Brazilian Supermarket Mateus Profit Drops 22% on Weak Consumer Demand

Brazilian food retailer Grupo Mateus (B3: GMAT3), the northeast-focused supermarket and wholesale group founded in Maranhão in 1986, reported Q1 2026 net income of R$212.9 million ($42.2 million) — down 21.8 percent year-on-year. Revenue rose 12.9 percent to R$9.4 billion ($1.86 billion), but the headline growth masked sharp organic deterioration: same-store sales fell 7.3 percent.

The revenue growth was driven almost entirely by the consolidation of Novo Atacarejo (the cash-and-carry operation merged in late 2025), wholesale B2B expansion, and the appliances segment. Organic same-store sales fell sharply as Brazilian consumers responded to food deflation in commodities, elevated household debt levels, and shifts toward lower-ticket baskets. The legacy operation (Maranhão, Pará, Piauí, Ceará, Sergipe, Bahia) posted SSS of -6.3 percent; Novo Atacarejo (Pernambuco, Paraíba, Alagoas) was worse at -10 percent.

Adjusted EBITDA (pre-IFRS 16) reached R$399.8 million ($79.2 million), down 18.2 percent year-on-year, with margin compressing 1.6 percentage points to 4.3 percent. Gross margin however expanded 70 basis points to 22.9 percent — reflecting CEO Jesuino Martins’s deliberate strategy to preserve profitability over volume in unprofitable channels. The Balcão wholesale-counter channel was specifically scaled back.

Key Points

Q1 Numbers

Gross profit reached R$2.15 billion ($425.7 million), up 16.1 percent. EBITDA post-IFRS 16 totalled R$543 million ($107.5 million), down 7.3 percent. Operating expenses jumped 29.3 percent to R$1.64 billion ($324.8 million) on the Novo Atacarejo consolidation; excluding that effect, expenses rose 10.8 percent on new-store openings. The net financial expense was R$222.1 million ($44 million), up 22.6 percent year-on-year but down 27.6 percent sequentially.

Why It Matters

Grupo Mateus is the canary in the Brazilian consumer-staples coal mine. The northeast-focused supermarket operator serves a customer base disproportionately exposed to the Brazilian Selic-stress thesis — lower-income households where 15 percent policy rates plus elevated household-debt levels translate directly into compressed grocery baskets. The 7.3 percent SSS decline confirms the consumer pressure is now visible at the till.

XP Investimentos described the print as “weak results” with “strong macro headwinds leading to operational deleveraging.” The sell-side framework recognises that revenue growth of 13 percent (decelerating from 21 percent in Q4 2025) is now almost entirely M&A-driven — the Novo Atacarejo consolidation announced in May 2024 plus the 18 new stores opened in the trailing 12 months. Organic growth has collapsed.

CEO Jesuino Martins’s response is the strategic positive. By scaling back the unprofitable Balcão wholesale channel and preserving gross margin (+70 bps to 22.9 percent), management is choosing profitability over the top-line vanity metric. The 8.8 percent headcount reduction across legacy states since September 2025 reflects the same discipline. This is recession playbook execution, not panic. As the Rio Times reported on Mateus’s Q2 2025 print, the company has been navigating cost pressure while expanding store footprint for multiple quarters.

The balance sheet remains the structural cushion. Cash conversion cycle improved 16 days to 40 days; leverage reduced to 0.33x pre-IFRS 16. Management plans approximately 30 store openings in 2026 — including Novo Atacarejo expansion into Pernambuco and Maranhão announced earlier in the year. The Q1 print is a Brazilian-consumer-cycle data point more than a company-specific failure.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much did Grupo Mateus earn in Q1 2026?

Net income R$212.9 million ($42.2 million), down 21.8% year-on-year. Revenue R$9.4 billion ($1.86 billion), +12.9% driven by Novo Atacarejo consolidation. EBITDA pre-IFRS R$399.8 million ($79.2 million), -18.2%. Same-store sales -7.3% on food deflation and consumer credit pressure.

What is Grupo Mateus?

Grupo Mateus (B3: GMAT3) is one of the largest Brazilian food-retail operators, founded in 1986 by Ilson Mateus Rodrigues in Balsas, Maranhão. It operates 306 units across nine northeast and north states (Maranhão, Pará, Piauí, Ceará, Pernambuco, Bahia, Sergipe, Alagoas, Paraíba) under formats including supermarkets, atacarejo cash-and-carry (Mix Mateus), appliances, foodservice wholesale, and the Novo Atacarejo brand. CEO is Jesuino Martins.

Why did same-store sales fall 7.3%?

Three factors. First, food deflation in commodities reduced ticket values across baskets. Second, elevated household debt at Brazil’s 15% Selic compressed disposable income for the northeast-focused customer base. Third, management deliberately scaled back the Balcão wholesale channel — a low-margin business — preserving gross margin (+70 bps to 22.9%) at the cost of volume. The legacy operation posted SSS of -6.3%; the newer Novo Atacarejo operation was at -10%.

Updated: 2026-05-14T19:00:00-03:00 by Rio Times Editorial Desk

Grupo Mateus Q1 2026 | GMAT3 earnings | Jesuino Martins | Novo Atacarejo | Mix Mateus | Brazilian food retail | northeast Brazil consumer | The Rio Times

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error

LatAm Markets: Live Signals → — real-time movers, turnover leaders and FX across Latin America.