Jbs N.V. (JBS)

JBS N.V. reported second-quarter 2026 net sales of $23.9 billion, up 14 percent from a year earlier, and a net loss of $102 million 1. The company said profit was pressured by a tough comparison base, because its poultry operations had posted record results a year earlier 1. Its one-time items included $172 million of premiums, interest and costs on bond tender offers and $133 million of antitrust settlements 1.

On 18 August 2026 JBS proposed to acquire every share of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation, the U.S. chicken producer, that it does not already own 4. The offer is a fixed ratio of 2.086 JBS Class A shares for each Pilgrim's Pride share, and JBS owns about 82 percent of the company 4.

Pilgrim's Pride said on 9 October that independent directors had formed a special committee to review the proposal 7. JBS said there is no guarantee that it will enter into a binding agreement 4.

The company also announced a change at the top 2. Wesley Batista Filho, 34, will become Global CEO in January 2027, and Gilberto Tomazoni, who has served eight years as Global CEO, will step down 2. Batista Filho is the son of one non-executive director and the nephew of another, and together those two directors are the company's ultimate controlling shareholders 2.

On 15 September JBS S.A., the Brazilian subsidiary, signed an agreement with Viva Holding to combine their leather businesses in a new company, JBS Viva, owned 50 percent by each side 3. JBS said closing depends on conditions customary for this type of deal 3. JBS said it will release third-quarter results after the U.S. market closes on 9 November and hold a call on 10 November 8.

The business began in 1953, when José Batista Sobrinho opened a small slaughterhouse in Anápolis, in the Brazilian state of Goiás, able to process five head of cattle a day 5. By 1970 daily capacity was about 500 head, and by 1998 it was 5,800 5. The founder's sons, who are now the controlling shareholders, have spent their careers inside the company 5.

The company took the name JBS S.A. in 2006 and sold shares to the public in Brazil in 2007 5. It then bought the U.S. meat packer Swift & Company for about $1.5 billion, its first major move into the United States 5. In 2009 it took a majority stake in Pilgrim's Pride, a large U.S. chicken processor, and it now owns about 82 percent of that company 5.

Acquisitions then widened the range of products 5. In 2013 JBS took over the Seara poultry and pork units in Brazil, its first major step into processed foods 5. In 2015 it bought the Moy Park business in the United Kingdom for about $1.5 billion and Cargill's U.S. pork business for $1.5 billion 5.

The record shows the result 5. Net revenue grew from $38.6 billion in 2012 to $86.2 billion in 2025, a compound annual growth rate of 6.4 percent, according to the annual report 5. Operating profit rose from $1.4 billion in 2012 to $4.2 billion in 2025 5.

Revenue was $72.9 billion in 2023, $77.2 billion in 2024 and $86.2 billion in 2025 5. The company recorded a net loss of $0.1 billion in 2023, then net income of $2.0 billion in 2024 and $2.2 billion in 2025 5.

Volume drove 2024 5. Net revenue rose 5.8 percent, mainly because consolidated sales volumes grew 5.9 percent 5.

Prices drove 2025 5. Net revenue rose 11.7 percent, helped by a 9.1 percent rise in average sales prices and a 2.3 percent rise in volumes 5. Cost of sales, the direct cost of producing what was sold, rose 14.2 percent, faster than revenue, mainly because the cost of cattle reached record levels 5.

The cattle squeeze hit the U.S. beef business hardest 5. Its adjusted EBITDA, the company's own profit measure that leaves out taxes, interest, depreciation and one-off items, swung to a loss of $319.5 million in 2025 from a gain of $247.3 million in 2024 5. The annual report ties the swing to the significant rise in cattle prices 5.

The corporate structure changed in 2025 5. JBS N.V., a Dutch company, became the holding company above JBS S.A., and Brazilian shareholders received depositary receipts on 6 June 5. JBS S.A. shares stopped trading in São Paulo on 9 June, and the Class A shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on 13 June under the symbol JBS 5.

What JBS sells and where

According to its annual report, JBS is the largest protein company in the world by net revenue, and it sells to more than 330,000 customers in about 197 countries 5. It reported about 283,000 employees at the end of 2025 5. The United States produced 50.9 percent of 2025 net revenue, South America 28.8 percent, Australia 8.3 percent and Europe 7.5 percent, before eliminating sales between its own units 5.

The company reports seven segments 5. Brazil had 2025 net revenue of $15.3 billion, Seara $9.2 billion, Beef North America $28.1 billion, Pork USA $8.4 billion, Pilgrim's Pride $18.5 billion and Australia $8.1 billion 5.

Beef: North America, Brazil and Australia

Beef North America, the largest segment by sales, processes cattle in the United States and Canada and also sells by-products and plant-based foods in Europe 5. JBS does not own cattle on feed and buys them mostly on the spot market, so its profit depends on the gap between cattle cost and beef prices 5. In the second quarter its net sales rose 14.2 percent, and its adjusted EBITDA loss narrowed to $78 million from $233 million 1.

The Brazil segment runs 34 beef processing plants and sells beef under brands such as Friboi, 1953 Friboi and Maturatta 5. In the second quarter its net sales rose 28 percent, and its adjusted EBITDA rose 17.8 percent 1. The company said exports to fill the Chinese quota and strong demand lifted sales, even as live cattle cost about 12 percent more than a year earlier 1.

JBS Australia processes beef, lamb, pork and fish and owns the brands Swift and Great Southern, among others 5. Its second-quarter net sales rose 30 percent, but its adjusted EBITDA fell 20.5 percent, with cattle costs up 24 percent 1.

Chicken, pork and prepared foods

Pilgrim's Pride, about 82 percent owned, sells fresh and prepared chicken in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and Mexico 5. Its second-quarter net sales fell 2.8 percent and its adjusted EBITDA fell 38.5 percent, which JBS tied to lower commodity pricing 1.

Seara sells chicken, pork and ready meals in Brazil and exports them, including to the Middle East 5. The company said Seara's sales grew 18 percent in the second quarter, with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 14.9 percent 1.

Pork USA is the segment the company calls its most resilient, and it also runs 31 hog farms that supply about 25 percent of its live hog needs 15. Its revenue was flat from a year earlier in the second quarter 1.

Eggs and new ground

In 2025 JBS took 48.5 percent of the capital of Mantiqueira, a Brazilian egg producer, and shares control of it with its founder Leandro Pinto 5. Mantiqueira USA, a unit of that joint venture, agreed in 2025 to acquire Hickman's Egg Ranch, a U.S. egg producer 5. In 2026 JBS agreed to take 80 percent of an Oman meat and poultry business for $150 million, subject to approvals, and opened a Seara plant in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 5.

Plants and people

The annual report puts JBS first in the world in beef capacity at more than 78,000 head of cattle a day and first in poultry at more than 14.0 million chickens a day 5. It ranks second in pork at more than 149,000 hogs a day, citing industry sources 5. In the second quarter the company announced the closure of plants in Souderton, Pennsylvania and Memphis, Tennessee, and merged three U.S. beef units into one called Beef USA 1.

Gilberto Tomazoni has been chief executive of the issuer since October 2019 5. The Global CFO and investor relations officer is Guilherme Perboyre Cavalcanti, who signed the September current report 3. Jeremiah O'Callaghan is chairman of the board, and the controlling shareholders Wesley and Joesley Mendonça Batista are non-executive directors 5.

Rivals

The annual report names Marfrig and Minerva in Brazil, Tyson Foods, National Beef and Cargill in the United States, and Teys Bros and Nippon Meat Packers in Australia as its main beef competitors 5. In pork it names Smithfield Foods, Tyson Foods, Seaboard Foods and Hormel Foods in the United States 5. In chicken it names Tyson Foods in North America, BRF in Brazil and 2 Sisters Food Group in Europe 5.

Current problems

The annual report says JBS USA settled with three purported classes in the U.S. beef antitrust litigation for $163.2 million in total, and with three pork classes for $57.3 million 5. JBS listed $133 million of antitrust settlements as a one-time item in the second quarter of 2026 1.

On 4 August 2026 JBS entities agreed in principle to pay $31 million to Pilgrim's Pride to settle a shareholder derivative lawsuit, subject to approval by the Delaware Court of Chancery 10.

In 2017, following disclosures of illicit payments to Brazilian politicians from 2009 to 2015, the controlling shareholders entered collaboration agreements 5. J&F, their holding company, agreed to pay a fine of R$8.0 billion 5.

The umbrella, in words

JBS markets its products under national and regional brands 5. In North America they include Swift, Just Bare, Pilgrim's Pride, Gold'n Plump and Sampco, and in Brazil Seara, Friboi, Doriana and Massa Leve 5. In Australia they include Swift, Great Southern, Primo and Huon, and in Europe Moy Park and Richmond 5.

The annual report's subsidiaries exhibit lists 334 companies, among them Seara Alimentos, Pilgrim's Pride Corporation, JBS Packerland, Swift Beef Company, Moy Park Limited and JBS Couros Brasil 6. The exhibit does not say which of them are listed on an exchange 6.

The tie to Pilgrim's Pride is ownership of about 82 percent 5. Mantiqueira is a joint venture in which JBS owns 48.5 percent of the capital and shares control 5. JBS Viva is planned as an equal 50-50 company, and JBS S.A. would contribute its leather business, JBS Couros, to it 3.

In January 2026 JBS S.A. sold its 50 percent interest in Meat Snack Partners do Brasil for $40.6 million, a venture that had not been consolidated in its statements 5.

Joesley and Wesley Mendonça Batista hold their shares through J&F Investments Luxembourg, called LuxCo 5. On 18 March 2026 LuxCo owned all Class B shares and 31.28 percent of Class A shares, or 85.68 percent of the votes 5. Class B shares carry ten votes each and Class A shares one 5.

BNDESPar, a subsidiary of the Brazilian development bank BNDES, owned 18.61 percent of all shares and 5.35 percent of the votes on that date 5.

JBS said it will release third-quarter results on 9 November after the U.S. market closes and discuss them on a call on 10 November 8.

The Pilgrim's Pride proposal is the open deal 13. JBS said it expects a special committee of independent directors to consider it and will not move forward unless that committee approves 13. JBS also expects the final documents to require approval by a majority of the votes cast by unaffiliated PPC shares, and its own shareholders need not vote 1312.

JBS said the JBS Viva leather combination is subject to conditions precedent and that there is no guarantee it will be completed in a timely manner or at all 3. The Oman joint venture, an 80 percent stake for $150 million, still needed regulatory approvals when the annual report was filed 5.

The leadership change is scheduled 2. The company said Wesley Batista Filho takes over as Global CEO in January 2027 and that Tomazoni will oversee the transition over five months, then become Vice Chairman and Senior Advisor 2.

Investment plans in the United States were announced in 2025 5. They include a $135 million sausage plant in Iowa, $200 million for beef plants in Cactus, Texas and Greeley, Colorado, and a $400 million prepared foods plant in Georgia 5. The company also announced an agreement to purchase a production plant in Ankeny, Iowa for $100 million 5.

JBS has also offered to swap notes 9. Its exchange offers for $1.5 billion of 5.625% senior notes due 2037 and $1.0 billion of 6.400% senior notes due 2057 expire on 20 November 2026 unless extended 9.

The new notes are registered under U.S. securities law and carry the same financial terms as the old ones 9.

A share-structure window also closes 5. The annual report says Class A shares will not be convertible into ten-vote Class B shares after 31 December 2026 5.

Past

JBS's revenue grew from $73 billion in fiscal 2023 to $86 billion in fiscal 2025, up 8.7% a year over three filed years, and rose in two of two years with no fall from a peak. Net income was positive in two of three of those years. The company swung from a loss of $0.13 billion in fiscal 2023 to a profit of $2.23 billion in fiscal 2025. Over the two fiscal years to 2025-12-31, the diluted share count held steady, and dividends and buybacks returned about 29% of operating cash flow over three years. JBS's filings since 2022 show no warning events: no bankruptcy or receivership notice, no debt default notice, no exchange listing notice, no restatement warning, no auditor change, no material cyber incident and no late-report notice. 12

Present

In fiscal year ended 2025-12-31, JBS reported revenue of $86 billion and a profit of $2.2 billion. The quarterly report for the period ended 2026-06-30 filed on 2026-08-10. In fiscal 2025, JBS earned about 23 cents of profit for every dollar of shareholders' money, its products earned about 25 cents per dollar of everything the company owns, it owed about 79 cents per dollar of assets, and its share count was unchanged over the year. JBS's revenue of $86 billion ranks in the top 1% by size among 42 graded names in its industry family; its net margin of 2.6% ranks in the bottom 42%; its revenue growth of 8.7% a year over the last two filed years ranks in the top 15%. 341

Tomazoni Gilberto serves as Global Chief Executive Officer, officer and director; Cavalcanti Guilherme Perboyre serves as Global CFO and IRO, officer. The record of JBS's people begins on 2026-03-18 and the chief executive and most of the people in charge have filed since then, showing a floor of seven months. 51

Future

The annual report, foreign filer (Form 20-F) for the fiscal year ending 2026-12-31 is due by 2027-04-30. JBS's room to grow includes cash of $4.6 billion against debt of $191 million, which leaves 9.7% of its assets as net cash in the top 18% of its family; cash from operations less capital spending is 1% of revenue in the bottom 30%; a gross margin of 13.1% in the bottom 25%. Revenue grew 8.7% a year over the last three filed years against 8.7% over all three, speeding up in the top 18% of its family; the newest year grew 11.7% in the top 20%; capital spending grew 18.2% a year in the top 18%. 41

How the company operates

JBS is classed by the SEC as a product business under Meat Packing Plants (industry code 2011). JBS tags no split of its revenue by line of business in the annual report on file, so growth by line cannot be read. 31

New moves

On 2026-10-16, JBS filed Form F-4, a merger registration as a foreign filer. On 2026-08-19, the company filed Form 425, a merger communication. On 2026-08-19, JBS filed Form 8-K reporting investor disclosure under Regulation FD and another event the company chose to report for the period ended 2026-08-18. On 2026-08-11, JBS filed Form 8-K with results released, officer or director change, and investor disclosure under Regulation FD for the period ended 2026-08-10. 4