Tiendas 3B parent BBB Foods (NYSE:TBBB) reported what management described as another quarter of “excellent performance,” driven by rapid store growth, strong same-store sales, and rising operating cash flow, according to remarks on the company’s fourth quarter and full-year 2025 earnings call.
Chairman and CEO Anthony Hatoum said the company ended 2025 with “strong momentum,” citing disciplined expansion, continued improvements in its customer value proposition, and investments in operating infrastructure. CFO Eduardo Pizzuto added that the company saw operating leverage across most expense lines during the quarter, while also recording a one-time write-off tied to a payment terminal provider relationship that was terminated.
Store growth and distribution expansion
- Net new stores: 184 in the fourth quarter; 574 for full-year 2025, exceeding the company’s guidance of 500–550 and above 484 net openings in 2024.
- Distribution centers: Two were opened in the fourth quarter, bringing the 2025 total to four new distribution centers.
Hatoum said the company’s expansion approach remains consistent: densifying existing regions while gradually entering new ones. In response to investor questions about geographic performance, Hatoum said the company is seeing “extremely consistent performance across all our regions,” adding that because the chain sells basic goods, customer behavior does not vary much by region.
Sales growth and same-store sales trends
Tiendas 3B posted strong revenue growth alongside double-digit same-store sales gains.
- Fourth-quarter revenue: MXN 22 billion, up 34% year-over-year.
- Full-year revenue: MXN 78 billion, up 36% year-over-year.
- Same-store sales: Up 16.6% in the fourth quarter and up 18.3% for full-year 2025.
Hatoum said the company believes it is “one of the fastest-growing retailers in LatAm, if not globally,” and pointed to a four-year revenue CAGR of 35%. He also referenced a “spaghetti chart” tracking store cohort sales (inflation-adjusted), saying newer stores are opening with higher initial sales levels than older cohorts, while older cohorts continue to grow. Hatoum attributed these trends to improvements in the value proposition and growing brand awareness and equity.
On traffic and ticket dynamics, Hatoum said that for stores open five years or more, transactions per store per month increased by 2.5%, while average ticket size rose by 11%. He said ticket growth was primarily driven by more items per basket and improved product mix, with price inflation contributing “very little.” In a later response, Hatoum quantified the same-store sales drivers as roughly “two-thirds” from volume and “one-third” from average price, with mix being a key factor within price.
Private label penetration increased to 58% of total merchandise sales in 2025 from 54% in 2024. Hatoum said private label is “deflationary” because it is typically cheaper than national brands, but he said the impact is more than offset by higher volumes, adding that unit-based same-store sales growth is “extremely healthy.”
Profitability, cash flow, and a one-time receivable write-off
For the fourth quarter, Hatoum reported EBITDA of MXN 79 million on a reported basis. Excluding non-cash share-based compensation and a one-time asset write-off, he said EBITDA increased 23% to MXN 1.2 billion. For full-year 2025, reported EBITDA was MXN 1.2 billion, while adjusted EBITDA (excluding share-based compensation and the write-off) increased 30% to MXN 4.4 billion.
Pizzuto said sales expenses declined as a percentage of revenue to 10.5% in the fourth quarter from 11.7% a year earlier. He noted the prior-year quarter included one-time depreciation and amortization charges, but said the company also saw operating leverage across most expense lines in the most recent quarter.
Administrative expenses excluding share-based payments increased by 35 basis points, which Pizzuto attributed primarily to investments in new regions and additional talent to support growth. He emphasized that share-based payment expense is non-cash and reflected in the fully diluted share count, pointing investors to appendices in the earnings materials where the company provides projections for the non-cash expense.
Pizzuto said fourth-quarter adjusted EBITDA margin declined 48 basis points year-over-year, with strong sales growth driving the increase in adjusted EBITDA. He also disclosed a one-time charge: a full write-off of an accounts receivable balance of MXN 230 million associated with the termination of a relationship with the company’s payment terminal provider. He said payment processing has since migrated to terminals operated by “one of the top three banks in Mexico” with no operational disruptions, and that the company is pursuing legal actions.
Asked whether the switch in payment processing could impact expenses going forward, Hatoum said it should not and added, “We’re even more competitive.”
The company also highlighted cash generation and working capital dynamics. For the 12 months ending December 2025, operating cash flow reached MXN 4.7 billion, nearly a 25% year-over-year increase. Pizzuto said the business model generates significant negative working capital; in December 2025, negative working capital reached MXN 8.9 billion, up from MXN 6.0 billion in 2024 (excluding IPO proceeds), representing about 11.4% of total revenue (also excluding IPO proceeds).
2026 outlook and updated unit economics
Management provided guidance for 2026 calling for continued growth:
- Same-store sales growth: 13% to 16%
- Net new stores: 590 to 630
- Revenue growth: 29% to 32%
Pizzuto said the company updated its target unit economics, reflecting a higher average CapEx of approximately MXN 5.5 million per store. Under the updated targets, Tiendas 3B is aiming for a payback period of about 26 months and a cash-on-cash return of roughly 55% by year three. He said the higher CapEx per store primarily reflects additional refrigeration equipment, slightly larger store formats, and a higher proportion of stores built from scratch.
In the Q&A, management stressed that the unit economics assumptions are based on performance trends seen in newer stores and do not include potential incremental revenue from the initiatives associated with the higher CapEx. Hatoum said the company is being conservative and is not yet assuming incremental sales from the additional equipment being installed.
On innovation, Hatoum described Tiendas 3B as a “relatively low SKU business” but said the company is testing about 60 new products at any point in time, with a high probability of success by the time items are rolled out. He cited innovation in categories including cosmetics, frozen (including ice cream), personal healthcare, dairy, and beverages.
Closing the call, Hatoum said the company believes its model is “robust and resilient across economic cycles,” adding that it becomes more competitive as it scales and that management remains confident in the long-term opportunity.
About BBB Foods (NYSE:TBBB)
BBB Foods Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates a chain of grocery retail stores in Mexico. It offers household cleaning, personal hyenine, cosmetics and beauty, pharmacy, and general merchandise products, as well as jellies and desserts, foods and drinks, pet supplies, coffee, tea, chocolates, breads, dry and frozen foods, snacks and sweets, and toilet papers and napkins. The company also provides branded, private label, and spot products. It serves low-to-middle income households through online channels.
