Ahold Delhaize cyberattack may cost up to €250M
The cyberattack may be contained, but the financial fallout keeps adding up.
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- Ahold Delhaize estimates the cyberattack will reduce fourth-quarter net sales by €200 million to €250 million.
- The company expects operating income to fall by €75 million to €100 million.
- Ahold Delhaize says it has found no evidence that customer or employee data was stolen.
- Most disruption ended within two weeks, but the company says it is still restoring normal operations.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
Last month’s cyberattack will result in a net sales reduction between €200 million and €250 million in the fourth quarter. The company’s operating income will decrease by €75 million to €100 million.
That’s what Ahold Delhaize reported to investors and stakeholders during the company’s third-quarter results on Wednesday. These aren’t factual numbers, but rather estimates.
On top of the losses in net sales and operating income, Ahold Delhaize expects incremental response and remediation costs to have a marginal impact on the company’s financial results in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Last month, Ahold Delhaize disclosed that it was handling a “cybersecurity incident.” As a precaution, the retailer took multiple systems offline to protect its IT environment.
“Protecting our infrastructure in the best interest of our customers, associates, and partners is a top priority. We apologize for any inconvenience this issue may have caused customers and partners,” Ahold Delhaize said in a statement.
A few days after the incident, Ahold Delhaize reported there was no evidence that any customer or employee data was stolen.
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The cybersecurity incident at Ahold Delhaize affected many other retailers as well, including supermarket Albert Heijn, drugstore chain Etos, liquor store chain Gall & Gall, and all of Ahold Delhaize’s businesses in the United States, such as Food Lion, Giant Food, Hannaford, Stop & Shop, and The GIANT Company.
“While most of the disruption was contained within two weeks, work continues to fully restore our normal operations. As we all recognize, cyber threats are an increasingly harsh reality of doing business today, and moments like these remind us not only of our shared vulnerabilities, but also of the strength of our relationships and the importance of standing together,” President and CEO of Ahold Delhaize Frans Muller said during the presentation of the company’s third-quarter financial results.
According to Muller, the cybersecurity incident demonstrated the resilience of the company. “Our resilience enables us to navigate disruption; our strategy ensures we continue to move forward,” he added.
“We apologize to our brands’ customers for the disruption and inconvenience this caused and are deeply grateful for their trust, loyalty, and understanding. As our brands welcome them back, we are showing our appreciation through special promotions and other small gestures,” Muller concluded, without sharing any details regarding these ‘gestures.’
