Nestlé Posts 4% Organic Sales Growth as Navratil Turnaround Gains Traction

Nestlé posted third-quarter sales of $27.69 billion (22.756 billion Swiss francs), with organic sales up 4%, as the world's largest food company showed the first hard evidence that CEO Philipp Navratil's turnaround is working.

Navratil, who took over in September 2025, told analysts on Thursday that the company sees a rebound in snacks and frozen offerings in its key U.S. market. He inherited a company facing declining consumer spending, tariff uncertainty, volatile commodity costs, and key segments that underperformed the rest of the industry.

"We are starting to see improvement in the way the organization is changing and in our financial results. This gives me confidence that we are on the right path," Navratil told analysts. "I am pleased with our progress, but I'm not satisfied. There is much more for us to do to deliver the potential of the business. We need to continue this journey, execute relentlessly and deliver consistently."

What changed under Navratil?

The CEO has spent his tenure boosting innovation and shedding slower-growth assets. Nestlé has divested its premium waters unit, the remainder of its ice cream business, and some vitamins, minerals and supplement brands. Soon after taking over, he announced plans to cut 16,000 jobs — about 6% of Nestlé's global workforce — over a two-year period.

The numbers now support the strategy. Real internal growth, which measures volume, rose 1.8% in North America during the third quarter. That compares with a 0.6% decline in the prior three months.

In the U.S., Nestlé's biggest market, pet care remains strong, while coffee brands such as Starbucks and Nescafe are rebounding after price increases earlier this year. Food and snacks delivered "strong growth" in the quarter, led by confectionery and frozen brands like Stouffer's and DiGiorno, which gained market share, according to the company.

Where does Nestlé still lag?

Gerber and the nutrition unit remain the weak spot. Navratil said the business "underperformed our potential" in the third quarter. Gerber launched a kids hydration drink in September, a step the company calls key to turning around the 100-year-old brand.

The pressure is industry-wide. Food makers have struggled for years as inflation forced consumers to rein in spending, and many have cut jobs, sold assets or raised prices to protect profits. Conagra Brands said in September it plans to increase prices amid elevated shipping costs. PepsiCo recently said it will raise prices on some chips to offset higher energy and agricultural costs — a reversal from February, when it lowered prices to reignite growth.

Nestlé implemented "significant" price increases in coffee and confections last year as costs for coffee and cocoa surged. CFO Anna Manz said there is again "upward pressure" on certain input costs, and that the Switzerland-based company could raise some prices "to the extent we can without damaging medium term consumer penetration."

Manz struck a different tone than a month earlier, when she told analysts Nestlé was "not happy" with its recent North America performance and that "more needs to be done" to improve execution in the region.

"The US consumer is increasingly challenged, but our results show that our execution is improving and we are delivering performance despite a tough market," she said on Thursday.

For brand and retail partners, the takeaway is a volume recovery in U.S. frozen and confectionery that has already translated into share gains — while another round of coffee and confectionery price increases remains on the table as input costs climb again.