Ahold Delhaize estimates cyberattack will cut Q4 net sales by €200M to €250M

Ahold Delhaize estimates that last month's cyberattack will reduce its fourth-quarter net sales by €200 million to €250 million. The company also expects operating income to fall by €75 million to €100 million. Ahold Delhaize reported the estimates to investors and stakeholders during its third-quarter results.

Financial estimates

The net sales and operating income figures are estimates, not final results. Ahold Delhaize said it expects incremental response and remediation costs to have a marginal impact on its financial results in the fourth quarter of 2026. The company disclosed the cybersecurity incident last month and took multiple systems offline as a precaution to protect its IT environment.

Data and system response

A few days after the incident, Ahold Delhaize said it had found no evidence that any customer or employee data was stolen. The retailer said protecting its infrastructure in the best interest of customers, associates, and partners is a top priority, and it apologized for any inconvenience the issue may have caused customers and partners.

Affected brands and recovery

The incident affected many other retailers, including supermarket Albert Heijn, drugstore chain Etos, liquor store chain Gall & Gall, and all of Ahold Delhaize's businesses in the United States, such as Food Lion, Giant Food, Hannaford, Stop & Shop, and The GIANT Company. Ahold Delhaize said most of the disruption was contained within two weeks, but work continues to fully restore normal operations.

President and CEO Frans Muller said during the presentation of the company's third-quarter financial results that cyber threats are an increasingly harsh reality of doing business today. He said the incident demonstrated the company's resilience and that its strategy ensures it continues to move forward. Muller also apologized to the brands' customers for the disruption and inconvenience, and said the company is showing appreciation through special promotions and other small gestures, without sharing details about them.

Sources: Cybernews