Main points
- Carlsberg reported a 5% increase in operating profit for 2025 thanks to cost reductions and sales of soft drinks.
- The company predicts a challenging 2026 due to weak demand for alcoholic beverages and geopolitical uncertainty.
Beer producer Carlsberg predicts a difficult 2026 / carlsbergukraine.com
Carlsberg increased its profit in 2025 by 5%, but this was due to cost reductions and sales of soft drinks. Demand for alcohol among people, including beer, is falling, so 2026 will be a difficult year for breweries.
How did Carlsberg's profits grow?
The Danish brewing company reported a 5% increase in operating profit for the full year, which exceeded forecasts, writes Reuters.
The world's third-largest brewer after Anheuser-Busch InBev and Heineken also forecast profit growth of 2% to 6% this year, but warned that it did not expect any improvement in the difficult consumer environment.
Carlsberg, which owns brands such as Kronenbourg 1664, Tuborg and Somersby, has outperformed some rivals by pushing into the soft drinks market, including through its acquisition of soft drinks maker Britvic.
What is the forecast for 2026?
Carlsberg reported organic operating profit of 13.99 billion Danish kroner before special items for 2025, while analysts had expected 13.82 billion kroner.
While the company forecasts further profit growth next year, Aarup-Andersen warned that there are no signs yet of a significant change in consumer behavior.
Geopolitical uncertainty, particularly regarding trade policy, will be a key deciding factor.
Beer business news
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Heineken CEO Dolph van den Brink is stepping down after beer sales fell in Europe and the U.S. Heineken shares fell 3.2% as the company looks for a new leader to address changing consumer habits.
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In October 2025, it became known that Diageo was considering selling or spinning off the Guinness beer brand into a separate company, valuing it at over $10 billion.
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In 2024, EU countries increased beer production by 0.6%, to 32.7 billion liters, and non-alcoholic beer to 2 billion liters. Germany is the largest beer producer in the EU, while the Netherlands remains the main exporter and France the largest importer.