The Kraft Heinz Company

Good day and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Kraft Heinz Company second quarter results conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question and answer session. To ask a question, please press star 1-1 on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star 1-1 again. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Anne-Marie Magella.

Thank you, and hello, everyone. This is Anne-Marie Magella, head of global investor relations at the Kraft Heinz Company, and welcome to our Q&A session for our second quarter 2024 business update. During today's call, we may make forward-looking statements regarding our expectations for the future, including items related to our business plans and expectations, strategy, efforts and investments, and related timing and expected impacts. These statements are based on how we think today, and actual results may differ materially due to risk and uncertainties. Please see the cautionary statements and risk factors contained in today's earnings release, which accompanies this call, as well as our most recent 10-K, 10-Q, and 8-K filings for more information regarding these risks and uncertainties. Additionally, we may refer to non-GAAP financial measures. which excludes certain items from our financial results reported in accordance with GAAP. Please refer to today's earnings release and the non-GAAP information available on our website at ir.craftheinscompany.com under News and Events for a discussion of our non-GAAP financial measures and reconciliations to the comparable GAAP financial measures. I will now hand it over to our Chief Executive Officer, Carlos Abrams-Rivera, for opening comments. Carlos, over to you.

Well, thank you, Marie. And thank you, everyone, for joining us today. Recognizing that it remains a difficult consumer environment, I am proud that we at Kraft Heinz are providing high-quality, convenient solutions that are of great value, brands worth paying for. And we will continue to stay focused on renovating and innovating with new benefits, functionality, and accessibility. At the same time, Our teams have been relentless in unlocking efficiencies with a mindset of continuous improvements. And as a result of greater productivity and efficiencies, we have been able to hold prices below inflation this year while continuing to invest in innovation, marketing, and R&D. And for our stockholders, through our dividends and share repurchases, we have returned over $1.5 billion in capital so far this year. I am very encouraged on how our focus on improving working capital is paying off. We increased free cash flow nearly 100 million, we're approximately 9% compared to last year, and maintain our targeted leverage ratio. And finally, it's hard to believe that it has only been four months since my leadership team came together. We're on this journey together, all committed to driving improvements and achieving our company dream. I see the ownership and grit with my direct reports and across the organization. We're all embracing this new operating model and ways of working, and we are only getting stronger and stronger. With that, I have Andrew joining me, so let's open the call for Q&A.