Primo Brands Corporation

Second-quarter comparable net sales increased 4.2% year over year to $1.8 billion, with a 4.3% contribution from price/mix and a negative 0.1% contribution from volume. Adjusted EBITDA increased 5% to $385 million, and comparable adjusted EBITDA margin was 21.4%, up 10 basis points versus last year and 260 basis points sequentially. Direct delivery comparable net sales increased 0.4%, while retail growth was led by regional spring water up 4.1%, purified water up 1.9%, and premium brands up 30.5%. On the balance sheet, net leverage improved to 3.42x from 3.52x in Q1, liquidity was $953 million, and the company generated $227.9 million of cash flow from operations; adjusted free cash flow was $200.1 million, up $30.4 million year over year. For 2026, management raised comparable net sales growth guidance to 2% to 4% and reaffirmed adjusted EBITDA guidance of $1.465 billion to $1.515 billion. Adjusted free cash flow guidance stayed at $790 million to $810 million, capex is expected to be about 4% of net sales plus about $100 million of integration capex, and the company repurchased $15.5 million of stock in the quarter, with $62.8 million remaining under the authorization.

Eric Foss said the company is seeing accelerating momentum, driven by improvements in the customer experience in direct delivery and strong share gains in retail. He emphasized that direct delivery has now returned to growth and that service metrics such as OTIF, call volumes, quits, and customer satisfaction are improving. His tone was confident and forward-looking, with repeated emphasis that the business is stronger than six months ago and that the company is shifting from stabilize to optimize, while continuing to invest in growth areas like marketing, brand building, tech, and AI.

David Hass focused on the mix of price and volume, noting second-quarter growth was driven mainly by price/mix but that direct delivery improved 340 basis points sequentially and retail remained balanced. He highlighted margin improvement to 21.4%, better cash generation, and deleveraging to 3.42x, while noting $953 million of liquidity, $227.9 million of operating cash flow, and $200.1 million of adjusted free cash flow. He also said the company is still facing higher transportation and commodity costs, but expects mitigation from pricing, supply chain initiatives, hedging, private fleet investments, and disciplined capital allocation, with about $100 million of integration capex expected for 2026 and $62.8 million left on the buyback authorization.

Analysts pressed management on customer counts, the durability of direct-delivery recovery, the balance of volume versus price, working-capital improvement, and whether pricing actions in immediate consumption could affect shelf space or retailer behavior. Foss said the customer-direct business strengthened in May and June, with call volumes back to pre-merger levels, quits improving, OTIF in the mid-90s, and a positive month within Q2; he also said July and August trends should remain constructive, though more work remains. Hass said working capital should become a tailwind as collections, vendor relations, and inventory management normalize, while management also said the warehouse management system is still in pilot and too early to quantify. On pricing, Foss said the company is aiming for balanced growth and will use more precise pricing and trade-spend actions where needed, while staying competitive and consumer-focused.