Mondelez International Inc Class A MDLZ

Even prior to the pandemic, we thought wide-moat Mondelez had been solidifying its strategic course by extending the distribution of its fare, fueling investments behind its local and global brands, and increasing its innovation agility. And we believe the fruits of those efforts underpin Mondelez’s 4.4% organic sales in the quarter, which reflected a 2% benefit from price and 2.4% from volume/mix. This was an acceleration from the mere 0.7% recorded in the June quarter, though growth continues to diverge by geography and category. For one, gum and candy remain in the doldrums (off nearly 19% in the quarter, as social distancing has reduced demand), while consumers continue to indulge in Mondelez’s biscuits (up 7.8%) and chocolate (up 5.3%). And emerging markets remained tepid (up just 1.7%, one third of sales) due to closures in the traditional trade, lagging the 5% gains in developed markets.