Nestlé (NESN) Stock Jumps 6% on Volume Growth — Here’s Why Some Investors Are Buying Now

TLDR

• Nestlé stock has fallen roughly 41% since early 2022, wiping out about $177 billion in market cap over a bruising multi-year stretch.
• New CEO Philipp Navratil is cutting 16,000 jobs and refocusing the business around coffee, pet care, snacking, and nutrition — targeting 3%–4% organic growth in 2025.
• First-quarter 2026 real internal growth (RIG) rose 1.2% year-over-year, sending the stock up 5.9% on the day — its best session since October 2025.
• Nestlé has agreed to reduce planned Spanish job cuts by 20%, from 301 to a maximum of 242 positions, after reaching a deal with local unions.
• Investors are pushing Nestlé to sell its ~$47 billion stake in L’Oréal and use the proceeds for buybacks, while GLP-1 drugs and geopolitical risks remain key headwinds.

Nestlé (NESN) stock has lost roughly 41% of its value since early 2022, a bruising stretch that wiped out approximately $177 billion in market cap. The Swiss food giant has had three CEOs in just 13 months, failed acquisitions, and a string of disappointing sales figures to show for it.

The current CEO, Philipp Navratil, took the helm in September 2025 and is now the one tasked with cleaning it all up. He is not moving slowly.

Navratil has announced plans to cut 16,000 jobs globally — about 6% of Nestlé’s workforce — and expects the restructuring to save roughly CHF3 billion ($3.8 billion) by 2027. The job reduction program is already underway across Europe.

In Spain, Nestlé reached an agreement with unions this week to lower the number of planned cuts to a maximum of 242 positions, down from 301. That is a 20% reduction. The deal includes severance terms, a job bank for those affected, and an internal redeployment process.

The cuts span multiple Nestlé sites in Spain, including its Girona plant — the company’s largest instant coffee facility in Europe and its third-largest worldwide.

Growth Numbers Starting to Move

Beyond the job cuts, Navratil is narrowing Nestlé’s product focus. He is exiting lower-growth areas like San Pellegrino and parts of the Häagen-Dazs business, while doubling down on coffee, pet care, snacking, and nutrition.

His key metric is RIG — real internal growth — which measures volume gains rather than price increases. In the first quarter of 2026, RIG rose 1.2% year-over-year across most divisions. The stock jumped 5.9% on the day of that release, its best single-session gain since October 2025.

The stock currently trades at around 18 times forward earnings, below its five-year average of 23 times.

Nestlé’s first acquisition under Navratil was announced earlier this month: a full buyout of ready-to-drink meal brand yfood Labs, which posted about €150 million in sales in 2025, growing at a double-digit rate.

Key Risks Investors Are Watching

The turnaround story is not without complications.

Nestlé holds roughly a 20% stake in L’Oréal, valued at just under $47 billion. Some investors, including Barron’s Roundtable panelist Christopher Rossbach of J. Stern, are pushing Nestlé to sell the position and buy back its own stock. CFO Anna Manz has so far pushed back on that idea, calling the holding “a very high-performing investment.”

GLP-1 weight-loss drugs are another concern, given that some users are eating less in general. Navratil’s response has been to argue Nestlé sells nutrition, not just calories.

Geopolitical disruption is also a factor. Ongoing tensions around the Strait of Hormuz could push up raw material costs, putting pressure on Nestlé’s pricing strategy — the same trap that cost it market share in 2022 and 2023 when it raised prices 8.2% and 7.5%, respectively.

Nestlé is targeting organic growth of 3% to 4% for the year. Wall Street sees that as a challenge. Annual free cash flow is forecast to rise to CHF12.9 billion by 2030, up from CHF9.2 billion today.

The company’s dividend has increased every year since 1996. Last year it paid CHF3.10 per share, a yield of 3.94%.

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