AB InBev reaches seven-year high on World Cup push as IWSR sees canned RTD gaining on wine
Cinco Dias reports that Anheuser-Busch InBev has reaffirmed its leadership of the global beer market through its football World Cup sponsorship and reached its highest level in seven years, with a 34% gain in 2026 and 78% of analysts recommending a buy. A study by IWSR cited by the same publication forecasts growth in canned and ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages at the expense of traditional categories such as wine. The move comes as Spanish beer volumes fall and European brewers manage cost, capacity and leadership changes.
Seven-year high on the back of the World Cup
Anheuser-Busch InBev has reaffirmed its leadership of the global beer market with its football World Cup sponsorship and has reached its highest level in seven years, according to Cinco Dias. The Spanish financial daily places the brewer among the best-performing companies in the Euro Stoxx 50, with a gain of 34% in 2026, and reports that 78% of analysts recommend buying the shares, with expectations of improved returns for shareholders.
The share price move contrasts with a modest operating picture. Cinco Dias reported that the world's largest brewer recorded organic growth of 0.8% in the first quarter. The same publication cited investment bank Jefferies forecasting an increase of approximately 0.3% in total sales volume.
IWSR expects canned ready-to-drink to grow at wine's expense
A study by IWSR, cited by Cinco Dias, forecasts a boom in canned and ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages to the detriment of more traditional markets such as wine. The forecast lands in a category where alcohol-free products are already the fastest-moving segment. According to the same publication, the Spanish group Agora is maintaining growth of around 6% a year on the strength of its alcohol-free lines, while another brewer has entered a key market with its Founders brand, where alcohol-free references are growing at double-digit rates.
Spanish demand contracts
Beer producers in Spain are cutting sales volumes, hit by lower disposable income and falling consumption in the hospitality channel, Cinco Dias reported. The sector recorded a double decline for the first time since 2013, concentrated in bars and restaurants. The publication also notes a clear fall in consumption in Spain that appears linked to greater awareness of the risks of alcohol and to changes in lifestyle.
The effect is visible in company accounts. The brewer that owns Cruzcampo and El Aguila billed 1,035 million euros last year, down 4.6%, and its Spanish subsidiary is among the 17 markets identified as priorities by the group, which reduced sales and profitability in 2025. The Catalan group Damm, by contrast, raised its remuneration payout by 28%, to more than 80 million euros.
Costs, capacity and a change at the top
At the Dutch brewer Heineken, operating profit grew 6.7% in organic terms, close to the upper limit of the company's guidance for the year, according to Cinco Dias. The group has appointed Rafael Oliveira, who comes from the owner of the Marcilla coffee brand, following the departure of his predecessor Dolf van den Brink. The publication describes the incoming Brazilian executive as the brewer's first external chief executive, without previous experience in the alcoholic beverages sector, and says the appointment comes amid falling sales. In a separate move, a brewer named an executive from tobacco group JTI, where they were general manager for Iberia, as deputy general manager as part of a transition process.
Capacity continues to be added. The second plant of the Galician group Hijos de Rivera, opened a year ago in the Moras industrial estate in Arteixo, A Coruna, has reached production of 100 million litres following an investment of 280 million euros. The group posted a profit of 95 million euros and grew sales by 7% on the back of the new facility, and has completed its portfolio outside beer by acquiring a Galician distillery. Elsewhere, a brewer has opened a new plant in Bedford that it acquired from Carlsberg in 2022.
Input and policy risks remain on the agenda. One brewer has warned that climate change is already affecting its ability to source barley, a core raw material for malting. Another has maintained its annual guidance despite tariffs, on the grounds that 95% of its production is local in each market. A third attributed the drop in its 2025 earnings to an investment effort of 566.3 million euros to reinforce its operating capabilities, while also acknowledging the impact of geopolitical uncertainty.
