Mondelez Earnings: Brand Spending Proves a Tasty Recipe for Driving Profitable Sales Growth

Mondelez posted solid fourth-quarter marks, including nearly 10% organic sales growth (on top of more than 15% growth last year), a 230-basis-point uptick in adjusted gross margin to 38%, and a 40-basis-point lift in adjusted operating margin to 15.1%. This result suggests to us that the firm’s strategic playbook—anchored in extending the distribution of its fare, investing in its brands, empowering local leaders, and bringing consumer-valued innovation to market expeditiously—is sound, regardless of the economic cycle and competitive landscape.