“In Q4, this dynamic will reverse with meaningful pressure to profit as Cocoa catches up to market levels.”

In context

“he base beginning Q4. The overall impact to the region was approximately 2 percentage points worth of growth. AMEA increased OI dollars by more than 15% with meaningful A&C increases. Latin America grew 2% in the quarter. Brazil and Western Andean posted growth, while Mexico was down modestly. Note that Argentina pricing has been capped at 26% unlike Q3 last year, where the country contributed more than 18 points to LA growth. Latin America OI declined 4.8%, due primarily to lower volumes in Argentina and Mexico. Turning to Page 17. In Q3, we saw strong double-digit gross profit dollar NOI dollar growth. Top line growth, pricing execution and ongoing cost discipline helped fuel these results. In addition, cocoa is still relatively benign in Q3, thanks to our effective coverage strategies. In Q4, this dynamic will reverse with meaningful pressure to profit as Cocoa catches up to market levels. Next to EPS on Slide 18. Q3 EPS grew more than 28% in constant currency on the same drivers as OI. We continue to generate strong free cash flow as you can see on Slide 19. We delivered $2.5 billion to date, which includes a payment of nearly $400 million in the quarter related to the EU Commission matter. We have repurchased $1.2 billion in stock year-to-date and will continue to be opportunistic for the remainder of the year and into 2025. Before moving to our outlook, I'll provide some additional context on cocoa. Cocoa costs have decreased since all-time highs, and futures signal eventual normalization, albeit the market is still showing signs of nervousness due to tight physical availability ahead of the new crop. At this stage, the new crop outlook remains positive with significant”