Nestlé has maintained its 2025 guidance so far, but with consumer and macroeconomic pressures ahead, what would be the key areas of focus going forward?
New CEO’s first investor call
Nestlé’s newly-appointed CEO Philipp Navratil will formally face investors and members of the press after taking the top job in September. Nestlé had planned to introduce the new CEO to investors informally, but apart from his speech at a company conference in September, the new chief executive is yet to make a public appearance.
Investors will look to Navratil for clarity regarding the company’s strategic direction and leadership role in the global FMCG space. More imminently, they will be interested if the firm will maintain its 2025 guidance and how Q2’s underperformers have fared this quarter.
In Q2 2025, infant nutrition (sales declines in Gerber and Nido), petcare (negative growth in developed markets) and food in Europe all underperformed. Milk and ice cream products showed modest performance (1.1% organic growth, 0.2% RIG with 0.9% pricing).
Other potential areas of interest will include:
- The future of Nestlé’s Waters business – which Freixe suggested could be spun-off;
- The revamp of the Greater China business model, Nestlé’s second largest market;
- Pricing strategies and efficiency measures to tackle commodity price volatility, especially in coffee and cocao, and
- focus on R&D and new product development.
Nespresso’s new face
The role of Nespresso’s new chief Alfonso Gonzalez Loeschen to drive growth in one of Nestlé’s power brands will likely come into focus during the investor call.
Nespresso saw soft growth in Western Europe in Q2 but maintained positive growth in several other markets – including double-digit growth in North America, driven by Vertuo and brand campaigns.
R&D efforts and focus on GLP-1 NPD
Nestlé recently announced it has developed proprietary whey protein microgel technology to formulate solutions for consumers on weight management medications, such as GLP-1.
The technology is science-backed and will be used to formulate a range of nutritional solutions, including RTD beverages, in what is seen as a strategic focus area for the company’s innovation efforts.
Investors will no doubt be keen to learn more about this and other solutions in the company’s innovation pipeline, which includes the development of muscle recovery bioactives and a patented technique to utilize up to 30% more cocoa fruit to produce chocolate.
Nestlé’s nine-month results are due out Thursday, October 9, 2025.