Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on November 5, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleAhold Delhaize sticks to its 2025 outlook despite US food aid issues, with minimal sales impact. Plans a 1 billion euro share buyback in 2026.
By Mateusz Rabiega
(Reuters) -Dutch supermarket group Ahold Delhaize on Wednesday confirmed its guidance for 2025 and said it had not seen a material impact from the lapse in U.S. food aid for low-income shoppers in its biggest region by sales.
The delay in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, threatens 42 million recipients in the U.S. and may cause an $8 billion revenue gap for grocers while impacting both suppliers and workers.
"SNAP is on a rather low level of penetration in our sales number, it's on one of the lowest levels since COVID," finance chief Jolanda Poots-Bijl told Reuters, adding that Ahold was closely monitoring the situation.
Ahold, which had seen record-high sales in the first quarter of 2025, reiterated its full-year targets, which include underlying operating margin of around 4% and at least 2.2 billion euros of free cash flow.
The operator of the Food Lion chain in the U.S. also beat earnings forecasts in the third quarter and said it was planning to carry out a 1 billion euro ($1.2 billion) share buyback, starting at the beginning of 2026, sending its shares 1.6% higher in early trading in Amsterdam.
CONSUMER SENTIMENT
Although U.S. consumer sentiment remained steady in October despite concerns over the government shutdown, worries about the labour market and inflation persist among consumers.
Economists have pointed to declining confidence amid lower-income consumers, arguing that high-income households are the ones keeping the economy afloat through strong spending.
"Household budgets are under pressure on both sides of the ocean ... our customers are on the hunt for value", Poots-Bijl told Reuters.
($1 = 0.8575 euros)
(Reporting by Mateusz Rabiega in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a federal assistance program in the U.S. that provides food-purchasing assistance to low-income individuals and families.
Free cash flow is the cash generated by a company after accounting for capital expenditures. It is an important measure of financial performance and can be used for expansion, dividends, or debt reduction.
Consumer sentiment refers to the overall attitude of consumers towards the economy and their personal financial situation. It can influence spending and economic growth.
A share buyback is when a company purchases its own shares from the marketplace, reducing the number of outstanding shares. This can increase the value of remaining shares and improve earnings per share.
Operating margin is a financial metric that measures the proportion of revenue left after paying for variable costs of production. It indicates how efficiently a company is managing its operations.
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