JBS, which calls itself the world’s largest protein company, is due to report third-quarter earnings, with analyst previews pointing to Monday, 9 November, after the market close. Analysts expect weaker numbers than a year ago because beef margins are thin and Brazil’s exports to China are limited.

What Analysts Expect

BTG, a Brazilian investment bank, forecasts adjusted EBITDA, operating profit before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortisation and one-off items, of US$1.28 billion, down 30% from the third quarter of 2025. For reference, JBS’s net income in the same quarter last year was US$581 million.

XP, a Brazilian brokerage, also expects adjusted EBITDA of about US$1.3 billion. That is in line with BTG’s forecast.

Nelore cattle, a common Brazilian beef breed, on a pasture in Campos Belos, Goiás state, in central Brazil. File photo, 2014. Photo: Carlos Ebert, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Why Beef Is Under Pressure

Brazilian analysts say China’s import quotas, which cap how much beef each supplier can ship, could limit export volumes, prices and margins in Brazil and Australia, two countries where JBS has big operations. The quotas are why analysts see limited Brazilian shipments to China.

Pilgrim’s Pride, the US chicken producer majority-owned by JBS, reported on 28 October that quarterly operating income fell to US$191.5 million from US$492.6 million a year earlier. That gives an early read on how US meat margins held up in the quarter.

What Peers Will Show

Minerva, a Brazilian beef exporter, and MBRF, the group formed from the merger of Marfrig, a beef producer, and BRF, a poultry and food company, also report their own quarters. Their dates were not available at publication.

Together the three results show whether the pressure on beef is limited to JBS or shared across the sector. Earlier Rio Times reports cover JBS’s second-quarter results, the JBS proposal for Pilgrim’s Pride and Minerva’s second-quarter profit.

Panorama of São Paulo from Avenida Santa Catarina. Photo: Wilfredor, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

What It Means for You

Investors who hold JBS shares in New York or its Brazilian depositary receipts, certificates traded in São Paulo that are backed by JBS shares, face a quarter that analysts already expect to be weak. The market reaction will depend on what management says about the fourth quarter and about China.

More Brazilian company coverage is on the Brazil hub.

What Is Not Known

The actual third-quarter figures were not available at publication. The dates for Minerva and MBRF were not available either.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does JBS report its third-quarter results?

Analyst previews put the release on Monday, 9 November. The company’s own notice was not available to read.

What do analysts expect from JBS?

BTG, a Brazilian investment bank, forecasts adjusted EBITDA of US$1.28 billion, down 30% from a year earlier. EBITDA is operating profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation.

Why is beef a problem for JBS right now?

Analysts cite limits on Brazil’s beef exports to China. Pilgrim’s Pride, JBS’s majority-owned US chicken unit, has already reported a sharp fall in operating income.

Sources: Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation, press release on third-quarter 2026 results, 28 October 2026; BTG Pactual and XP forecasts for JBS and analyst calendars, November 2026 (read 9 November 2026).