The Numbers

Grupo Comercial Chedraui posted consolidated EBITDA margin of 8.7% in the third quarter of 2026, a 14-basis-point improvement year over year, even as same-store sales came under pressure across both its Mexican and U.S. banners. Consolidated net income reached 1,626 million pesos, and the operator finished the period in a net cash position, with a net debt-to-EBITDA ratio of -0.13x, compared with -0.03x in the year-ago quarter.

The gross margin line widened 53 basis points, largely driven by procurement and distribution efficiencies at the Rancho Cucamonga Distribution Center (RCDC) serving Chedraui USA. Chedraui Mexico's EBITDA margin held near flat at 9.8%, down just 5 bps from 9.9% in Q3 2025, while Chedraui USA's EBITDA margin expanded 18 bps to 7.5%. Sales floor across the consolidated enterprise grew 3.4% over the trailing twelve months; Chedraui Mexico's own footprint expanded 4.7% on the same basis. Currency was a headwind: peso appreciation against the U.S. dollar shaved 6.2% off reported results.

What Pressured Comps

In Mexico, same-store sales tracked in line with the ANTAD self-service sector index but were held back by the company's Southeast Region — its most operationally significant geography — where a pullback in public and private investment and reduced tourism activity weighed on customer traffic. CEO Antonio Chedraui noted that Southeast SSS still outperformed the ANTAD self-service benchmark for the region, but because the area represents a disproportionate share of total Mexican volume, its underperformance dragged the consolidated Mexico SSS result.

Across the border, Chedraui USA's comp sales remained soft. The company attributed the transaction decline to a combination of stricter U.S. immigration enforcement — which affects the chain's core Hispanic shopper base — lower Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit disbursements, and persistently high gasoline prices that continue to compress discretionary spending. These are sector-wide headwinds for grocery operators serving value-oriented and immigrant communities in the Western U.S. and Texas markets, and they reflect macro pressures that peer banners targeting similar demographics have also flagged in recent quarters.

Expansion and Outlook

Despite the soft comp environment, Chedraui pressed ahead with unit growth. During the quarter, the company opened 22 Supercitos convenience-format locations, three full Chedraui stores, one Super Chedraui, and one Arteli store in Mexico. In the United States, it opened one El Super store and one Fiesta store, adding to its portfolio of Hispanic-focused grocery formats. The dual-banner U.S. strategy — El Super concentrated in California and Fiesta anchored in Texas — continues to serve as the primary vehicle for American unit growth.

Management reiterated its 2026 capital investment commitment across both geographies. The net cash position, strengthened by positive free cash flow generation over the first nine months of the year, gives the operator balance-sheet flexibility to sustain that expansion pace without meaningful leverage. For foodservice suppliers and CPG vendors tracking shelf-space and distribution opportunities in the value grocery channel, Chedraui's footprint growth and RCDC optimization signal a continued push toward centralized procurement efficiency — a dynamic reshaping vendor relationships across the Hispanic grocery segment and putting pressure on operators to sharpen logistics costs just as consumer budgets stay stretched on both sides of the border. Observers following Latin American retail expansion into U.S. markets will watch whether immigration-related traffic softness persists into Q4 or begins to normalize.

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.