Second Quarter 2026
Filed Aug 11, 2026JBS reports record revenue of $23.9 billion in 2Q26, while IFRS Adjusted EBITDA declined 18% and net income attributable to JBS was a loss of $102 million.
Record net sales and positive free cash flow were offset by lower adjusted profitability, a net loss, weaker Pilgrim’s Pride results, and leverage ending slightly above the Company’s long-term target.
Key metrics
as reported| Metric | Value | q/q | y/y |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net Salesother | $ 23,900 million | – | 14% |
| Adjusted EBITDAnon-GAAP | $ 1,429 million | – | down 18% |
| Adjusted EBITDAnon-GAAP | $ 1,257 million | – | down 8% |
| Adjusted Operating Incomenon-GAAP | $ 790 million | – | down 34% |
| Adjusted Operating Incomenon-GAAP | $ 866 million | – | down 16% |
| Net Income Attributable to JBSother | $ -102 million | – | – |
| Adjusted net incomenon-GAAP | $218 million | – | – |
| Earnings Per Share Attributable to JBSother | $ -0.10 | – | – |
| Adjusted Earnings Per Share Attributable to JBSnon-GAAP | $ 0.20 | – | – |
| Free cash flowother | positive US$130 million | – | improved by US$185 million year-over-year |
| Leverage (Net Debt / Adjusted EBITDA LTM)non-GAAP | 3.10 x | – | – |
| Interest Coverage (Adjusted EBITDA LTM / Net Interest Expenses LTM)non-GAAP | 5.00 x | – | – |
| ROE LTMnon-GAAP | 13.4 % | – | – |
| ROIC LTMnon-GAAP | 13.4 % | – | – |
Segments
| Segment | Revenue | q/q | y/y |
|---|---|---|---|
| JBS Beef North AmericaRecord sales and historically high cutout values were supported by resilient U.S. consumer demand, while live cattle prices increased faster than cutout values amid low cattle availability. | $ 7,770 million | – | 14.2 % |
| Pilgrim’s PrideFirm chicken demand supported fresh, Case Ready, Small Bird and Prepared Foods volumes, but lower commodity pricing, pressured UK pork margins, Middle East conflict costs, and softer foodservice traffic weighed on profitability. | $ 4,623 million | – | -2.8 % |
| JBS BrazilHigher prices and volumes in export and domestic markets, including sales to fill the Chinese quota, drove record second-quarter sales. | $ 4,585 million | – | 28.0 % |
Capital returns
- $1 billion dividend payment
What drove it
- Consolidated net sales reached a record $23.9 billion, up 14% from the prior year.
- JBS Beef North America recorded sales growth despite low cattle availability and restricted live cattle imports from Mexico during the quarter.
- JBS Australia sales growth was driven by higher prices and volumes, while strong commercial dynamics and operational efficiency more than offset a 24% year-over-year increase in cattle costs.
- JBS Brazil delivered record second-quarter sales through higher domestic and export prices and volumes.
- Seara reported 18% sales growth and an adjusted EBITDA margin of 14.9% in 2Q26, supported by fresh-poultry export volumes and growth in value-added and branded products.
- Free-cash-flow improvement was mainly driven by working capital.
Concerns
- IFRS Adjusted EBITDA declined 18% from the prior year and IFRS Adjusted Operating Income declined 34%.
- The Company recorded a net loss of $102 million and EPS of -$0.10.
- Pilgrim’s Pride IFRS Adjusted EBITDA declined 38.5% and its adjusted EBITDA margin declined to 10.9 % from 17.2 %.
- JBS Beef North America remained loss-making on an IFRS adjusted EBITDA basis at $ (78 ) million, despite improvement from $ (233 ) million in the prior-year quarter.
- Net leverage of 3.1x ended slightly above the Company’s long-term financial target.
- The weaker U.S. dollar relative to the Australian dollar weighed on translation of JBS Australia results into U.S. dollars versus the prior-year period.
- JBS USA Pork reported flat revenue as domestic pork demand softened amid inflation pressure on the American consumer.
What to watch
- The gradual expected resumption of live cattle imports from Mexico beginning on August 24 th and the effect on U.S. cattle supply and industry spreads.
- Execution of the closures of the Souderton, Pennsylvania processing plant and the Memphis, Tennessee case-ready plant, as production is absorbed by other U.S. plants.
- The effect of the Beef USA organizational structure, which combines the Fed Beef, Regional Beef, and Case Ready business units.
- Whether Pilgrim’s Pride productivity gains, plant upgrades, and better live operations sustain sequential margin improvement.
- The durability of working-capital support to free cash flow, including receivables discounting, Chinese-customer advance payments, and higher payables.
- Progress in reducing net leverage toward the Company’s long-term financial target.
Balance sheet and cash flow
- Free cash flow in 2Q26 was positive US$130 million, compared to a cash consumption of US$55 million in 2Q25.
- Free cash flow improved by US$185 million year-over-year.
- Receivables improved by US$600 million, reflecting higher receivables discounting and larger advance payments from Chinese customers related to JBS Brazil’s exports.
- Payables increased by US$390 million, driven mainly by higher cattle prices and increased slaughter volumes, particularly in Brazil.
- Adjusted EBITDA declined by US$324 million.
- Net cash interest expenses increased by US$129 million.
- Capex increased by US$163 million.
- The average debt term reached 15.3 years, with an average cost of 5.7%.
- Net leverage ended the quarter at 3.1x.
- In August, JBS increased its revolving credit facility from US$3.5 billion to US$4.2 billion.
- Considering the revolving-credit-facility increase, total liquidity grew to US$7.7 billion.
Analysis
JBS delivered record second-quarter net sales of $23.9 billion, up 14% from the prior year, but the revenue gain did not translate into higher consolidated profitability. IFRS Adjusted EBITDA declined 18% to $ 1,429 million and IFRS Adjusted Operating Income declined 34% to $ 790 million. The Company recorded a net loss attributable to JBS of $ -102 million, compared with net income attributable to JBS of $ 528 million in the prior-year quarter, while adjusted EPS declined to $ 0.20 from $ 0.52.
The largest operating pressure came from poultry comparisons and Pilgrim’s Pride. Pilgrim’s Pride revenue declined 2.8% to $ 4,623 million, IFRS Adjusted EBITDA declined 38.5% to $ 503 million, and its adjusted EBITDA margin fell to 10.9 % from 17.2 %. Management cited lower commodity pricing in the U.S., UK pork-margin pressure from higher imports, costs associated with the Middle East conflict, and softer foodservice traffic. In contrast, the business reported firm chicken demand, U.S. fresh-volume growth, and profitable growth in Prepared Foods.
Beef North America generated record sales of $ 7,770 million, up 14.2 %, but profitability remained negative. IFRS Adjusted EBITDA was $ (78 ) million and the margin was -1.0 %, although both improved from the prior-year quarter. Historically high cutout values and resilient consumer demand were insufficient to offset higher live-cattle costs, as low cattle availability kept industry spreads pressured. JBS Brazil was a relative source of growth, with revenue up 28.0 % to $ 4,585 million and IFRS Adjusted EBITDA up 17.8 % to $ 269 million, though its adjusted EBITDA margin narrowed to 5.9 % from 6.4 %.
Cash flow improved despite lower earnings. Free cash flow was positive US$130 million, compared with cash consumption of US$55 million in 2Q25, primarily due to working-capital movements in receivables and payables. The release identifies US$600 million improvement in receivables and a US$390 million increase in payables, partly offset by lower Adjusted EBITDA, higher net cash interest expenses, and higher capex. The Company paid a $1 billion dividend during the quarter and subsequently expanded its revolving credit facility from US$3.5 billion to US$4.2 billion, bringing total liquidity to US$7.7 billion.
Leverage remains a central financial consideration. Net leverage ended at 3.1x, compared with 2.27 x for the twelve months ended 2Q25, and management stated that it was slightly above the long-term target. Interest coverage declined to 5.00 x from 7.74 x, while ROE LTM and ROIC LTM declined to 13.4 % from 25.7 % and 17.0 %, respectively. No forward financial guidance was provided in the supplied filing text. Near-term operating attention is centered on recovery in U.S. beef spreads, the expected gradual resumption of Mexican live-cattle imports beginning August 24 th, Pilgrim’s Pride margin progression, and the sustainability of working-capital-driven free cash flow.
Management, verbatim
In 2Q26, JBS once again reported a record revenue, reflecting the strength of the Company’s multi-geography and multi-protein platform.
Gilberto Tomazoni, Global CEO
Compared to last year, profitability was pressured by a tough comparison base, as the poultry operations had posted record results in 2Q25.
Gilberto Tomazoni, Global CEO
Leverage ended 2Q26 at 3.1x, slightly above the Company’s long-term target.
Gilberto Tomazoni, Global CEO
Not in the filing
stated, not guessed- Consolidated gross profit and gross margin for the second quarter
- Consolidated GAAP or IFRS operating income before adjustments
- Consolidated GAAP or IFRS gross margin
- Consolidated GAAP or IFRS operating margin
- Consolidated net-income margin
- Consolidated operating cash flow
- Consolidated capex amount
- Cash balance
- Total debt balance
- Net debt balance
- Share repurchases
- Dividend per share
- Forward revenue guidance
- Forward gross-margin guidance
- Forward operating-expense guidance
- Forward tax-rate guidance
- Prior-quarter values for consolidated revenue, EBITDA, operating income, net income, EPS, free cash flow, and leverage
- Revenue figures for JBS Australia and Seara, as the supplied filing text does not include their segment tables
- Second-quarter segment revenue figures for JBS USA Pork, as the supplied filing text reports only that revenue was flat compared to the prior year
AlphaAI analysis generated from the company’s SEC earnings filing (Form 8-K Item 2.02, or Form 6-K for a foreign private issuer). Every figure was cross-checked against the filing text; consensus estimates, price targets and share-price reactions are not shown because they are not in the filing. AI-generated research, not investment advice.