VEVEY, Switzerland — Nestle reported first-quarter organic sales growth of 3.5%, beating analyst estimates and lifting its shares sharply, as stronger coffee, petcare and confectionery demand offset a deep slump in China and a hit from an infant formula recall, April 23. The better-than-expected start to 2026 suggested the Swiss food giant is beginning to rebuild volume-led growth even as management kept its outlook cautious because of geopolitical and macroeconomic risks.
In its official first-quarter release, Nestle said total reported sales fell 5.7% to 21.3 billion Swiss francs because of foreign-exchange headwinds, while real internal growth, its key volume measure, rose 1.2% and pricing added 2.3%. A separate prepared remarks transcript showed CEO Philipp Navratil telling investors the company had “started the year well” and that its “RIG-led growth strategy is delivering.”
Reuters reported that analysts had expected organic sales growth of 2.4% and volume growth of just 0.1%. Instead, coffee, pet food and snacks drove a better volume outcome, prompting Vontobel analyst Jean-Philippe Bertschy to say Nestle was showing “early signs of reigniting volume growth.”
Nestle Q1 sales beat consensus as coffee and snacks lead
Coffee was the standout business, with organic growth of 9.3%, while Food & Snacks rose 4.2% and Petcare grew 2.7%. Nutrition fell 3.9%, largely because a January infant formula recall shaved about 90 basis points off first-quarter organic growth. Nestle said product availability has returned to normal and still expects the infant formula business to recover fully by year-end.
China remained the clear weak point. Greater China organic growth fell 10.6%, with volumes down 10.4%, as Nestle worked through trade inventory corrections and recall-related disruption. Management said it is rebuilding the business around better innovation, distribution and marketing, with the reset targeted for completion by the end of the second quarter.
The stock market focused on the beat rather than the drop in reported sales. A European trading update said Nestle shares jumped 6.8% after the company maintained its full-year organic growth forecast of 3% to 4%, while still expecting its underlying trading operating profit margin to improve and free cash flow to top 9 billion Swiss francs.
Nestle is also pressing ahead with portfolio changes, including the agreed sale of Blue Bottle Coffee and work on strategic options for its waters and mainstream vitamins businesses. Those moves fit with management’s broader effort to simplify the portfolio and put more capital behind categories where demand and pricing remain stronger.
Nestle Q1 sales in context
The latest quarter looks stronger when set against a more uneven run over the past three years. In April 2025, Reuters reported that Nestle posted 2.8% first-quarter organic growth, ahead of expectations, but volume growth remained modest and management warned the indirect effects of U.S. tariffs were unclear. A year earlier, Reuters said the company missed quarterly sales estimates as North American frozen-food volumes fell 5.8% and the shares slipped in early trading. Go back to April 2023 and another Reuters report showed Nestle beating estimates largely through price increases, with sales up 5.6% even as volumes fell 0.5%.
That history helps explain why investors reacted so positively this time. For now, the market appears willing to look past weak reported sales and persistent China softness because the quarter offered a clearer sign that Nestle is getting both pricing and volume growth to work together again.
