The quarter cleared a modest market bar. Adjusted EPS was $0.73 versus the published consensus of roughly $0.67, while revenue was $9.355 billion versus approximately $9.23 billion expected.
| Metric | Q2 2026 | Prior-year / expectation |
|---|---|---|
| Net revenue | $9,355M | $8,984M; ~$9,230M consensus (Financial Highlights) |
| Organic net revenue growth | 2.2% | 2.2% company-reported growth (Financial Highlights) |
| Adjusted EPS | $0.73 | $0.73 prior year; ~$0.67 consensus (Financial Highlights) |
| Adjusted operating income | $1,222M | $1,283M prior year; down 6.1% constant currency (Financial Highlights) |
| Adjusted operating margin | 13.1% | 14.3% prior year; down 1.2 percentage points (Financial Highlights) |
| Free cash flow, six months | $668M | $818M prior year (Cash Flow statement) |
The quality of the beat was better than the headline GAAP numbers suggest, but not broad-based. Reported EPS jumped to $1.20 because of a favorable $827 million derivative mark-to-market swing and other unusual items; adjusted EPS was essentially flat year over year on a reported-currency basis and down 2.7% at constant currency (EPS reconciliation). Revenue growth came from 1.5 percentage points of pricing and 0.7 points of volume/mix, but adjusted operating margin fell to 13.1% as raw-material, selling, administrative and advertising costs outpaced productivity benefits (Financial Highlights).
Emerging markets and North America carried the result, while Europe remained the drag. Organic revenue grew 8.4% in Latin America, 7.1% in Asia, Middle East & Africa and 3.4% in North America, but declined 3.5% in Europe; Europe also posted a 3.1-point adjusted operating-margin decline (Segment results). That mix supports the revenue beat, but it does not yet show a clean recovery in the developed-market profit engine.
The forward message improved modestly, which is the clearest incremental positive. Management raised the 2026 organic-revenue outlook from a range of flat to 2% growth to at least 2% growth, while maintaining adjusted EPS growth of flat to 5% and approximately $3 billion of free cash flow (Outlook). The raised sales floor matters because it converts a range ceiling into a minimum, although the unchanged EPS outlook acknowledges that pricing and growth are still being absorbed by costs.
Net read: a genuine but measured beat. The consensus upside and higher revenue floor outweigh the weaker adjusted margins and cash flow, producing a positive result versus expectations rather than a clean operational reacceleration.
Read the original 8-K on SEC EDGAR ↗