EEMEA Consumer & Healthcare: Feedback from the neighbourhood: Saudi consumer stocks

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EEMEA Consumer & Healthcare: Feedback from the neighbourhood: Saudi consumer stocks

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EEMEA Consumer & Healthcare

Feedback from the neighbourhood: Saudi

consumer stocks

Industry Overview

Saudi and UAE investors moderately positive on sector 20 July 2026

We met over a dozen investors in Saudi Arabia and the UAE to discuss our reinstated Equity

coverage on Saudi consumer names. We found: (i) unanimous agreement that Almarai is EEMEA

a quality name and plenty of alignment with our Buy, though some investors are Consumer & Healthcare

concerned that shareholder return would remain “in the future” for many years yet; (ii) Mohsen Ameeri >>

caution on discretionary names Jarir and eXtra (both Buy) given pressured wallets and Research Analyst

mixed prints, though our view that eXtra’s retail business is underappreciated broadly Merrill+966 112Lynch993KSA741Company

resonated; and (iii) subdued enthusiasm for grocers BinDawood (Buy), Othaim (Neutral) mohsen.ameeri@bofa.com

and Savola (Underperform) given the ascent of e-commerce players Noon and Ninja. Michael Jacks, CFA >>

Research Analyst

Merrill Lynch (South Africa)

+27 113 055 158Almarai: key battle lines are shareholder vs. customer

michael.jacks@bofa.com

Investors widely respect Almarai’s brand power, leading share, and good governance.

Jameel Bakhsh, CFA >>

Most pushback boils down as: Almarai will favour consumers at shareholders’ expense. Research Analyst

Variants of this thesis include: (i) the company is “running in place” to cover cumulative Merrill Lynch (DIFC) +971 4 425 8252

cost increases over several years (alfalfa, diesel, shipping, subsidy phase-out); (ii) the jameel.bakhsh@bofa.com

June 2026 price increase was a continuation of this strategy of cost-covering,