Chedraui sales fall 2% to 70,356 million pesos in third quarter
Key Facts
Chedraui Group’s consolidated sales fell 2% year over year to 70,356 million pesos in the third quarter of 2026, covering July through September, according to results reported by Expansión. Net profit declined 1.2% to 1,626 million pesos, while EBITDA, a measure of operating cash flow, fell 0.3% to 6,110 million pesos. The weaker total came as sales grew in Mexico but declined in the United States in both pesos and dollars. The company attributed part of the decline in U.S. sales converted into pesos to the peso’s appreciation against the dollar compared with the same period last year. The results followed a sharper fall in consolidated sales in the second quarter, when the company reported a 3.9% year-over-year decline to 71,035 million pesos.
In Mexico, sales rose 4.6% to 35,733 million pesos, driven by a 4.7% increase in selling space, but same-store sales fell 0.7%. Average basket value rose 1.1%, while the number of transactions declined 1.8%, showing a divergence between growth in reported activity as space expanded and weaker sales at existing stores. Mexican sales had risen 5.1% to 36,058 million pesos in the second quarter, while comparable sales grew 1.3%. The company said second-quarter comparable-sales growth outpaced the 0.1% decline in the ANTAD index, marking the 24th consecutive quarter it had outperformed the index. In the third quarter, Chedraui attributed weaker performance in southeastern Mexico to soft consumption, slower public and private investment, and lower tourism activity.
In Mexico, EBITDA rose 4.1% to 3,519 million pesos, with a margin of 9.8%. This coincided with a 0.2% increase in the group’s gross profit to 17,673 million pesos and an increase in its margin to 25.1%. But operating expenses rose 0.4% to 11,563 million pesos, and operating income fell 0.7% to 3,718 million. Financial costs also increased 1.7% to 1,375 million pesos, as consolidated net profit declined. These figures reflect a divergence between improved profitability in the Mexican segment and pressure on the group’s results overall.
In the United States, gross sales fell 1.8% in dollars and 7.9% when converted into pesos, to 34,624 million pesos. The Mexican peso appreciated 6.2% against the dollar compared with the third quarter of 2025, reducing the peso value of revenue generated by U.S. operations. On a comparable-store basis, U.S. sales fell 2% in dollars during the quarter. The company attributed weaker transactions to tighter immigration policy and a reduction in the distribution of SNAP program benefits. The U.S. decline was larger in the second quarter, when sales fell 11.6% year over year to 34,977 million pesos.
EBITDA at Chedraui’s U.S. segment fell 5.7% in pesos to 2,591 million, while the margin was 7.5%. Press coverage attributed the margin improvement to distribution savings and expense containment, despite the decline in EBITDA. The comparison highlights the difference in margins between the two segments: Mexico’s margin was 9.8% alongside EBITDA growth, while the U.S. segment posted a 7.5% margin as its value in pesos declined. At the group level, EBITDA fell 0.3% to 6,110 million pesos. Resilient segment margins did not prevent consolidated net profit from falling 1.2%, amid higher financial costs.
Chedraui’s 2026 guidance set expected comparable-sales growth in Mexico at between 3% and 4%, and gross sales growth at between 8% and 9%. The company also estimated selling-space expansion of about 5.7% in Mexico and 1.6% in the United States during the year. As part of its expansion, the company opened 27 units in Mexico, including 22 Supercito stores, three Chedraui branches, one Super Chedraui store and one Arteli unit. This guidance provides a benchmark for comparing results at existing branches with the impact of added space, after same-store sales in Mexico declined in the third quarter. Mexican markets are awaiting the release of the flash estimate for third-quarter GDP on October 30, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography’s calendar.