Mondelez (MDLZ)
Key Statistics
EV/EBIT = 16.3x
ROE = 16.69%
Debt/Equity = 69%
FCF Yield = 3.9%
Dividend Yield = 2.8%
Market Cap = $89.27 billion
The Company
Mondelez International (MDLZ) is a global snack food giant known for producing beloved brands across chocolates, biscuits, and confectionery. Its most famous products include Oreo cookies, Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate, Toblerone, Milka, Chips Ahoy!, Trident gum, and Ritz crackers.
Mondelez's diverse portfolio spans five key product categories, offering a wide range of beloved global brands. Biscuits and baked snacks include Oreo, Chips Ahoy!, belVita, Ritz, Triscuit, and TUC. Chocolate features Cadbury Dairy Milk, Milka, Toblerone, and Cote d'Or. Gum and candy brands include Trident, Halls, Dentyne, and Sour Patch Kids. Beverages consist of Tang, Clight, and Cadbury Hot Chocolate. Cheese and grocery products include Philadelphia cream cheese (outside North America) and various regional grocery items.
Mondelez International traces its roots to the National Dairy Products Corporation, founded in 1923, which later became Kraft Foods.
In 2012, Kraft Foods underwent a major corporate restructuring, splitting into two independent companies: Kraft Foods Group, which focused on North American grocery products, and Mondelez International, which became a global leader in snacks and confectionery. The name "Mondelez" is a fusion of the Latin words for "world" ("monde") and "delicious" ("delez").
Mondelez inherited an impressive portfolio of brands, including Oreo, Ritz, and Cadbury, through strategic acquisitions that shaped its dominance in the snack industry. In 2000, Kraft acquired Nabisco for approximately $18.9 billion, bringing iconic brands such as Oreo, Chips Ahoy!, Ritz, Triscuit, and Wheat Thins under its umbrella. This acquisition significantly expanded Kraft’s biscuit and snack division, giving it a strong foothold in the U.S. and global baked snack markets.
A decade later, in 2010, Kraft acquired Cadbury, the UK-based chocolate and confectionery giant, in a $19 billion deal. Cadbury’s addition strengthened Kraft’s position in the chocolate and candy segment, adding world-famous brands like Cadbury Dairy Milk, Toblerone, Trident, Dentyne, Halls, and Sour Patch Kids. The acquisition also expanded the company’s footprint in key emerging markets, particularly India, the UK, and Africa, where Cadbury had strong brand loyalty.
Following the 2012 split, Mondelez International retained these powerhouse brands, focusing on the global snacking industry while Kraft Foods Group concentrated on North American grocery products. Today, these acquisitions remain central to Mondelez’s success, driving revenue across multiple categories, from biscuits and baked snacks to chocolate and confectionery.
Mondelez operates in over 150 countries, with facilities in 46 nations and 147 manufacturing sites. In 2024, 74% of its revenue came from outside the U.S.
Mondelez tracks growth across both emerging and developed markets, organizing its operations into four key segments based on regional performance and market dynamics.
Latin America (13.52% of revenue) includes countries such as Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina, where strong demand for biscuits, chocolates, and powdered beverages fuels growth. The region benefits from a rising middle class and increasing snack consumption.
AMEA (Asia, Middle East, and Africa) (20.02% of revenue) covers a vast and diverse market, including India, China, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. This segment experiences strong demand for biscuits like Oreo and belVita, as well as Cadbury chocolates, with expansion driven by urbanization and evolving consumer preferences.
Europe (36.52% of revenue) is the company’s largest segment, encompassing both developed markets like the UK, Germany, and France, and emerging markets such as Poland and Turkey. With a strong presence in chocolate, biscuits, and gum, this segment benefits from iconic brands like Milka, Toblerone, and LU.
North America (29.94% of revenue) includes the United States and Canada, where Mondelez holds a dominant position in the biscuits and chocolate categories, particularly with Oreo, Chips Ahoy!, Ritz, and Cadbury. The region is characterized by a focus on innovation, premiumization, and health-conscious snacking trends. Across these segments, Mondelez continues to expand its market reach and adapt to local consumer preferences, ensuring sustained growth worldwide.
Mondelez CEO Dirk Van de Put has pursued a strategy focused on balanced growth by expanding distribution, investing in global and local brands, and streamlining operations. His leadership has emphasized profitability through supplier consolidation, divestment of underperforming brands, and manufacturing upgrades.
The company is also rolling out a $1.2 billion enterprise resource planning system to drive efficiency and cost savings, with a portion reinvested in research, development, and marketing.
Recently, Mondelez has expanded its product portfolio through strategic acquisitions of niche brands, strengthening its position in key markets.
The growing popularity of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs like Ozempic presents a challenge for Mondelez, as appetite suppression could dampen demand for its snack-focused products. These concerns have contributed to a 20% decline in the stock.
Performance
Mondelez has delivered a relatively muted performance since 2001, with a 7.14% CAGR, turning a $10,000 investment into $51,140.21. In comparison, the S&P 500 has generated an 8.87% return over the same period.
However, much of Mondelez’s underperformance stems from the challenges it faced during the 2000s. The company spent the entire decade in a prolonged drawdown, hitting a peak 40% decline by 2009. This was largely driven by multiple contraction, as its valuation compressed from 20.5x earnings and 1.3x sales in 2001 to just 9x earnings and 0.8x sales by 2009.