Grupo Comercial Ched Ord

Good morning to all participants and welcome to Grupo Comercial Chedraui's second quarter 2026 conference call. Participating in the conference call today will be Mr. Jose Antonio Chedraui, CEO of Grupo Comercial Chedraui, Mr. Carlos Smith, CEO of Chedraui USA, Humberto Tafolla, CFO, and Arturo Velázquez, IRO for the company. We will begin the call with initial comments on Grupo Comercial Chedraui's second quarter financial results by the company's CEO, Mr. Jose Antonio Chedraui, and Chedraui's USA CEO, Carlos Smith. Please begin.

Good morning to all and welcome to our presentation of Grupo Comercial Chedraui's second quarter 2026 financial results. I want to start by commenting that although we can't control the weaker consumer environment we're facing both in Mexico and in the U.S., we can respond by being more focused than ever on having the best operational execution and customer engagement, which are key elements to successfully navigating this environment. I also want to recognize the commitment and dedication of our employees. Thank you for your hard work as it was an essential factor in the 15 basis points increase in our consolidated EBITDA margin in the quarter compared to the same quarter of 2025. In Mexico, consumer spending remains weak, particularly in the Southeast region. were it affected not only by a lack of investment, but also by slowdown in tourism. Our same-store sales growth felt this impact during the quarter, growing by 1.3% compared to the second quarter of 25. Despite soft consumer spending, we continue to outperform on TAD's self-service segment Thank you very much. and Immigration Enforcement, as well as pressure in our customers' budgets due to higher gas prices. Despite the loss of operating leverage at El Super and Fiesta, EBITDA margin improved by 20 basis points compared to the prior year to 8.5%, reflecting expense management and cost efficiencies from our Rancho Cucamanga Distribution Center. We remain confident in our long-term outlook, supported by healthy margin levels, low debt levels, and a strong cash position. These elements continue to support the organic growth strategy as we open one store in the U.S. and 28 in Mexico. Also, CapEx for the first six months of 2026 represented Now, to start our presentation, I will highlight key achievements for the second quarter of 2026. Please turn to slide four. Chedraui Mexico's same-store sales grew 1.3% in the second quarter of 2026, surpassing Antat's decline of minus 0.1% for the 24th consecutive quarter. Chedraui Mexico's total sales increased 5.1% due to higher same-store sales and a 4.4% Consolidated EBITDA margin increased 15 basis points to 9%. Chedraui Mexico's EBITDA margin stood at 9.5%, in line with the second quarter of 25. Chedraui USA's EBITDA margin increased by 20 basis points to 8.5%. Net cash to EBITDA improved to minus 0.09 times in the second quarter of 26 compared to the minus 0.05 times in the second quarter of 25. Our organic growth for the quarter consisted of opening one Tienda Chedraui, 27 Supercitos in Mexico, and one El Super in In the following slides, I will comment in more detail about our consolidated results for the quarter. Please turn to slide 5. Consolidated sales declined 3.9% compared to the same quarter of last year, primarily reflecting the currency translation effect for Chedraui USA sales From a 9.7% appreciation of the Mexican peso against the U.S. dollar. Consolidated EBITDA declined by 2.2%. An EBITDA margin reached 9%, a 15 basis point improvement compared to the second quarter of 25. Despite the loss of operating leverage, we were able to compensate with cost efficiencies From the RCDC Improved supplier conditions in the U.S. Better promotion management in Mexico And strict expense control programs at both Chedraui Mexico and Chedraui USA Turn to slide 6 For our strategic M&A investment and organic growth strategy Continue to support the positive long-term trend Thank you for joining us. Even considering these factors, our long-term strategic focus drove a 179 basis points increase in ROV in the second quarter of 26 compared to the same quarter of 2021. This demonstrates our strong commitment to creating long-term value for our shareholders. In the following slides, Thank you very much. Thank you very much. is that we continue to strengthen our e-commerce penetration to give our customers diverse shopping options. As such, e-commerce sales as a percentage of sales in Mexico increased by 68 basis points to 4.6% in the second quarter of 26 compared to the same quarter of 2025. This performance was driven by Stronger repeat purchase rates across our digital channels and strong third-party performance, mainly from Rapi Turbo, Rapi, Uber Eats, and Didi. Please turn to slide 8. Despite a continued weakness in the consumption environment in Mexico, total sales in the second quarter increased by 5.1%, Thank you for joining us. Carlos, please go ahead. Thank you, Antonio. Good morning, everyone. As Antonio mentioned, Chedraui USA delivered strong results this quarter as we grew EBITDA margin to 8.5%.

A 20 basis point increase from the prior year quarter. This is due in large part to our continued focus on making RCDC operations more efficient while maintaining tight control over expenses across all areas of the business. The customer environment has been challenging with changes to both immigration enforcement policy and SNAP benefit availability, as well as rising fuel prices in the second quarter. Together, these factors negatively impacted same-store sales in the quarter, particularly at El Super and Fiesta, where we experienced a dip in in-store traffic due to those headwinds. At Smart & Final, we are seeing improvements in sales trends, particularly with our business customers, whose larger basket size allowed us to increase our average ticket in the quarter. We believe we are uniquely positioned in the market to serve our business customers and we are actively executing strategic initiatives to expand market share in that channel. Finally, I would like to reiterate that our U.S. business continues operating with healthy margins, a strong balance sheet, and positive cash flow generation, which has allowed us to pay down over $75 million in debt in the last three months. We remain confident that in the medium and long term, Our operations and profitability will continue to improve as we optimize our CDC operations and maintain our disciplined approach to expense control. Now we will review the results of the second quarter. Please turn to slide nine. Chedraui USA's same store sales declined by 2.3% in US dollar terms compared to the same quarter of last year. This is explained mainly by a lower number of transactions at El Super and Fiesta Due to stricter immigration enforcement, which began in Q2 of 2025, and the softer consumer trends resulting from lower SNAP benefit availability and higher fuel prices. At smart and final, same store sales decreased by 0.4% in dollar terms, with customer count down 1.2%, but average ticket up 0.8%, bringing Chedraui USA's overall average ticket size positive for the quarter. Chedraui USA's total sales decreased by 2.1% in dollar terms. In Mexican pesos, the 9.7% translation effect contributed to a sales decline of 11.6%. Please turn to slide 10. EBITDA was slightly up in U.S. dollar terms, but declined 9.5% in Mexican pesos. while EBITDA margin rose 20 basis points to 8.5% as a result of continued expense control across the organization and efficiencies from our CDC and our distribution network. The combined El Super and Fiesta EBITDA margin remains at very healthy levels, even in this complex environment, reaching 8.8% in the second quarter of 2026. Finally, Smart Finals EBITDA margin of 8.3% Thank you, Carlos. We now turn to the consolidated financial results on slide 11. Consolidated sales of 71,035 million pesos

Carlos Smith Matas Carlos Smith Matas Favorable promotion management in Mexico, reduced RCDC costs in the U.S., and efficiencies at Chedraui USA contributed to gross margin expansion of 70 basis points to 24.8% in the second quarter of 2026. Consolidated operating expenses excluding depreciation and amortization decreased by 0.4% in peso terms and represented 15.8% of sales. This result is explained by higher labor costs in Mexico, which were partially compensated by the effect of the appreciation of the Mexican peso when consolidating the results of Chedraui USA's operations and expense containment programs in both countries. Consolidated operating income decreased 5.4%, with operating margin flat compared to the same quarter of 2025 at 5.7%. Consolidated EBITDA declined by 2.2%, and EBITDA margin was up 15 basis points to 9%, benefiting from cost and expense efficiencies In Mexico and the U.S. Financial expenses increased by 7.8%, explained by lower financial income in Mexico driven by lower interest rates and higher financial costs related to IFRS 16. Consolidated net income declined 11.5% to 1,825 million pesos and represented 2.6% of consolidated sales. Finally, please move to slide 12. As of June 30, 2026, we closed with a net cash position of 2,172 million pesos. and our net cash to EBITDA ratio improved to minus 0.09 times from a minus 0.05 times in the same period last year. The strongest level the company has had in the second quarter since 2021. CapEx for the first half of 2026 Total 4,699 million pesos, representing 3.3% of sales and increased by 31.5% compared to the second quarter of 25. A few steps above the 2.9% average level we've had since 2021. This excludes smart and finals acquisition. Now, please allow us to move on to the question and answer section.

We'll now be conducting a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star 1 on your telephone keypad. A confirmation tone will indicate your line is in the question queue. You may press star 2 to remove your question from the queue. For participants using speaker equipment, it may be necessary to pick up your handset before pressing the star keys.

One moment, please, while we poll for questions. Thank you. Our first question is from Bob Ford with Bank of America.

Hey, thank you for taking my question. Good morning, everyone. Antonio, can you comment a little bit on the competitive intensity in Mexico and how you're thinking about your existing value proposition, price gaps, and maybe any recent changes? And then given the outperformance of Supercito, how should we think about returns for the concept, capital allocation, and the growth in the addressable market for Supercito?

Good morning, Bob. Thank you for your question. Let me talk first about Supercito. We're very happy with the format. We keep expanding the format. Same store sales have been surpassing the rest of our formats. So we are very happy with Supercito and we'll keep focusing in that format. On the other hand, well, due to the slowdown in consumption in Mexico, particularly in the southeast region, where ANTAR reported a decline of 2.6% in the quarter, which was pretty tough, we have been experiencing, yes, Agressiveness in the market, but on the other hand, also, there are pressures on the expense side due to the labor costs. So we have not seen more than we expected. We have been able to maintain our price gaps throughout the country, even being a little bit more aggressive in the southeast. and being able to surpass and tad in terms of sales growth due to this strategy that we have been able to sustain without affecting the EBITDA margins in our company. We believe that the competitive market will continue But we are very well positioned. I think we are one of the best on the expense control side and allowing us to be, let's say, more competitive probably than the rest of the markets.

Very interesting.

And then, you know, when you think about the potential to grow Supercito, I mean, and I guess the level of returns, how would you position that for us to kind of better understand, you know, the opportunity to find a little bit of growth in what is a very challenging environment?

Well, we are very focused on our organic expansion with the Supercitos. We will meet our expansion program and also, as I've said in the past, open to any other consolidation opportunities. But for the moment, I would tell you that we will be hitting our expansion plan of opening more than 130 supercitos in the year, and we will expand that number In 2027, we're very happy with the format above. Our same-store sales growth, we're over 7%, so we're happy with that.

Fantastic. Thank you so much, and congratulations on the little victories.

Thank you. Thank you.

Our next question is from Ben Thur with Barclays.

Hey, this is Ryan on for Ben today. We wanted to ask about traffic trends in the U.S. So, same-source sales is getting a little better sequentially during this quarter, but we wanted to ask what are the trends you're seeing, especially amid immigration enforcement and a softer consumer in the region, in context with how you're trying to drive traffic again in the back half of the year?

Yeah, thanks for the question. Yeah, good point. You know, we saw a slight improvement in same-store sales in Q2 versus Q1. And, you know, Q3 started off much, much better, particularly at smart and final where we're seeing sales growth and traffic growth. And we're also seeing some improving traffic trends at Osuba.

Perfect. I'll pass it along then. Thanks for the caller. Got it. Our next question is from with JP Morgan. Hello, gentlemen. Can you hear me well? Yes.

Yes, you're perfect. Perfect. Thank you so much for taking my question. I wanted to dig in where the gross margin expansion came between Mexico and the U.S. And specifically in Mexico, the gross margin sustainability that we are seeing in the context of this very constrained consumer. How sustainable is this gross margin and is it coming from Promo, discipline, supplier funding, better shrinkage, or what is driving this gross margin despite the weak consumer? And can we repeat the same trend into the second half? Thank you.

Let me start with Mexico and I'll let Carlos explain the U.S. Well, in Mexico, it's a little bit of everything you just commented. You have it very clear. First of all, we have been Thank you very much. Thank you very much. That also we are very well positioned on the expense side as well, being the more efficient operator on the expense side that will allow us to sustain the EBITDA margins that we're projecting in Mexico. And then Carlos has more information about the U.S.

Yeah, in terms of the U.S., let me start by saying that I think our team did a tremendous job of operating in a very difficult environment. They've improved gross margin, as you mentioned, but they've also done, similar to Mexico, a terrific job controlling expenses. So really proud of our team as they operated very, very well. From a gross margin standpoint, well, part of it is what we've been talking about for a long time, which is a stabilization of our RCDC operations. So this is part of our plan. We executed on that plan very, very well. So it's a combination of benefits from RCDC as well as from the operation. And as Antonio mentioned, there are a lot of components on the operating side, supplier negotiations, Promotional Management, Shrink Control, and in the U.S. one additional factor which is really important as we continue to push sales towards a perishable category. So sales mix is a very important component of our business model in the U.S. and we're slowly seeing improving results at Smart and Final as well as El Super and Fiesta that help with gross margin improvements.

So, Carlos, if I may, once we see more normalized traffic trends and now with all the RCDC fully in operational, no double cost, what's the, let's say, sustainable EBITDA margin for your operations in the U.S. that you see feasible and sustainable?

Well, you saw that, yeah, I mean, you saw that we achieved a consolidated result of 8.5%. We've lost leverage due to the top line impact. And as we mentioned in many, many calls ago, our objective is to get those 50 basis point improvements versus where we ended up 2023. And that is still our goal. It's probably a few quarters delayed with everything that's occurred, but that's our target.

And we think it's achievable. Thank you.

Our next question is from Joe Thomas with HSBC.

Good morning, gentlemen. Thank you very much for taking the questions. I'm just wondering, in the U.S., I think we've now cycled the impact of the start of immigration enforcement, and I'm just wondering, as we've cycled that, what sort of trends we're seeing there? Are we seeing The second question relates to the World Cup. I'm just wondering to what extent you think it has been a positive benefit or otherwise in these numbers? Thank you.

Yes, I'll start with the immigration impacts in the U.S. It's The immigration enforcement policy impact started towards the end of May, beginning of June. But it manifested itself in different markets at different times. So it's not as if we're going to cycle through a one-time event at a particular month. Each one of the markets has behaved differently. It started in California, in different areas in California, and it moved slowly eastward. Then the impact in Texas was at a different time. So we're still going to be seeing the cycling effect of this for the next several months. The EBT impact is also one that... As I mentioned earlier, though, Q3 started off better. In particular, it's Martin Final where we're seeing sales growth as well as traffic growth. And at El Super, we're beginning to see an improvement in our traffic trends, so we're encouraged.

And about the World Cup, Joe, well, unfortunately, we didn't see any sales expansion as we projected. June, for example, Antat reported a decline of minus 2.7% in same-store sales growth, which was really, really bad and very surprising. There were some categories that were positive, but on the overall, sales were not as we projected throughout the market. What we have heard is that probably on the quail in the... On the gambling, we heard that there has been a huge gambling increase. Difficult to prove. I don't have numbers to support this, but we have not seen any consumption positive trend due to the World Cup in Mexico.

In the U.S., very similar. I think we saw it. We saw increases in certain categories of snacks and beer and beverages at certain times, but on an overall basis, it was net neutral in my opinion.

Thank you for that. Can I just follow up on that first question, please? In the areas where you have cycled the immigration enforcement, what sort of trends are you seeing in the Latin-focused brands?

Yeah, well, like I said, let's, El Super's been improving its trends. El Super has exposure, you know, in a little bit of Northern California, Southern California. So Southern California's trends are improving a little bit, but we have a tremendous amount of exposure with high volume stores in the Arizona market and the Las Vegas market, which have been hit pretty hard.

Perfect. Thank you very much both of you. Our next question is from Luis Gerdario with Citigroup.

Hey guys, thank you so much for taking my question. My question is regarding a dig-in on the performance of first-in-store sales in Mexico, specifically looking at the transactions side. During the first quarter we saw transactions contracting and we saw it contracting as well during the second quarter. So if you could please comment what are the main drivers that you see for this performance, if it is mainly competition or if you are seeing something else? And also looking forward, how do you see the performance of transactions evolving? If we should expect a recovery anytime soon? And what are the main actions that you are taking to drive this recovery?

Thank you.

I'm sorry, Luis. We did not hear very well. There was something with the connection. Yes, yes, we hear you.

Carlos, that's better, okay.

Yeah, so my question was regarding the transaction side of the insert deals in Mexico. So it's contracting for the second quarter in a low rate, and I want to hear what are the main drivers behind this performance. If it's just the mainly competition driving this performance, or if there's anything else here, and what are the main actions that you're taking to see a recovery here inside of the insert deals?

Sorry again, but there was like an echo, very difficult to hear. Do you think it would be possible that we answer your question through Fabiola and Arturo? We did not hear well. It was like an echo in the call when you started the question. Sorry.

Yes, sure, we can do that. No problem. Thank you. As a reminder, if you would like to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone keypad. Our next question is from Freudian Mendez with JP Morgan.

Hi guys, thank you for taking my follow-up. Just on guidance and given the year-to-date trends both in the U.S. and Mexico, how confident are you to keep the current guidance as it is or where do you see the biggest upside or downside either coming from Mexico or the U.S.? We'd really appreciate it. Thank you.

Well, in Mexico, it looks difficult to achieve. We're closed. to the low end of the guidance in terms of same-store sales. But on the other hand, we feel pretty comfortable on the margin side, on the EBITDA margin, on our expansion program, on our CAPEX, on our financial position at the end of the year. The big question mark would be if we are going to be able to hit The same-store sales growth, which seems to be difficult on the Mexican side. We're trying to hit the low end of the projection, but not certain that we will achieve that.

I would echo similar comments for the U.S. program. The same-store sales goal is... Looking difficult to achieve based on the first half of the year, but from EBITDA margin side, we think that it's still achievable.

Perfect. And Carlos, if I may, just following up on the comments on the U.S., do you think shoppers, the Hispanic shoppers, are going elsewhere? They are shifting channels, doing more e-commerce. I find hard that they simply stopped consuming just because they cannot go out or they fear they have to be consuming just in a different way. Where are they shopping now if it's not in the traditional store that you put in front of them?

Yeah, I think that certain markets have had a, it's not a secret that certain markets have had a reduction in certain Latin communities, especially through the temporary protected status program and things like that. However, I would bundle in the Latin consumer to the regular consumer in the U.S., which is stretched very thin right now. Thank you so much. Shopper behavior has been changing for a while, and we have to adapt to it. And I think our formats are well positioned to be able to deliver on a value proposition to the consumer.

Excellent. Thank you so much.

Our next question is from Ricardo Ansera with GBS.

Hello, gentlemen. Thank you for the space for questions. I apologize if this was already asked, but I lost connection for a minute to Floyd and Luis's question. Taking a few steps back to January, how comfortable are you feeling with achieving the company's full year guidance, particularly in sensory sales in both the United States and Mexico? and what catalysts or actions do you feel will be necessary in order to get there?

Ricardo, as we said, we feel that it's going to be difficult to reach our same-store sales guidance in Mexico. We believe that there could be an opportunity to be Thank you very much. Thank you. And on the financial position, we feel very comfortable that we'll be able to hit our guidance as well. We have been able to manage inventory very well and react to the difficult sales projections that we see. So if we don't hit the same store sales guidance, we'll be close to it in Mexico.

Yeah, Ricardo, this is the same question Foylan asked a minute ago. And in the U.S., I think given how we started, we're going to have a tough time achieving the same-store sales guidance, but we're comfortable in achieving our EBITDA margin guidance.

Perfect. Thank you very much. Thank you.

Thank you. There are no further questions at this time. I'd like to now hand the floor back over to Mr. Jose Antonio Chedraui for any closing remarks.

I just want to thank everyone for joining and hope to be talking to you at the end of the next quarter. Thank you. Thank you very much. Safe travels for everyone.

This concludes today's conference you may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you again for your participation.