Almarai: Quick Comment: 2Q26 Results A Mixed Bag

Research evidence excerpt

Almarai: Quick Comment: 2Q26 Results A Mixed Bag

Update

July 5, 2026 11:15 PM GMT

Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc (ADGM Branch)+MAlmarai | Europe Rashad Kawan

Equity Analyst

Quick Comment: 2Q26 Results Rashad.Kawan@morganstanley.com +971 2 596-3603

Almarai (2280.SE, ALMARAI AB)

EEMEA - Consumer & Retail | Saudi ArabiaA Mixed Bag

Stock Rating Overweight

Industry View In-Line

Price target SAR 60.00

Reaction to earnings Shr price, close (Jul 5, 2026) SAR 45.62

52-Week Range SAR 54.05- 39.86

Unchanged Modest shortfall Largely unchanged Mkt cap, curr (mn) SAR 45,620

Impact to our thesis Financial results versus consensus Direction of next 12-month Net debt (12/26e) (mn)* SAR 13,598

consensus EPS

EV, curr (mn)* SAR 58,119

Source: Company data, Morgan Stanley Research

* = GAAP or approximated based on GAAP

Key Takeaways

Strong 2Q26 topline growth of +11% well ahead of consensus (+5.9%) and MSe

(+5.5%)

EBIT margins of 13.9%, however, c.100bps below consensus and -150bps y/y

Absolute EBIT and Net Profit -3% vs consensus

Conference call on July 7th key in outlining profitability path from here

Bottom line: Almarai kicked off 2Q26 reporting season, with topline growth of

+11%, coming in c.5% ahead of both consensus and MSe. Encouragingly, the company

stated it saw volume growth in all markets, for all product categories and sales

channels, supported also by dairy pricing taken through the quarter. Profitability,

however, came in below expectations, with EBIT margins of 13.9% coming in -100bps

below consensus (-110bps vs MSe) and -150bps y/y, resulting in a -3% EBIT and net

profit miss (see table below). Management cited an increase in dairy feed shipping

costs, in addition to higher distribution costs driven by elevated energy expenses as

drivers of the higher cost base.