BofA Expects US Margin Decline, European Resilience for Ahold Delhaize's Q2

BofA Global Research forecasts ongoing price investments to affect Ahold Delhaize's (AD.AS) second-quarter US margins, though the research firm expects Europe to "remain resilient" amid disinflation on "solid" volumes. "We expect Q2 to reinforce the key theme from Q1: a challenging US backdrop, offset by resilient execution and market share gains. The key debate should remain the trade-off between volume protection and margin pressure as Ahold accelerates price investment. We expect results to remain consistent with management's FY framework," according to a Thursday note. The company is scheduled to release its second-quarter results on Aug. 5. As such, analysts project US margins to edge down year over year to 4.2%, while like-for-like growth in the region is forecasted at 0.7%. Meanwhile, in Europe, BofA expects like-for-like growth to ease to 1.7% from 2.6% in the first quarter. The research firm made minor tweaks to its full-year 2026 to 2028 earnings forecasts, primarily driven by revised foreign exchange projections and a "slightly less favorable" interest rate outlook. Projected revenue ticks up by 0.8%, while EBIT expectations rise by 0.5% to 0.7%, and EPS.