Danone: Strong Q2 performance and solid H1 results, demonstrating the relevance of our health-focused portfolio
Rhea-AI Summary
Danone (OTC:DANOY) reported H1 2026 sales of €13,936m, up +3.5% like‑for‑like and +1.4% reported, with volume/mix +1.7% and price +1.8%. Q2 2026 sales reached €7,215m, up +4.2% LFL, driven by all regions: EMEA +3.6%, Americas +4.3%, APAC +5.2%.
H1 2026 recurring operating income rose to €1,854m, lifting the recurring operating margin to 13.3% (+12 bps), helped by productivity gains despite inflation and an IMF recall impact. Net income Group share increased +13.0% to €1,175m and reported EPS grew +12.5% to €1.81, while recurring EPS edged up to €1.92.
Free cash flow was €852m, and net debt stood at €9.0bn at June 30, 2026. Danone confirmed its 2026 guidance of +3% to +5% LFL sales growth, with recurring operating income expected to grow faster than sales, and highlighted APAC-focused nutrition deals (Huel, Made Group, Saputo Dairy Australia stake).
Positive
- H1 2026 sales €13,936m, +3.5% like‑for‑like
- Q2 2026 sales €7,215m, +4.2% like‑for‑like
- Recurring operating margin up 12 bps to 13.3% in H1 2026
- Net income Group share up 13.0% to €1,175m
- Reported EPS up 12.5% to €1.81; recurring EPS €1.92 (+0.9%)
- APAC like‑for‑like sales +5.6% in H1 and +5.2% in Q2
Negative
- Free cash flow down 27.3% to €852m in H1 2026
- Operating cash flow down 17.1% to €1,258m
- EDP recurring margin down 68 bps to 7.1% in H1 2026
- Specialized Nutrition LFL sales in EMEA -0.6% in H1 2026
- Net debt increased to €9.0bn from €8.4bn at December 2025
News Explained
Danone’s board has decided to submit Emmanuelle Menning’s appointment as an independent director for a three-year term to the shareholders’ meeting on
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
2026 Half-Year Results
Press release – Paris, July 29, 2026, at 7:30am CEST
Strong Q2 performance and solid H1 results,
demonstrating the relevance of our health-focused portfolio
|
| Half-Year 2026 Key Figures |
| € million unless stated otherwise | H1 2025 | H1 2026 | Reported change | Like-for-like change (LFL) |
| Sales | 13,737 | 13,936 | + | + |
| Recurring operating income | 1,811 | 1,854 | + | |
| Recurring operating margin | +12 bps | |||
| Non-recurring operating income and expenses | (238) | (161) | +77 | |
| Operating income | 1,573 | 1,693 | + | |
| Operating margin | +70 bps | |||
| Recurring net income – Group share | 1,231 | 1,246 | + | |
| Non-recurring net income – Group share | (191) | (71) | +120 | |
| Net income – Group share | 1,040 | 1,175 | + | |
| Recurring diluted EPS (€) | 1.91 | 1.92 | + | |
| EPS (€) | 1.61 | 1.81 | + | |
| Cash flow from operating activities | 1,519 | 1,258 | - | |
| Free cash flow | 1,172 | 852 | - |
1
Antoine de Saint-Affrique: CEO statement
We are closing a solid first half, demonstrating once again the relevance of our health-focused portfolio and the strength of our multi-engine growth model.
We delivered strong quality growth in Q2, with like-for-like sales up +
During the semester, we continued to enhance our portfolio in attractive health-focused categories through our disciplined approach to M&A, including the signing of agreements to acquire Huel and, more recently, Made Group in APAC, both with strong potential across key geographies.
While some areas still require further progress and the environment remains unstable, we enter the second half of the year with confidence that 2026 will be another year of delivery, aligned with our value creation model and mid-term ambitions.
I. HALF-YEAR RESULTS
Second quarter and half-year sales
In Q2 2026, sales stood at
In H1 2026, sales stood at
Sales by operating segment
| € million except % | Q2 2025 | Q2 2026 | Reported change | LFL sales growth | Volume/mix growth | H1 2025 | H1 2026 | Reported change | LFL sales growth | Volume/mix growth | ||||||||||
| BY GEOGRAPHICAL ZONE | ||||||||||||||||||||
| EMEA | 3,094 | 3,165 | + | + | + | 6,099 | 6,133 | + | + | + | ||||||||||
| Americas | 2,260 | 2,394 | + | + | + | 4,591 | 4,688 | + | + | + | ||||||||||
| APAC | 1,559 | 1,656 | + | + | + | 3,048 | 3,116 | + | + | + | ||||||||||
| BY CATEGORY | ||||||||||||||||||||
| EDP | 3,261 | 3,372 | + | + | + | 6,632 | 6,681 | + | + | + | ||||||||||
| Specialized Nutrition | 2,307 | 2,453 | + | + | + | 4,606 | 4,730 | + | + | + | ||||||||||
| Waters | 1,345 | 1,390 | + | + | + | 2,500 | 2,525 | + | + | + | ||||||||||
| TOTAL | 6,913 | 7,215 | + | + | + | 13,737 | 13,936 | + | + | + | ||||||||||
In Q2 2026, EMEA sales were up +
EDP showed continued momentum across the region, with functional dairy and Alpro in strong demand. Specialized Nutrition delivered an improved performance supported by a catch-up in the Middle East and a progressive recovery in Europe throughout Q2. Waters delivered a solid start to the summer season, led by Volvic.
In the Americas, sales were up +
EDP delivered a solid performance across the region, driven by functional yogurts. North America saw progressive improvement, with continued strong growth in High Protein and better momentum in creamers. In Specialized Nutrition, both Medical Nutrition - driven by Neocate - and IMF across Latin America delivered competitive double-digit growth.
In Asia Pacific, LFL sales were up +
Specialized Nutrition delivered a solid performance, with competitive growth in IMF China amid a normalizing category. EDP Japan saw continued strong activation driving demand for Oikos and Activia, while the performance in Waters reflected a mix of strong, competitive growth with Aqua in Indonesia and soft category for Mizone in China.
Sales by geography by category
| Q2 2026 | EMEA | Americas | APAC | Total | ||||
| Sales (€m) | LFL sales growth (%) | Sales (€m) | LFL sales growth (%) | Sales (€m) | LFL sales growth (%) | Sales (€m) | LFL sales growth (%) | |
| EDP | 1,435 | + | 1,799 | + | 139 | + | 3,372 | + |
| Specialized Nutrition | 1,087 | + | 301 | + | 1,065 | + | 2,453 | + |
| Waters | 643 | + | 295 | + | 453 | + | 1,390 | + |
| Total | 3,165 | + | 2,394 | + | 1,656 | + | 7,215 | + |
| H1 2026 | EMEA | Americas | APAC | Total | ||||
| Sales (€m) | LFL sales growth (%) | Sales (€m) | LFL sales growth (%) | Sales (€m) | LFL sales growth (%) | Sales (€m) | LFL sales growth (%) | |
| EDP | 2,878 | + | 3,569 | + | 234 | + | 6,681 | + |
| Specialized Nutrition | 2,092 | - | 558 | + | 2,080 | + | 4,730 | + |
| Waters | 1,162 | + | 561 | + | 802 | + | 2,525 | + |
| Total | 6,133 | + | 4,688 | + | 3,116 | + | 13,936 | + |
Recurring Operating Margin
| Recurring operating income (€m) and margin (%) | H1 2025 | H1 2026 | Reported change | ||||||
| €m | Margin (%) | €m | Margin (%) | ||||||
BY GEOGRAPHICAL ZONE | |||||||||
| EMEA | 635 | 635 | -6 bps | ||||||
| Americas | 425 | 448 | +31 bps | ||||||
| APAC | 751 | 771 | +9 bps | ||||||
BY CATEGORY | |||||||||
| EDP | 515 | 473 | -68 bps | ||||||
| Specialized Nutrition | 1,012 | 1,044 | +10 bps | ||||||
| Waters | 284 | 337 | +196 bps | ||||||
| Total | 1,811 | 1,854 | +12 bps | ||||||
Danone posted recurring operating income of
(-54bps) notably linked to the IMF recall in EMEA and initial effects of inflation. Continued reinvestments behind key drivers of competitiveness - A&P, product superiority, capabilities - resulted in a -25 bps impact in H1. Finally, other effects had a combined impact of +7 bps.
Net income and Earnings per share
| € million unless stated otherwise | H1 2025 | H1 2026 | ||||||||
| Recurring | Non-recurring | Total | Recurring | Non-recurring | Total | |||||
| Operating income | 1,811 | (238) | 1,573 | 1,854 | (161) | 1,693 | ||||
| Cost of net financial debt | (90) | (90) | (104) | (104) | ||||||
| Other financial income and expense | (48) | (47) | (95) | (40) | (40) | (80) | ||||
| Income before tax | 1,674 | (285) | 1,388 | 1,710 | (201) | 1,509 | ||||
| Income tax | (458) | 84 | (373) | (453) | 19 | (434) | ||||
| Effective tax rate | ||||||||||
| Net income from fully consolidated companies | 1,216 | (201) | 1,015 | 1,257 | (182) | 1,075 | ||||
| Share of profit (loss) of equity-accounted companies | 71 | (11) | 59 | 49 | 110 | 159 | ||||
| Net income | 1,286 | (213) | 1,074 | 1,306 | (72) | 1,235 | ||||
| • Group share | 1,231 | (191) | 1,040 | 1,246 | (71) | 1,175 | ||||
| • Non-controlling interests | 55 | (22) | 34 | 60 | (0) | 60 | ||||
| Diluted EPS (€) | 1.91 | 1.61 | 1.92 | 1.81 | ||||||
Recurring EPS increased by +
Non-recurring operating income and expense amounted to -
Cash flow and Debt
Free cash flow generation amounted to
As of June 30, 2026, Danone’s net debt stood at
II. 2026 GUIDANCE
2026 guidance confirmed, in line with mid-term ambition: LFL sales growth expected between +
III. GOVERNANCE
Appointment of a New Independent Director
At its meeting on July 28, 2026, and upon the recommendation of the Nomination, Compensation and Governance Committee, the Board of Directors decided to submit the appointment of Ms. Emmanuelle Menning as an independent Director for a three-year term to the Shareholders’ Meeting to be held on April 29, 2027.
A French and German national, Ms. Emmanuelle Menning has served as Deputy Chief Executive Officer in charge of Finance at Veolia and as a member of the Group’s Executive Committee since September 2024. Since April 2026, her responsibilities have been expanded to include the management of Germany.
Her appointment would enable the Board of Directors to benefit from her recognized financial, strategic and operational expertise, gained through her experience within a leading international listed group. Her track record in mergers and acquisitions, business transformation and sustainability-related matters would further strengthen the skills base and diversity of experience of Danone’s Board of Directors.
IV. RECENT MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS
- June 22, 2026: Danone announced that it has entered into two definitive agreements that will enable it to expand its presence in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region in the fast-growing healthy nutrition space:
- Acquisition of MADE Group; a fast-growing Australia-based company with a health-focused portfolio.
- Acquisition of the remaining
49% stake in its existing fresh dairy joint venture with Saputo Dairy Australia.
Both transactions are subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, and are expected to be completed in the second half of 2026.
- April 23, 2026: Danone announced that its Shareholders’ Meeting was held on April 23, 2026, chaired by Gilles Schnepp, Chairman of the Board of Directors.
73.08% of Danone’s total outstanding share capital was present or represented in this Shareholders’ Meeting. Danone’s shareholders approved all the resolutions put to the vote, including the statutory and consolidated financial statements for the 2025 fiscal year and the distribution of a dividend of€2.25 per share in cash, up +4.7% compared to last year. The ex-dividend date (or ex-date) was set on May 4, 2026, and the dividend was payable on May 6, 2026.
V. IFRS STANDARDS AND ALTERNATIVE PERFORMANCE MEASURES NOT DEFINED BY IFRS
IAS 29: impact on reported data
Danone has applied IAS 29 in hyperinflationary countries, as defined in IFRS. Adoption of IAS 29 in hyperinflationary countries requires their non-monetary assets and liabilities and their income statement to be restated to reflect the changes in the general purchasing power of their functional currency, leading to a gain or loss on the net monetary position, included in the net income. Moreover, their financial statements are converted into euros using the closing exchange rate of the relevant period.
| IAS 29: impact on reported data € million except % | Q2 2026 | H1 2026 | ||
| Sales | 3.8 | 30.5 | ||
| Sales growth (%) | ||||
| Recurring Operating Income | -14 | |||
| Recurring Net Income – Group share | -20 |
Breakdown by quarter of H1 2026 sales after application of IAS 29
H1 2026 sales correspond to the addition of:
- Q2 2026 reported sales;
- Q1 2026 sales resulting from the application of IAS 29 until June 30, 2026, to sales of entities in hyperinflationary countries (application of the inflation rate until June 30, 2026, and translation into euros using the June 30, 2026, closing rate) and provided in the table below for information (unaudited data)
| € million | Q1 20261 | Q2 2026 | H1 2026 |
| EMEA | 2,968 | 3,165 | 6,133 |
| Americas | 2,293 | 2,394 | 4,688 |
| APAC | 1,459 | 1,656 | 3,116 |
| Total | 6,721 | 7,215 | 13,936 |
1Results from the application of IAS 29 until June 30, 2026, to Q1 sales of entities of hyperinflation countries.
Definitions of geographical zones
EMEA refers to European countries, Turkey, Middle East, Africa and CIS.
The Americas refers to North America (the United States and Canada) and Latin America (including Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay).
APAC or Asia Pacific refers to China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand (former CNAO - China, North Asia & Oceania - region) as well as the rest of Asia (including Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and India).
Financial indicators not defined in IFRS
Due to rounding, the sum of values presented may differ from totals as reported. Such differences are not material.
Like-for-like changes in sales reflect Danone's organic performance and essentially exclude the impact of:
- changes in consolidation scope, with indicators related to a given fiscal year calculated on the basis of the previous year's scope;
- changes in applicable accounting principles;
- changes in exchange rates, with both previous-year and current-year indicators calculated using the same exchange rate (the exchange rate used is a projected annual rate determined by Danone for the current year and applied to both previous and current years).
Since January 1, 2023, all countries with hyperinflationary economies are taken into account in like-for-like changes as follows: sales growth in excess of around
Bridge from like-for-like data to reported data
| (€ million except %) | 2025 sales | Like-for-like change | Impact of changes in scope of consolidation | Impact of changes in exchange rates & others incl. IAS 29 | Contribution of hyperinflation | Reported change | 2026 sales |
| Q2 | 6,913 | + | + | - | + | + | 7,215 |
| H1 | 13,737 | + | + | - | + | + | 13,936 |
Margin from operations is defined as the Gross margin over Sales ratio, where Gross margin corresponds to the difference between Sales, Industrial costs (excluding reengineering initiatives) and Logistics / Transportation costs.
Recurring operating income is defined as Danone’s operating income excluding Other operating income and expenses. Other operating income and expenses comprise items that, because of their significant or unusual nature, cannot be viewed as inherent to Danone’s recurring activity and have limited predictive value, thus distorting the assessment of its recurring operating performance and its evolution. These mainly include:
- capital gains and losses on disposals of businesses and fully consolidated companies;
- under IAS 36, impairment charges on intangible assets with indefinite useful lives;
- costs related to strategic restructuring operations or transformation plans;
- costs related to major external growth transactions;
- costs related to crises and major disputes;
- in connection with IFRS 3 and IFRS 10, (i) acquisition costs related to acquisitions of companies resulting in control, (ii) revaluation gains or losses accounted for following a loss of control, and (iii) changes in earn-outs subsequent to acquisitions resulting in control.
Recurring operating margin is defined as the Recurring operating income over Sales ratio.
Other non-recurring financial income and expense corresponds to financial income and expense items that, in view of their significant or unusual nature, cannot be considered as inherent to Danone’s recurring financial management. These notably include changes in the value of non-consolidated interests and profits or losses on the net monetary position.
Non-recurring income tax corresponds to income tax on non-recurring items as well as tax income and expense items that, in view of their significant or unusual nature, cannot be considered as inherent to Danone’s recurring performance.
Recurring effective tax rate measures the effective tax rate of Danone’s recurring performance and is computed as the ratio of income tax related to recurring items over recurring net income before tax.
Non-recurring share of profit (loss) of equity-accounted companies includes items that, because of their significant or unusual nature, cannot be viewed as inherent to the companies' recurring activity and thereby distort the assessment of their recurring performance and trends in that performance. These items mainly relate to:
- capital gains and losses on disposals of Investments in equity-accounted companies;
- impairment of investments in equity-accounted companies;
- non-recurring items, as defined by Danone, included in the share of profit (loss) of equity-accounted companies.
Recurring net income (or Recurring net income – Group Share) corresponds to the Group share of the consolidated Recurring net income. The Recurring net income excludes items that, because of their significant or unusual nature, cannot be viewed as inherent to Danone’s recurring activity and have limited predictive value, thus distorting the assessment of its recurring performance and its evolution. Such non-recurring income and expenses correspond to Other operating income and expenses, Other non-recurring financial income and expenses, Non-recurring income tax, and Non-recurring share of profit (loss) of equity-accounted companies. These items, excluded from Net income, represent Non-recurring net income.
Recurring EPS (or Recurring net income – Group Share, per share after dilution) is defined as the ratio of Recurring net income adjusted for hybrid financing over Diluted number of shares. In compliance with IFRS, income used to calculate EPS is adjusted for the coupon related to the hybrid financing accrued for the period and presented net of tax.
| H1 2025 | H1 2026 | ||||||||
| Recurring | Total | Recurring | Total | ||||||
| Net income-Group share (€ million) | 1,231 | 1,040 | 1,246 | 1,175 | |||||
| Coupon related to hybrid financing net of tax (€ million) | (2) | (2) | (9) | (9) | |||||
| Number of shares | |||||||||
| • Before dilution | 642,916,473 | 642,916,473 | 640,757,020 | 640,757,020 | |||||
| • After dilution | 644,414,852 | 644,414,852 | 643,109,091 | 643,109,091 | |||||
| EPS (€) | |||||||||
| • Before dilution | 1.91 | 1.62 | 1.93 | 1.82 | |||||
| • After dilution | 1.91 | 1.61 | 1.92 | 1.81 | |||||
Free cash flow represents cash flows provided or used by operating activities less capital expenditure net of disposals and, in connection with IFRS 3, excluding (i) acquisition costs related to acquisitions of companies resulting in control, and (ii) earn-outs related to acquisitions of companies resulting in control and paid subsequently to acquisition date.
| (€ million) | H1 2025 | H1 2026 |
| Cash flows provided by operating activities | 1,519 | 1,258 |
| Capital expenditure | (373) | (414) |
| Disposal of property, plant and equipment and acquisition costs related to acquisitions of companies resulting in control1 | 26 | 8 |
| Free cash flow | 1,172 | 852 |
1 Represents acquisition costs related to acquisitions of companies resulting in control that were paid during the period
Net financial debt represents the net debt portion bearing interest. It corresponds to current and non-current financial debt (i) excluding Liabilities related to put options granted to non-controlling interests (ii) net of Cash and cash equivalents (including Short term investments) and Derivatives – assets managing net debt.
| (€ million) | December 31, 2025 | June 30, 2026 |
| Non-current financial debt | 10,074 | 10,923 |
| Current financial debt | 3,799 | 5,409 |
| Short-term investments | (4,588) | (6,475) |
| Cash | (1,983) | (1,864) |
| Bank Overdraft | 1,246 | 1,095 |
| Derivatives — non-current assets1 | (84) | (49) |
| Derivatives — current-assets1 | (33) | (65) |
| Net debt | 8,431 | 8,975 |
| (49) | (56) |
| (323) | (362) |
| Net financial debt | 8,059 | 8,557 |
1 Managing net debt only
o o O o o
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements concerning Danone that are subject to risks and uncertainties. In some cases, you can identify these forward-looking statements by forward-looking words, such as “estimate”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “project”, “plan”, “intend”, “objective”, “believe”, “forecast”, “guidance”, “foresee”, “likely”, “may”, “should”, “goal”, “target”, “might”, “will”, “could”, “predict”, “continue”, “convinced” and “confident,” the negative or plural of these words and other comparable terminology, or by using future dates. Forward looking statements in this document include, but are not limited to, predictions of future activities, operations, direction, performance and results of Danone.
These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements. For a detailed description of these risks and uncertainties, please refer to the “Risk Factors” section of Danone’s Universal Registration Document (the current version of which is available at www.danone.com).
Subject to regulatory requirements, Danone does not undertake to publicly update or revise any of these forward-looking statements. This document does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy Danone securities.
The presentation to analysts and investors will be broadcast live today from 8:15 a.m. (CEST)
on Danone’s website (www.danone.com).
Related slides will also be available on the website in the Investors section.
APPENDIX – Sales by geographical zone and by category (in € million)
| Q1 | Q2 | H1 | ||||||||||||
| 2025 | 2026 | 2025 | 2026 | 2025 | 2026 | |||||||||
BY GEOGRAPHICAL ZONE | ||||||||||||||
| EMEA | 3,007 | 2,959 | 3,094 | 3,165 | 6,099 | 6,133 | ||||||||
| Americas | 2,348 | 2,290 | 2,260 | 2,394 | 4,591 | 4,688 | ||||||||
| APAC | 1,489 | 1,459 | 1,559 | 1,656 | 3,048 | 3,116 | ||||||||
BY CATEGORY | ||||||||||||||
| EDP | 3,381 | 3,304 | 3,261 | 3,372 | 6,632 | 6,681 | ||||||||
| Specialized Nutrition | 2,306 | 2,271 | 2,307 | 2,453 | 4,606 | 4,730 | ||||||||
| Waters | 1,156 | 1,134 | 1,345 | 1,390 | 2,500 | 2,525 | ||||||||
| TOTAL | 6,844 | 6,708 | 6,913 | 7,215 | 13,737 | 13,936 | ||||||||
| Q1 2026 | Q2 2026 | H1 2026 | ||||||||||
| Reported change | LFL change | Reported change | LFL change | Reported change | LFL change | |||||||
BY GEOGRAPHICAL ZONE | ||||||||||||
| EMEA | - | + | + | + | + | + | ||||||
| Americas | - | + | + | + | + | + | ||||||
| APAC | - | + | + | + | + | + | ||||||
BY CATEGORY | ||||||||||||
| EDP | - | + | + | + | + | + | ||||||
| Specialized Nutrition | - | + | + | + | + | + | ||||||
| Waters | - | + | + | + | + | + | ||||||
| TOTAL | - | + | + | + | + | + | ||||||
All references in this document to Like-for-like (LFL) changes, Recurring operating income and margin, Margin from operations, Recurring net income, Recurring income tax rate, Recurring EPS, Free cash flow and Net financial debt, correspond to alternative performance measures not defined by IFRS. Their definitions, as well as their reconciliation with financial statements, are listed on pages 5 to 8.
Attachment
