The cyber incident that interrupted Ahold Delhaize's online services and supply-chain operations is expected to trim fourth-quarter net sales by as much as €250 million and weaken its 2026 outlook.
Ahold Delhaize said it expects the incident to reduce fourth-quarter net sales by €200 million to €250 million and underlying and IFRS operating income by €75 million to €100 million. Costs to respond to and remediate the incident are expected to have a marginal effect on full-year IFRS operating income.
The company lowered its 2026 forecast for diluted underlying earnings per share growth to a low-single-digit rate at constant exchange rates, from a previous mid- to high-single-digit range. The outlook is based on a 53-week year. Ahold Delhaize also cut its free-cash-flow target to about €2.1 billion from at least €2.3 billion, citing the cyber disruption and new supplier-payment regulations in Serbia.
The disruption affected online services in the Benelux and the United States, as well as supply-chain operations in the Benelux. Ahold Delhaize said it brought most service problems under control within two weeks, while recovery work continued. Some customers did not receive the company's usual level of service; its brands used special offers and other gestures as shoppers returned.
Third-quarter net sales were €23.1 billion, up 1.9% at constant exchange rates. The company first disclosed a cybersecurity issue on Oct. 12. In an Oct. 19 update, Ahold Delhaize said its investigation found that suspicious activity in its IT infrastructure resulted from malicious actions by others. It did not identify the actors or explain their method. The company had previously said it filed a report with Dutch police, as described in an earlier account of the filing.
Ahold Delhaize also said it plans to start a €1 billion share-buyback program at the beginning of 2027 and is targeting mid-single-digit dividend-per-share growth in 2026.
