Eric Serotta

Babeau said every player is focused on absorbing the excise pass-on rather than promotions, PMI held share broadly (68 vs 69), and declined to comment on competitor strategy or its own October pricing application.

CEO confirmed volume maximization is the priority over margin harvesting, noting IQOS delivers 2x+ revenue and gross profit per unit vs. combustible. Direct acknowledgment of the trade-off.

CEO reiterated ZYN's premium positioning but declined to elaborate on specific pricing actions, calling it a 'very sensitive matter.' Acknowledged need to monitor competitive gaps.

Olczak confirmed IQOS US is included in the medium-term algorithm including both investment and expected volumes, but stated the targets are not materially dependent on it.

Emmanuel highlighted broad IQOS momentum across Europe (Italy, Germany, Spain, Romania, Bulgaria) and new markets (Taiwan 4% share in weeks), while declining to give Japan-specific volume guidance citing competitive sensitivity.

Emmanuel confirmed October offtake remains at 30%+ growth, consistent with Q3 ex-free-can levels, indicating the September spike was promotional and underlying demand remains robust.

Emmanuel quantified the gap at ~12% shipments vs ~10% IMS, attributed to timing and inventory build. Expects Q4 alignment with shipments potentially slightly below IMS for the year.

Emmanuel noted FDA is resuming PMTA activity and scheduled advisory committees, but acknowledged ILUMA authorization could slip to 2026 given heavy FDA workload.

Emmanuel confirmed ~2% full-year decline is the expected long-term trend for combustibles, with H2 decline of 3-4% against high prior year comparison, half attributable to Turkey.

Emmanuel cautioned that Nielsen covers only 3,000 of ~200,000 sales points, and out-of-stock creates distortion. MSA data showing strong acceleration in March was the most reliable alternative datapoint.

Emmanuel cited macro uncertainty after just one quarter, noting ZYN volume raise of 20M cans is positive but not enough to dramatically change the full-year outlook.

Emmanuel acknowledged inability to quantify unconstrained demand but expects acceleration as availability improves and commercial/marketing initiatives reactivate beyond existing consumer base.

Described sourcing across on! classic, competitive pouches and MST consumers, and said the company is agnostic to cannibalization within the on! family.

Newman explained the RGM framework and the L&M precedent for discount participation but gave no quantified mix impact.

Sal acknowledged gas price spikes pressuring discretionary spending, with tax-refund tailwinds short-term, driving discount-segment growth managed via RGM.

Billy dismissed reports of rising youth smoking as inconsistent with their data. Emphasized need for FDA to authorize smoke-free products and educate consumers on relative risk.

Billy framed the drawback opportunity as capped by export-import matching. Won't specify individual partner details but will continue seeking relationships to avoid competitive disadvantage.

Billy positioned on! PLUS as premium product commanding higher price due to consumer differentiation. Will have introductory promotions initially.

Billy noted brand substitution is easy in illicit market. Manufacturers change brand names and packaging. Seeing misdeclaration of shipments to evade Customs.

Billy reiterated discipline on timing. Pod segment is shrinking while disposables grow. Will bring NJOY back when appropriate but market state hasn't changed.

Management noted tax rate is favorable YoY and pension income is lower due to market performance. Sal emphasized mid-single digit is a CAGR with expected annual variability.

Billy noted lower-income consumers react immediately to economic conditions and have been unable to adjust to cumulative inflation. If inflation moderates, consumers should adjust.

Lawson: BF is not overextended (international/RTD/flavors moved inventory); industry new fills down 30% in 2025 and likely again, craft distilleries roughly halved to ~2,000 -- supply coming off.

Whiting said Blackberry launched mid-fiscal-2026 in the U.K., Germany, Poland, Chile and France with nice volumes, is part of a planned two-year global rollout leveraging Jack Daniel's international demand, and pointed to Brazil as the most promising market, while noting Honey has reached nearly 2 million cases over 15 years.

Cunningham attributed the slight shipment-over-depletion gap to the Blackberry launch and U.S. distributor transitions (2% CDI in the U.S., 5% in emerging international) and expects normalization by year-end. On the Middle East she said team members are safe, the UAE is a strong double-digit growth market with adequate supply, Israel is small, and Travel Retail could see some logistics impact.

Lawson confirmed American whiskey pricing flat in last 13 weeks of Nielsen with big players remaining rational. Tequila most aggressive for obvious reasons. Industry supply concerns moderating as thousands of entrepreneurial brands struggling and going out of business, reducing shelf crowding. Highlighted Double Oaked as most successful line extension ever, with 10/12/14-year-old age series demand far exceeding supply.

Leanne expects seamless California distributor transition. Finished goods inventory progress significant but muted by tariff mitigation strategies. Emerging market growth is mix of geographic expansion, pricing, and category growth.

Leanne confirmed significant progress on inventory reduction visible in lower working capital requirements. Lawson noted industry supply conditions favor big established brands as smaller players struggle.

Rahul said no significant step-up in investment; ensuring brands are competitive and investments drive efficiency/value. Americas restructuring actions taken in Q4, supply chain savings ongoing, EMEA/APAC margin improvement targeted. Tracey cited CapEx reduction from $750M to $650M, working capital opportunities, and confidence in doing all priorities with strong balance sheet and cash generation.

Rahul identified 3 capability buckets: supply chain (variety packing, flavor capabilities, logistics optimization), commercial capabilities (category captaincy exceeds market share), and technology (AI, baseline infrastructure). All investments evaluated on productivity, efficiency, or top/bottom line enablement.

Gavin detailed U.S. share loss breakdown: flavors/seltzer biggest drag (Simply, Vizzy declining), economy portfolio ~1/3, core retained 180bps of step-change gains. Outlined Q3 plans: Miller Lite 50th anniversary, NFL alliance, Coors Light ESPN GameDay, Banquet 'start your legacy' program. Tracey noted incentive comp reversal of large portion accrued in H1, cash tax benefits and working capital largely offset profit shortfall.

Gavin reiterated confidence in premiumization plans and goal to reach a third of NSR from above premium. Acknowledged tough Q1 but expects normalization to historical industry trends. Timing uncertain.

Gavin expects to hold unprecedented shelf gains from 2024 with minor adjustments. Tracey explained Fever-Tree: 100% U.S. revenue recognized, shared marketing costs, royalty in COGS, equity stake at cost marked to market excluded from underlying.

CFO acknowledged timing slipped, said the large-retailer space came through in July and end-cap/cold-space swaps continue into September and Q4.

John framed Alani growth as strong but lumpy on LTO timing, with distribution and TDP gains to capture through 2026, without a specific rate.

Serotta asked about Alani sell-in vs takeaway; Langhans cited ~129% scanner vs shipped growth to show sell-through is real, and flagged Witch's Brew pulled forward, direct.

Management deflected the right-of-first-refusal question but Jarrod quantified the Q4 distributor-inventory impact at $8-10 million.