Mondelēz Signals New Wave of Price Hikes Amid ‘Unprecedented’ Cocoa Inflation

Rising sales in Europe helped offset weak domestic demand for Mondelēz International’s chocolate and biscuit products during the second quarter, the company reported on Tuesday.

In the quarter ending June 30, net revenue climbed 7% to $8.98 billion, driven by higher net pricing. Net revenue in the North America segment dipped 3.5%, while volumes decreased 2.4%. Comparatively, the company’s Europe division saw net revenue rise 18.7% and volumes slide 1.3%.

“We posted accelerated top-line growth (+5.6%) in Q2 2025 underpinned by strong pricing execution in our chocolate business and robust growth across the vast majority of our geographies,” said CEO Dirk Van de Put in prepared remarks. “We remain confident in our commitments amid a challenging environment, powered by the resiliency of our categories, our advanced global footprint and the strength of our brands.”

Despite ongoing economic and political concerns in North America, Mondelēz believes consumers’ enduring preference for snacking remains solid. Value-seeking U.S. consumers are shifting to lower price points and purchasing multipacks amid concerns of a potential economic slowdown.

Addressing these concerns, the Oreo and Cadbury maker’s continued investments in price-pack architecture – including smaller “hold fresh” packs with an “attractive” everyday price point – are helping it maintain share.

Still, Van de Put believes that this U.S. consumer sentiment is impacting consumption across the board, and Mondelēz does not expect a material rebound for the North America segment in 2025. He also teased a new wave of selective, incremental price increases that will take effect in North America within the next few weeks.

“We are clearly at the point in time where we see inflation going up. Our cost base is higher, particularly because of cocoa, and I think [these pricing actions] will boost revenue and top line,” Van de Put said during a call with shareholders and analysts.

Mondelēz sees a significant opportunity to continue pursuing incremental growth in alternative channels. According to Van de Put, the company’s share gains in channels like club and dollar/value are “outstanding,” and Mondelēz is seeking to capture its “fair share” of those channels in the back half of the year.

Though the Chips Ahoy and Milka maker is vigilant on chocolate elasticity for the remainder of 2025 in Europe, it’s not expecting an immediate change in North America. If anything, Mondelēz believes the consumer will soon see the full effect of tariffs.

“We will see where the consumer confidence in spending will go, and we have to be careful of that. We’ve included a realistic view of what is going to happen, and, at this stage, that is the best stance we can take,” said Van de Put.

Looking ahead, Mondelēz reaffirmed its fiscal-year 2025 outlook, expecting organic net revenue growth to be approximately 5% and adjusted EPS to decline approximately 10% on a constant currency basis due to “unprecedented” cocoa cost inflation.

Even so, analysts at Jefferies are confident cocoa deflation could be a potential EPS accelerator in fiscal year 2026, stating, “Indications are pointing to a better supply/demand moving forward that could lead cocoa prices to drop later this year. If that happens, Mondelēz could see a material margin unlock in 2026, as pricing, RGM and cost savings initiatives that have taken hold sustain.”