Dive Brief:
- Anheuser-Busch InBev said sales in Brazil, where the brewer controls roughly two-thirds of the market, led to a jump in global profit.
- On an Ebitda basis, profit climbed 9.5% to $4.85 billion, better than analysts had forecast.
- The world's largest brewer, which makes Budweiser, Corona, and Stella Artois, said global revenue rose 15% to $12.2 billion.
Dive Insight:
A-B InBev can't count on having to many quarters like this one. The World Cup comes but once every four years. And the fact that it came to Brazil, which is the brewer's second-largest market, trailing only the U.S., provided a rare opportunity.
The good news here is that the company took advantage of that opportunity. A stumble during the World Cup could have hurt the company badly. Instead, A-B InBev remains in solid shape with good potential, generating speculation that it will merge with SABMiller.