Company Reports

Lindt issued a trading update, cutting full-year 2026 organic sales growth guidance to 0%-2% from 4%-6% previously, as weak seasonal orders and Europe's summer heatwave hit demand. Shares were down 8% in intraday trading on Sept. 29.

The substantial price premium that Lindt & Sprüngli commands over mainstream brands—estimated to be close to 100% in the United States and around 25% in large European markets—together with its leading market share in key regions, signals the presence of durable competitive advantages from brand intangible assets in the form of brand strength. This has led us to award Lindt a Wide Morningstar Economic Moat Rating, supported by the company’s ability to maintain its premium positioning over the long term by pricing in line with inflation and peers, and its focus on a segment of the chocolate market that has experienced somewhat stable competition and is largely shielded from the threat of private label.

The substantial price premium that Lindt & Sprüngli commands over mainstream brands—estimated to be close to 100% in the United States and around 25% in large European markets—together with its leading market share in key regions, signals the presence of durable competitive advantages from brand intangible assets in the form of brand strength. This has led us to award Lindt a Wide Morningstar Economic Moat Rating, supported by the company’s ability to maintain its premium positioning over the long term by pricing in line with inflation and peers, and its focus on a segment of the chocolate market that has experienced somewhat stable competition and is largely shielded from the threat of private label.

In Lindt's first half, organic sales grew just 4% and volume was still negative, declining almost 8%. Management reiterated guidance for full-year organic sales growth of 4%-6%. Shares declined as much as 4% intraday on July 21.

The substantial price premium that Lindt & Spruengli commands over mainstream brands—estimated to be close to 100% in the United States and around 25% in large European markets—together with its leading market share in key regions, signals the presence of durable competitive advantages from brand intangible assets in the form of brand strength. This has led us to award Lindt a wide moat rating, supported by the company’s ability to maintain its premium positioning over the long term by pricing in line with inflation and peers, and its focus on a segment of the chocolate market that has experienced somewhat stable competition and is largely shielded from the threat of private label.

Lindt issued cautious 2026 guidance, expecting 4%-6% organic sales growth, well below the 12% achieved in fiscal 2025, citing weak expected Easter sales and geopolitical tensions. Volumes are expected to remain negative in 2026. Shares declined about 10% during intraday trading on March 10.

Lindt released full-year 2025 sales figures, reporting 12.4% organic growth and an 8.2% increase on a reported basis, slightly above updated guidance and our estimates. Shares rose about 2% at the market open on Jan. 13, 2026.

The substantial price premium that Lindt & Spruengli commands over mainstream brands—estimated to be close to 100% in the United States and around 25% in large European markets—together with its leading market share in key regions, signals the presence of durable competitive advantages from brand intangible assets in the form of brand strength. This has led us to award Lindt a wide moat rating, supported by the company’s ability to maintain its premium positioning over the long term by pricing in line with inflation and peers, and its focus on a segment of the chocolate market that has experienced somewhat stable competition and is largely shielded from the threat of private label.

Lindt & Sprüngli reported 11.2% organic sales growth for the first half. Free cash flow was negative due to higher cocoa prices inflating inventory values. Management raised its full-year top-line guidance but narrowed its EBIT margin outlook at the lower end. Shares fell 6% intraday on July 22.

Lindt&Spruengli, or Lindt, delivered 2024 EBIT of CHF 884 million, broadly in line with our forecast. The EBIT margin increased by 60 basis points to 16.2% despite substantial input cost inflation amid record high cocoa prices. Management expects to pass through double-digit price increases in 2025.

The substantial price premium that Lindt & Spruengli commands over mainstream brands—estimated to be around 100% in the United States and the United Kingdom and around 25% in large European markets—together with its leading market share in key regions signals the presence of durable competitive advantages from brand intangible assets in the form of brand strength. This has led us to award Lindt a wide moat rating, supported by the company’s ability to maintain its premium positioning over the long term by pricing in line with inflation and peers, and its focus on a segment of the chocolate market that has experienced somewhat stable competition and is largely shielded from the threat of private label.

Lindt&Spruengli, or Lindt, reported 2024 organic sales growth of 7.8%, at the upper end of its target range, despite weakened consumer sentiment amid record-high cocoa prices. The company expects a step-up in pricing actions in 2025 to offset the unprecedented cocoa inflation.

Wide-moat Lindt & Spruengli reported organic sales growth of 7% for the first half of 2024, primarily driven by mid-single-digit price increases taken to compensate for the higher raw material costs related to cocoa. Despite the substantial price increases implemented this year and on a cumulative basis over the last four years, the volume development remained resilient, with volume/mix growth of 0.9%. This is a good performance for Lindt given the challenging chocolate confectionery market, which is seeing volumes either stagnating or declining depending on the product category and market. Cocoa bean prices remain elevated and have fluctuated between GBP 3,500 and GBP 10,000 per ton over the period, closing at about GBP 7,500 per ton at the end of June 2024--more than double compared with the same period last year. The lofty cocoa price will likely translate into substantial pricing actions continuing well into next year. Management expects this to result in muted, but still marginally positive, volume development in 2024 and 2025, supported by Lindt’s brand strength and consumer unwillingness to forego the small indulgence afforded by premium chocolate. For 2024, the company confirmed its guidance for organic sales growth of 6%-8% and EBIT margin improvement of 20 to 40 basis points. The operating margin improvement is now expected to land closer to the upper end of the range, supported by some positive one-offs. We don’t expect to make any material changes to our CHF 94,000 fair value estimate and view shares as slightly overvalued.

The substantial price premium that Lindt & Spruengli commands over mainstream brands—estimated to be around 100% in the United States and the United Kingdom and around 25% in large European markets—together with its leading market share in key regions signals the presence of durable competitive advantages from brand intangible assets in the form of brand strength. This has led us to award Lindt a wide moat rating, supported by the company’s ability to maintain its premium positioning over the long term by pricing in line with inflation and peers, and its focus on a segment of the chocolate market that has experienced somewhat stable competition and is largely shielded from the threat of private label.

Wide-moat Lindt&Spruengli delivered strong 2023 results with EBIT of CHF 813 million—9% ahead of the prior year, further margin improvement to 15.6% from 15%, and EPS of CHF 2,900, which are broadly aligned with our estimates. Most of the profitability improvement is attributable to price increases to compensate for rising raw materials costs, especially the price of cocoa, which almost doubled over 2023 and reached a historic high at the end of the year. Despite the global market slowdown, all regions contributed to top-line and profit growth and volume/mix remained positive. We maintain our fair value estimate of CHF 94,000. At current levels, shares look overvalued.

Wide-moat Lindt & Spruengli reported 2023 organic sales growth of 10.3%, ahead of expectations, and indicated that operating margin should come in at 15.5%, slightly ahead of guidance and the 15.4% in our forecast. As expected, the weakening of the U.S. dollar and the euro compared with the Swiss franc weighed heavily on the top-line result, with 2023 reported sales growth of 4.6%, compared with 4.3% in our forecast.

The substantial price premium that Lindt & Spruengli commands over mainstream brands—estimated to be around 100% in the United States and the United Kingdom and around 25% in large European markets—together with its leading market share in key regions signals the presence of durable competitive advantages from brand intangible assets in the form of brand strength. This has led us to award Lindt a wide moat rating, supported by the company’s ability to maintain its premium positioning over the long term by pricing in line with inflation and peers, and its focus on a segment of the chocolate market that has experienced somewhat stable competition and is largely shielded from the threat of private label.

Wide-moat Lindt & Spruengli, or Lindt, delivered strong first-half results, with 10.1% organic sales growth and a record EBIT margin of 12.2% (structurally lower compared with the 2022 full-year margin due to gifting seasonality but an almost 300-basis-point improvement compared with the same period of last year). However, reported sales growth only amounted to 4.7% as the strong Swiss franc weighed on the top-line result.

The substantial price premium that Lindt & Spruengli, or Lindt, commands over mainstream brands—estimated to be around 100% in the U.S. and the U.K., and around 25% in other large European markets—together with the company’s leading market share in key regions signals the presence of durable competitive advantages from brand intangible assets in the form of brand strength. This has led us to award Lindt a wide moat, supported by the company’s ability to maintain its premium positioning over the long term by pricing in line with inflation and peers, and its focus on a segment of the chocolate market that has experienced somewhat stable competition and is largely shielded from the threat of private label.

Lindt&Spruengli's, or Lindt's, 2022 annual result offered little surprise on the whole, with the wide-moat stock delivering EBIT of CHF 750 million and EPS of CHF 2,400, broadly aligning with our estimates. Still, with the North American operating margin improvement tracking ahead of our prior expectations, we increase our fair value estimate by 2.5% to CHF 84,000. A time value of money adjustment also contributes to our upwardly revised valuation. Lindt shares continue to screen expensively, trading at a price/fair value estimate of 1.21.