Equity Highlights March 2026

Below you will find recent Equity Highlights for a selection of Broyhill's portfolio companies. As always, we aim to make these easy to read and easy to repeat — so please share with anyone who might find them useful. 

After a decade of accumulation, Nestlé is aggressively pruning the portfolio — and the pace is accelerating. On February 19, CEO Laurent Freixe unveiled a strategy concentrating the company on four core categories: Coffee, Petcare, Nutrition, and Food & Snacks. The announcements included advanced negotiations to sell the remaining ice cream business to Froneri, a process to divest Nestlé Waters with deconsolidation, and a headcount reduction expanded to ~ 16,000 positions by 2027. The moves represent a structural reset for the world’s largest food company — fewer categories, less complexity, and a management team visibly willing to make the hard calls.

The FDA’s own science committee said what ZYN users already know. On January 23, Philip Morris presented evidence to the FDA’s PMTA (Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory) Committee seeking a Modified Risk designation for ZYN — one that would allow the company to communicate that switching to ZYN reduces risk of lung cancer, heart disease, stroke, and five other smoking-related diseases. The committee concluded that the evidence suggests the proposed modified risk claim is scientifically accurate, handing ZYN a regulatory moat no competitor currently holds and opening a new marketing channel to the 30 million adult smokers in the U.S. who represent the largest untapped opportunity in PM’s smoke-free transition.

Watches of Switzerland completed its acquisition of Deutsch & Deutsch, a family-owned Texas retailer, on January 22, adding four new showrooms and bringing its total U.S. Rolex-anchored doors to 25. The deal arrived alongside a strong third-quarter trading update, with demand for Rolex and other key brands continuing to outstrip supply. Management responded by raising full-year revenue growth guidance to 9–11%.

On February 26, Coca-Cola’s global CEO Henrique Braun met with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to announce a $6 billion investment in Mexico between 2026 and 2028 — funding that will expand production capacity, modernize facilities, improve distribution infrastructure, and support water sustainability initiatives across the country. The announcement arrived at a pointed moment: Mexico recently raised excise taxes on sweetened beverages, and the World Cup co-host designation has made the market a global marketing priority for Coke heading into 2026. As Coca-Cola’s largest bottler in Mexico — covering roughly half of the country’s volume — KOF sits directly in the path of that capital. When the brand owner doubles down on a market with this kind of commitment, the bottler’s economics tend to follow.

Rentokil’s turnaround just earned a 12% stock reaction — the market is starting to believe it. Full-year results released March 5 showed revenue of $6.91 billion (up 3.8% at constant currency), free cash flow conversion of 98%, and leverage reduced to 2.6x, all pointing toward the company’s stated target of North America operating margins above 20% by 2027. The results arrived under incoming CEO Mike Duffy — bringing fresh leadership to the final leg of the integration.

Disclosures

Any statements above reflect the views of Broyhill Asset Management, LLC as of the posting date and are subject to change. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and reflects publicly available news regarding certain companies that represent a subset of our total exposure to all of our portfolio companies at the time of posting. This information is not investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Holdings and views expressed may not be current and are subject to change without notice. Please review our full disclosures for additional important information and disclosures.