US joins Asia Pacific as sales drag but AB InBev stays positive in Q3 - results data

Sales from three months to end of September increase by 4.9% to US$16.51bn
Nine-month sales also rise, by 5.4% to US$48.44bn
Quarterly sales in the US dip 1.2%, China volumes slump 16.8% “as we managed inventory levels in a challenging industry”

AB InBev remains on course to beat last year’s sales total as the third quarter of 2026 delivered a third consecutive mid-single-digit lift.

Following on from the 5.7% rise in sales from the first six months of this year, announced in late July, the megabrewer today posted a top-line increase of a shade under 5% in the three months to the end of September. Subsequently, nine-month sales sit at 5.4% above the corresponding period in 2025, ahead of the final quarter of 2026.

As was the case in the first half, the ‘Asia Pacific’ reporting region proved problematic for AB InBev in Q3, with sales sliding by 9.5%, a marked regression after H1’s -2.1% performance. The group noted that in China, described as the home to “a challenging industry”, a 16.8% slump in volumes (which were down 9.7% in YTD) was also blamed on “abnormal weather and continued weakness in the on-premise channel”.

Meanwhile, the key battleground of ‘North America’ activated its warning light in the quarter due to a flat (-0.9%) sales showing. Having been up by 1.8% in H1, the region has been pulled to parity for YTD, with the US – down 1.2% in Q3 – termed “soft”. Despite weakness in the country, AB InBev noted that Michelob Ultra and Busch Light did well at gaining volume share, “with Michelob Ultra ranking number one [volume share gainer] for the last eight quarters”.

Staying with brands and three of the company’s global marks impressed in the quarter: Outside of their home markets, Corona, Stella Artois and Michelob Ultra posted sales jumps of 20%, 19% and 50%, respectively. Elsewhere, the ‘Balanced Choices’ portfolio, comprising low carb, low calorie, sugar free, gluten free and no-alcohol beers, was up by 19% collectively in value terms, and ‘Beyond Beer’, home to the likes of Cutwater Spirits, also grew by 19%.

In (the first nine months of 2026), our business delivered revenue growth of 5.4%… , reflecting the momentum of our portfolio and the effectiveness of our commercial capabilities,” the company said today. “We continued to invest in our megabrands, growth platforms and innovation to provide consumers with more choices across more occasions.”

Earlier this week, AB InBev’s closest rival, Heineken, reported a 4.6% increase in sales from the third quarter, contributing to a year-to-date lift of 3.4%.