Nov 5 (Reuters) - Dutch supermarket group Ahold Delhaize (AD.AS) , opens new tab said on Wednesday it was planning to carry out 1 billion euro ($1.2 billion) share buyback, starting at the beginning of 2026, after it beat market expectations for third-quarter earnings.

The company, which operates the Food Lion chain in the United States, said its quarterly underlying operating income was 933 million euros in the quarter, against an average forecast of 866 million euros from analysts polled by it.

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The beat was supported by strong performance of Ahold's U.S. business, which also includes Stop & Shop, Giant and Hannaford chains, the company said.

Comparable U.S. sales excluding gasoline grew by 2.9%. Ahold generates more than half of its revenue in the country.

The company reiterated its full-year financial targets, which include underlying operating margin of around 4% and at least 2.2 billion euros of free cash flow.

Ahold, which had seen record-high sales in the first quarter of 2025, may however be heading into stormier waters due to rising inflation and the looming lapse of food aid in the U.S.

"With rising inflation, stagnating economic growth and governmental policy moves, the business and customer climate is pressured", CEO Frans Muller said in a statement, pointing to price limitation in Serbia and higher VAT rates in Romania.

($1 = 0.8575 euros)

https://www.reuters.com/business/ahold-delhaize-launch-12-billion-buyback-after-q3-profit-beat-2025-11-05/