free cash flow | $1.01 billion | Q3 2026 |
Source: Keurig Dr Pepper third quarter 2026 results release, November 3, 2026. The debt ratio and free cash flow are the company's non-GAAP measures.
What to watch
- The full quarter in detail: Keurig Dr Pepper's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the third quarter of 2026, filed with the SEC.
- The split's timing and terms: the company's own announcements and SEC filings on the separation of its coffee business, targeted for early 2027.
- Whether Chobani paid its $400 million note, due December 26, 2026: the company's annual report on Form 10-K for 2026.
- Whether U.S. coffee prices recover: the fourth quarter and full year 2026 results release.
Frequently asked questions
What did Keurig Dr Pepper earn in the third quarter of 2026?
Reported earnings per share were $0.59, up 20.4% from a year earlier. Adjusted earnings per share, which leave out deal costs and certain other items, were $0.66, up 22.2%. Net sales were $7.34 billion, up 70.6%, mostly because of the JDE Peet's purchase.
Did Keurig Dr Pepper change its 2026 guidance?
It kept the full year forecast of $25.9 billion to $26.4 billion in sales and low double digit growth in adjusted earnings per share. It now expects 3% to 5% earnings per share growth from its older business, which it ties to revised expectations for U.S. coffee.
Why did Keurig coffee sales grow so little?
Keurig Dr Pepper sold more U.S. coffee, with volume and mix up 6.9%, but got lower prices, which cut sales by 4.2%. U.S. coffee sales rose 2.7% to $1.0 billion. In the first half of 2026 it was the other way around, with prices up and volume and mix down.
Who will run Keurig Dr Pepper's coffee company?
Russ Torres, named on October 1, 2026, joined on November 3 to run the coffee business and will become chief executive of Global Coffee Co. after the split. Tim Cofer will run the drinks company, Beverage Co.
When will Keurig Dr Pepper split into two companies?
The company targets early 2027, as it said in June, August and October. The November 3 results release gives no date. The CEO said the company remains focused on the remaining milestones to enable the split into a drinks company and a coffee company.
Does Keurig Dr Pepper still pay a dividend?
Yes. Its latest quarterly dividend, declared on September 16, 2026, was $0.23 a share, payable on October 9. It paid $938 million in cash dividends to common shareholders in the first nine months of 2026, about the same as a year earlier. It bought back no shares in that period.
Sources
- Keurig Dr Pepper Reports Q3 Results and Reaffirms Guidance for 2026, November 3, 2026
- Keurig Dr Pepper Reports Q2 Results and Reaffirms Guidance for 2026, August 6, 2026
- Keurig Dr Pepper Reports Q1 Results and Reaffirms Guidance for 2026, April 23, 2026
- Keurig Dr Pepper Acquires JDE Peet's, April 1, 2026
- Keurig Dr Pepper Announces Leadership Updates, June 23, 2026
- Keurig Dr Pepper Advances Strategic Priorities Through Enhanced Partnership With Chobani, September 1, 2026
- Keurig Dr Pepper Form 8-K on completing the Chobani transactions, September 28, 2026
- Keurig Dr Pepper Names Russ Torres Chief Executive Officer of Future Global Coffee Co., October 1, 2026
- Keurig Dr Pepper Declares Quarterly Dividend, September 16, 2026
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