“People are consuming less, or they’re eating less or they’re wasting less or they’re eating more out of home,” outgoing Chief Financial Officer Francois-Xavier Roger said during a Bernstein conference Thursday. “It’s difficult to know. I don’t think it will last.”
US consumers have been resilient, but the end of Covid-era subsidies and savings is starting to impact consumption, the CFO said. Nestle’s China business hasn’t recovered as quickly as the company had expected. He said Nestle continues to look at deals but most of those the company is assessing aren’t “must-haves.” The food maker could make small acquisitions that would boost earnings growth, he said.