Grupo Comercial Chedraui reported Mexico same-store sales growth of 1.3% for the second quarter of 2026, outpacing the ANTAD self-service index — which contracted 0.1% — by 142 basis points for the twenty-fourth consecutive quarter. Consolidated net income for the period totaled 1,825 million pesos, while the company opened 28 new locations across both countries.
The Numbers
Consolidated EBITDA margin expanded 15 basis points year over year to 9.0%. Chedraui Mexico held its EBITDA margin flat at 9.5%, demonstrating that cost-control and operational-efficiency initiatives offset what CEO Antonio Chedraui described as "a challenging economic environment" in the first half of the year. The company's net cash-to-EBITDA ratio stood at -0.09x at the close of Q2 2026, compared with -0.05x in the prior-year period — reflecting a modestly larger net cash cushion relative to earnings. Consolidated sales floor expanded 3.0% in the last twelve months, with Chedraui Mexico alone growing sales floor 4.4%. A 9.7% appreciation of the Mexican peso against the U.S. dollar created a meaningful headwind on consolidated reported results.
U.S. Banner Under Pressure
Chedraui USA — which operates the El Super and Fiesta Mart banners serving Hispanic grocery shoppers in California and Texas — reported EBITDA margin improvement of 20 basis points to 8.5%, aided by distribution efficiencies from the Rancho Cucamonga Distribution Center and broader organizational cost initiatives. Same-store sales in the U.S. segment, however, remain under pressure. Antonio Chedraui attributed the SSS weakness primarily to a decline in customer transactions, which he linked directly to stricter federal immigration enforcement in the markets where the company operates. He noted that California stores began feeling the effect near the end of Q2 2025, while Texas stores saw impact beginning in Q3 2025 — meaning the full year-over-year comparable-base effect will remain elevated through at least mid-2026 before easing. That dynamic is a key factor for analysts tracking the segment's grocery retail performance recovery trajectory.
Unit Growth & Outlook
During the quarter, Chedraui opened 27 Supercito small-format convenience stores and one full-size Chedraui hypermarket in Mexico, plus one new El Super location in the United States. The small-format Supercito rollout reflects the broader foodservice and grocery industry pivot toward neighborhood-scale units that serve dense urban populations with faster trip missions — a strategy gaining traction across Latin American and U.S. Hispanic grocery operators alike. Management reiterated its 2026 investment commitment across both geographies, signaling that unit development plans remain on track despite macroeconomic volatility and currency headwinds. With a net cash position and leverage well below 0x net debt-to-EBITDA, Chedraui enters the second half of 2026 with balance-sheet flexibility to sustain its expansion program. The key watch item for the back half is whether U.S. transaction counts stabilize as the prior-year immigration-enforcement comparables begin to moderate.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
