Key Takeaways
- 🍫 Nestlé's sales grew 4.0% on an organic basis in July–September, beating analyst forecasts of about 3.4–3.5%.
- 📦 The big story is volume: people bought 2.8% more Nestlé products. Analysts expected only about 1.5–1.7%.
- 🇮🇳 India grew 20%, led by Maggi, KitKat and Milo. The Middle East and North Africa grew by double digits.
- 📈 Nestlé shares rose as much as about 2.6% in early Zurich trading on results day, while the wider Swiss market slipped.
- 🔍 Want to dig deeper? Research Nestlé and other consumer giants on Nemo.money, with zero commission and from $1.
⚡ The Short Version
Nestlé makes Nescafé, KitKat, Maggi, Nespresso and Purina. You can find its brands on shop shelves across the Gulf and India.
For the last few years, its sales grew mostly because prices went up. People did not buy much more.
That is changing. On 22 October, Nestlé said volumes grew 2.8% in the third quarter. That is up from 1.8% in the second quarter and 1.2% in the first, according to Swiss news agency AWP figures reported by Bluewin.
India was the star. Sales there grew 20%.
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📊 The Numbers
Figures from Nestlé's official results release:
- 💰 Q3 sales: CHF 22.76 billion, up from CHF 21.64 billion a year ago.
- 📈 Organic growth: 4.0%. This strips out currency moves and buying or selling businesses.
- 📦 Real internal growth (volume): 2.8%.
- 🏷️ Pricing: 1.1%. Reuters said analysts expected 1.9%.
- 🗓️ Nine-month sales: CHF 65.87 billion, flat on last year once currency is included.
- 🎯 2026 guidance kept: 3–4% organic growth, and free cash flow above CHF 9 billion.
🌍 Where the Growth Came From
- 🇮🇳 India: 20% organic growth. Management named Maggi, KitKat and Milo as drivers.
- 🕌 Middle East and North Africa: double-digit growth, but no exact figure was given.
- 🌏 Asia, Oceania and Africa zone: 6.4% growth, the fastest of Nestlé's three regions.
- 🇺🇸 Americas: 3.3%. North America grew 2.6%.
- 🇪🇺 Europe: just 1.2%. Price competition there is tough.
- 🛒 Emerging markets: 6.8%, versus 2.2% in developed markets.
☕ The Brands Doing the Work
- 🍜 Food and snacks (Maggi, KitKat): 5.0% growth, with volumes up 5.4%.
- 🐱 Petcare (Purina): 5.3%. Cat food was strong; dog food was soft.
- ☕ Coffee: 3.4%. Nescafé and Starbucks at-home coffee led. Nestlé sells Starbucks products in shops under a long-running deal.
- 💧 Waters and premium drinks: 12.3%.
- 🍼 Nutrition: just 0.3%. An infant formula recall held it back.
Cheaper cocoa and coffee help too. Nestlé's CFO Anna Manz said input costs on coffee and cocoa have "actually turned into deflation." We explored the cocoa swings in our cocoa and chocolate stocks guide.
💡 The One Lesson
Volume beats price.
A company can grow sales two ways. It can charge more, or it can sell more.
Charging more works for a while. But shoppers push back. They switch to cheaper brands.
Selling more is healthier. It means real people are choosing your product again.
Nestlé's pricing fell to 1.1%, and its volumes rose. Investors liked that mix. Next time you read results from a consumer company, look for the volume figure, not just sales.
This is one of the habits in our Top 10 Rules of Investing for beginners: understand what is really driving the numbers.
⚖️ The Honest Catch
The case against:
- 🎯 No upgrade: Full-year guidance was kept, not raised.
- 🇪🇺 Weak Europe: 1.2% growth in its home region is slow.
- 🍼 Nutrition is flat: a key business barely grew.
- 💱 Currency: Nestlé reports in Swiss francs. Currency moves cut nine-month sales by 3.7%.
The other side:
- 📦 Volume growth has picked up every quarter this year: 1.2%, then 1.8%, then 2.8%.
- 🌏 Emerging markets, including India and the Gulf, are growing fast.
- 🏦 JPMorgan upgraded Nestlé to Overweight on 16 October with a CHF 100 price target. Bernstein called the quarter "a further important step in the operational turnaround."
- 🧹 CEO Philipp Navratil, in the job since September 2025, is trimming the portfolio. Nestlé agreed to sell its mainstream vitamins business for $1 billion.
🙋 What It Means for You
- 🛒 Nestlé is a "consumer staple." People buy its products in good times and bad.
- 🐢 Staples usually move slower than tech stocks. They suit people who want steadier businesses, but they can still fall.
- 🇮🇳 If you live in the Gulf or come from India, you already see these brands every day. That makes it easier to judge what is selling.
- 🔎 Nestlé's main listing is in Zurich (NESN). In the US it trades over the counter as an ADR (NSRGY). Check what is available on Nemo.money before you research further.
- 🧺 US-listed consumer names like Procter & Gamble (PG) and Starbucks (SBUX) are examples to research, not recommendations. A consumer staples ETF such as XLP is another example to research, not a recommendation. New to ETFs? Read ETFs Explained: VOO vs VT.
Starbucks has been in the news too. Read our take on the Starbucks–Chipotle talks.
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❓ FAQs
1. Why did Nestlé shares rise after its Q3 results?
Sales grew 4.0% on an organic basis, ahead of forecasts of about 3.4–3.5%. Volumes grew 2.8%, well above the roughly 1.5–1.7% analysts expected. Investors see this as a sign the turnaround is working.
2. How fast is Nestlé growing in India?
Nestlé said India delivered 20% organic growth in the third quarter. Management named Maggi, KitKat and Milo as the main drivers.
3. What brands drove Nestlé’s growth?
Maggi and KitKat led food and snacks, which grew 5.0%. Purina petcare grew 5.3%, and Nescafé and Starbucks at-home coffee led coffee growth of 3.4%.
4. Is Nestlé stock a good buy?
There are two sides. Supporters point to rising volumes, strong emerging markets and JPMorgan's upgrade. Sceptics point to the loss of Russian profits, slow growth in Europe and guidance that was kept rather than raised. Nestlé is an example to research, not a recommendation.
5. Can I buy Nestlé shares from the UAE?
Nestlé's main listing is on the SIX Swiss Exchange. In the US, it trades over the counter as an ADR under NSRGY. Availability depends on your platform, so check before you plan to research it.
🏁 Final Thoughts
Nestlé is not a fast-moving tech stock. But this quarter showed something investors had waited years for: people buying more, not just paying more.
India and the Gulf are a big part of that story. The Russia hit is real, and the next few quarters will show whether volume growth lasts.
👉 Start researching on Nemo.money
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