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Gerardo Lapati: Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining Alsea's Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Earnings Video Conference. Today, you will hear from Christian Gurría, our Chief Financial Officer; and Federico Rodríguez, our Chief Financial Officer. Christian will walk us through our operating performance and strategic progress, while Federico will provide a detailed review of our financial results and capital allocation. Before we begin, I would like to remind you that some of our comments today contain forward-looking statements based on our current expectations. Actual results may differ materially. Today's discussion should be considered alongside the disclaimers included in our earnings release and our most recent filings with the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores. The company undertakes no obligation to update these statements. Unless otherwise specified, all figures discussed today are presented on a pre-IFRS 16 basis. With that, I will now turn the call over to Christian for his opening remarks.
Christian Gurría: Thank you, everyone, and good morning, and thank you very much for joining us today. I will begin with an overview of our performance for the fourth quarter and full year 2025, highlighting key operating trends across regions and brands as well as our progress in digital transformation, expansion and ESG initiatives. Federico will then walk you through the financial results in more detail. Before going into the quarterly figures, I would like to briefly step back and reflect on how our strategic priorities throughout 2025 are shaping our business today. Despite a challenging start of the year, we responded with targeted operational and portfolio initiatives that led to a gradual improvement in performance as the year progressed. Throughout 2025, we focused on strengthening traffic and innovation to keep our brands remaining relevant and top of mind for our consumers. At the same time, we adopted a more selective and disciplined approach to growth, directing capital towards formats and initiatives with consistently strong returns. This included strengthening our portfolio through the incorporation of brands such as Chipotle and Raising Canes into the Alsea family, fully aligned with our long-term objectives, the right brands in the right geographies and the right stores, prioritizing quality over quantity. In parallel, we simplify our portfolio through the divestment of noncore assets in South America and Europe. This is part of our core strategy going forward as we will continue with this simplification as we are aiming to have a healthier and more profitable portfolio. The aforementioned is enabling us to concentrate resources on markets and brands with a stronger growth potential, translating into meaningful improvements in efficiency and profitability. Finally, we sharpened our approach to capital allocation and cash generation, optimizing CapEx and reinforcing our financial structure. With that context, let me now turn to our fourth quarter performance. In the fourth quarter, total sales increased by 0.5% year-over-year. reaching MXN 21.7 billion or 12%, excluding foreign exchange effects. Same-store sales grew 3.3% during the quarter, reflecting improving trends across several markets. EBITDA increased 2.9% year-over-year to MXN 3.7 billion with a margin of 16.8%, representing a 40 basis point expansion versus last year. Same-store sales grew 3.3% during the quarter, reflecting improving trends across several markets. The results reflected disciplined execution, improving operating leverage and the benefits of portfolio optimization efforts. Turning on brand performance. At Starbucks Alsea, same-store sales increased 2.9% in the quarter. In Mexico, same-store sales grew 2.6% with prior quarters and reflecting a stable demand and consistent performance. In Europe, same-store sales declined 0.3%, primarily due to continued pressure in France, partially offset by solid performance in Spain. In South America, same-store sales increased 8.8%, driven by Argentina. Excluding Argentina, same-store sales grew 1.1%, supported by strength in Colombia and gradual recovery in Chile. Domino's Pizza Alsea delivered a 5.2% increase in same-store sales. In Mexico, same-store sales grew 6.3%, supported by innovation such as 'croissant' Pizza, driving value and innovation. Also, we launched and expanded delivery capabilities through a strategic aggregator in Mexico. In Spain, same-store sales increased 3.3%, reflecting effective promotional execution. And in Colombia, same-store sales rose 9.6%, demonstrating a strong and consistent performance through the year. At Burger King, same-store sales, excluding Argentina declined 3.9%. In Mexico, same-store sales decreased 4.8%, reflecting continued pressure on the brand despite gradual operational improvements during the year. The full-service restaurant segment delivered same-store sales growth of 3% in the quarter. In Mexico, same-store sales increased by 3.8% supported by value propositions such as Menu del Dia, Tres Para Mi in Chili's and Paradiso Italiano in Italiannis. In Spain, same-store sales grew 1.9% alongside the continued portfolio optimization, including the sale of TGI Fridays. In South America, same-store sales increased 2.8% alongside the sale of Chili's and P.F. Chang's restaurants in Chile. Our expansion strategy continues to be guided by a clear focus on quality, returns and capital efficiency. During the fourth quarter, we opened 55 new stores, bringing total openings in 2025 to 169 units, 127 of them being corporate and 42 franchises, below our initial expectations. This reflects a deliberate shift towards fewer higher-quality investments, prioritizing locations and formats with a stronger return profiles. Remodeling and the renovation of our existing portfolio remain as a key priority across regions as store refreshes continue to deliver attractive returns through improved customer experience, higher productivity and faster payback periods. Overall, our expansion approach in 2025 reflects disciplined capital allocation and a clear focus on long-term value creation. Our digital platforms remain a key growth driver for Alsea. By the end of the quarter, loyalty sales increased 13.4% to MXN 8.2 billion, representing 30.6% of total sales and 36.6 million orders. We surpassed 8.2 million loyalty active customers and users across our brands, confirming the strength of our digital engagement. In addition, during the quarter, Domino's implemented full service through an agreement with a known aggregator. This initiative significantly expanded delivery coverage by more than doubling the number of available drivers per store, improving service levels during peak hours without incremental costs. During the quarter, we continue advancing on our ESG agenda as a core pillar of our long-term strategy, fully aligned with capital allocation and risk management. In Europe, we completed our first round of sustainable financing for EUR 273 million, linked to targets for emission reductions, strengthening supplier assessment base on ESG criteria and improving food waste management. This progress enabled a second ESG-linked financing tranche up to MXN 550 million through 2029. Additionally, in Mexico, we further aligned our strategy by securing a sustainability-linked loan of MXN 10.5 billion tied to KPIs focused on emissions intensity and waste reduction. In Mexico, during the months of October and November, [Indiscernible] movement raised more than MXN 50 million as part of its annual fundraising initiative. These efforts were reflected in our continued inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index in 2025, scoring 18 percentage points above the global sector average and ranking within the top 10% of the industry. For Alsea, ESG is embedded in how we allocate capital, manage risk and create long-term value. With that, I will now turn the call to Federico to review our financial performance. Thank you.
Federico Rodríguez Rovira: Thank you, Christian. Good morning, everyone. In the fourth quarter, sales increased 0.5% year-over-year, supported by sustained consumer preference for our brands and effective commercial strategies. Excluding foreign exchange effects, sales increased 12%. In Mexico, the sales increased 7.9% to MXN 12.5 billion. In Europe, sales declined 1.2% in peso terms, while increasing 5% in euros and in South America, the sales declined largely due to currency effects. The EBITDA increased 2.9% year-over-year with a 40 basis points margin expansion, driven by stable food cost, disciplined execution and improved labor efficiencies. In Mexico, the adjusted EBITDA increased 17.1% year-over-year, primarily due to an increase in same-store sales of 3.1%, following a strong recovery in November and December, while the portfolio optimization and improved labor efficiencies helped offset higher wage cost. In Europe, adjusted EBITDA was 18.7% higher year-over-year, driven by a 1.7% increase in same-store sales, lower food cost and disciplined labor cost management. In South America, the adjusted EBITDA declined by 22.9%, largely due to the depreciation of the Argentine peso relative to the Mexican peso. This impact was partially mitigated by robust consumer demand in Colombia and stable market conditions in Chile, although Argentina continued to experience a more challenging operating environment. The net income for the quarter increased 32% year-over-year to MXN 812 million, reflecting a continued though less pronounced positive noncash foreign exchange effect related to U.S. dollar-denominated debt. As we have mentioned previous quarters, this impact is nonrecurring. Following the refinancing of the obligations, we have now achieved a natural hedge, and this revaluation will no longer affect the P&L going forward. CapEx for the full year totaled MXN 5.1 billion. Of this amount, 75% was allocated to store development, including the opening of 127 new corporate units, remodelings and equipment replacement, while 25% was directed to strategic projects, including the Guadalajara distribution center, technology upgrades and process improvements. As of December 31, 2025, the pre-IFRS 16 gross debt increased by MXN 0.9 billion year-over-year, reaching MXN 34 billion. The company's net debt, not counting the impact of IFRS 16 was MXN 28.3 billion, which is MXN 1.7 billion more than it was at the same time last year. The bank loans are allocated towards selling the minority stake in the European operations as well as addressing short-term debt requirements for working capital and capital expenditure needs. Consolidated net debt reached MXN 45.2 billion, including lease liabilities. At the end of the quarter, 58% of the debt was long term with 77% denominated in Mexican pesos and 22% in euros. We remain focused on maintaining a healthy capital structure supported by prudent financial management. At the end of the quarter, the cash position stood at MXN 5.7 billion. Turning to financial ratios. The total debt to post-IFRS 16 EBITDA ratio closed the quarter at 2.8x and the net debt-to-EBITDA ratio stood at 2.5x. Our full year results were broadly in line with the guidance we provided and subsequently updated during 2025. Same-store sales revenue growth, EBITDA and leverage all finished within expected ranges. We will provide more detail regarding the guidance for 2026 during Alsea Day on March 18 in New York City. This will be a great opportunity to invite everyone to our event and connect with you. With that, we will now open the call for questions. Please, operator.
Operator: [Operator Instructions] The first question is from Mr. Thiago Bortoluci from Goldman Sachs.
Thiago Bortoluci: I have 2 questions somehow related to free cash flow, right? When I try to see what you delivered in 2025 versus what is implied in your managerial guidance, right, what I see was that your EBITDA grew at the high end of your low single-digit expectations. CapEx came below the $6 billion you were initially expecting, but your pre-IFRS leverage was a touch ahead of the 2.8x that you were guiding, right, which makes me think that somehow your free cash flow generation was a little bit softer than initially expected. If this is true, I just like to understand where the mess is coming from? And what is the plan to attack this going forward? I guess the refinancing is part of the story, but also want to hear on the operating level, right? And then the second part of the question that is related to CapEx. I appreciate the focus, and I'm pretty sure everyone in this call appreciate your focus on portfolio and a more rational growth going forward. It would be great if you could share how you're seeing the incremental ROIC of the new cohort of stores under this new balance between growth and profitability on the capital allocation.
Federico Rodríguez Rovira: Well, I will start with the first question regarding the cash burn. Yes, it's correct what you just said, Thiago. The main driver for the cash burn was worse working capital than expected at the beginning of 2025, mainly driven by a reduction in the expected EBITDA. As you know, we had to change the initial guidance we announced at March. But that was offset with a diminished CapEx. In 2026, the story will be completely different. You will have the expectations in the Alsea Day by mid-March. But the management is totally focused on the free cash flow generation with some initiatives you have just mentioned one, the refinancing, you know what is going to be the annual savings regarding this in the line of $25 million and additionally, the operating leverage from same-store sales. As you know, we will have a low to mid-single digit regarding same-store sales guidance for each one of the brands and will be to the consolidated figures and a more rationalized CapEx. This is one of the key drivers, Thiago. Obviously, we knew that we were failing at free cash flow generation. We have heard around the pushback you have launched to the management, to the administration during the last years. So we are totally focused there. So we'll rationalize the CapEx with less openings. Obviously, we had one one-off because of the distribution center of Guadalajara, but we do not have any kind of pressure to open more stores. As I have said a lot of times in the past, 95% of Alsea is in the same-store sales in the comparable stores. So that is the place where we have to put all the efforts because it is more relevant to have 1% increase in the traffic in the different brands because that is the key part where you have all the operating leverage. And in some of the cases, maybe have a reduction of around 30 new stores from the initial guidance, that does not make any kind of hurt. And it is not only for this year, but maybe for the future. We do not want to conquer the world regarding openings. We want to have a more rationalized CapEx for the future. And this is aligned with what you have just asked regarding free cash flow generation. I don't know, Christian, if you want to deep dive regarding the openings and the closure that we had in 2025?
Christian Gurría: Yes. As Federico mentioned and we have mentioned in previous calls, our strategy is more about quality than quantity. As Federico mentioned, really our focus right now is on capitalizing on our existing assets. We have almost 5,000 stores in our portfolio between franchisee and company-owned stores. And we have a clear strategy on how we can improve the profitability of those stores. There are 3 levers that we are working on. The first is the remodeling and investing on our existing portfolio, which has the best returns and the customer responds in a very positive way to that and keeps our brands at the right level to deliver the right experience. And the second one is to make sure we have the best operators in the market. So we are -- we have always focused in Alsea in having the best operators, but we are having now a very intentional drive into elevating our operators in the stores. And the third level is, I would say, innovation. Innovation is clearly driving our -- the traffic to our stores. We have a very good example is what we are doing with 'croissant' Pizza, in Domino's Pizza in Mexico. This was originally born in Spain with extraordinary results. We brought it to Mexico and more than double the expectations that we had, and that's why you see a very strong quarter in 2025, particularly with Domino's. So these are the levers that we are moving. Of course, we will continue with our commitment to open the right stores. But it's important to mention the right stores in the right geographies and with the right brands which, as I always say, sometimes we have to close stores to have a healthier portfolio as we have done. Nevertheless, most of the stores that we closed, either in this number, you can see divestments as we did with TGI Friday's and Chili's and P.F. Chang's in Chile. But likewise, most of the stores that we closed were -- had an aging of average 15 years. So the market has changed, the neighborhoods, the trade areas have changed. So it's part of this healthier portfolio optimization.
Operator: Our next question is from Mr. Antonio Hernandez from Actinver.
Antonio Hernandez: Congrats on your results. Just a quick one regarding South America. I mean you already mentioned Argentina is struggling a little bit there and different countries overall. Just wanted to get a sense on how you're seeing performance so far this year and expectations for the year.
Christian Gurría: Well, we are seeing very similar trends to November and December. with a positive trend on same-store sales. And one of the best news is the tailwinds we are having in terms of our dollarized raw materials. We have seen FX is helping us with the dollarized raw materials. And we have also positive news in terms of the price of beef and the price of chicken, which is having a positive trend to what we were seeing in the previous year. And also another positive effect is that we expect a reduction of coffee prices in the second half of 2026. So on wine side, we are seeing a very similar trend to the last months of the year, which we see a shift on what we were seeing in previous months. And on the other hand, different strategies around raw materials on one side, the FX and on the other side, some of the different synergies we have worked on the previous months are paying off now. So in these terms, we should see better margins in the following -- across the year and a steady recovery on same-store sales.
Federico Rodríguez Rovira: And I would say, Antonio, if I may add a little bit more color on -- particularly, I would say on the 3 big markets of South America. We've been doing a great job in Colombia. It's been kind of consistent. That's something that continues, I would say, towards the beginning of the year. The same, I would say, it's happening with Argentina and Chile. If I would say, '25 was a tough year for those 2 markets for 2 particular, let's say, reasons and different reasons, both. I think we are seeing also at the end of last year, a bit of a recovery. And that is, I would say, also transitioning towards the beginning of the year. So I would say we're more kind of cautiously optimistic. And I would say, together to what Christian mentioned about kind of some of the tailwinds should be a better year for this market.
Operator: Our next question is from Ms. Renata Cabral from Citi.
Renata Fonseca Cabral Sturani: My first one is regarding Starbucks in Mexico. So what is the current approach for same-store sales improvement during the year? We are seeing a very good improvement over the operations of in Mexico, it seems more towards Dominos so far and it's understandable considering the economic situation. But it seems there's an opportunity also for improvement in the. So if you can shed some light in the strategies for the year ahead, it would be really helpful. The second one is a follow-up regarding margins and a more long-term perspective. Of course, you have mentioned about the rationalization of the portfolio. And my question is related also if you see other important levers that can improve margins in the regions for instance, supply chain or optimization of, let's say, it would be really helpful to know a little bit more about that.
Christian Gurría: Thank you, Renata. Regarding Starbucks in Mexico, we had -- in 2025, we struggle at the beginning of the year as with many other brands. But starting the second half of the year, we were able to read and what was going on with the market and the different trends from -- and what the customer was looking forward. So we adjusted our strategies to -- first of all, we've clearly seen that Starbucks in Mexico is a loved brand. And clearly, innovation is driving a lot of traffic to our stores, both innovation in terms of product, but also innovation in terms of market. of merchandising. During Q4, we launched -- we brought to Mexico the Barista, the Crystal Barista, which was, as you may be aware, extraordinary success in Asia, then in the U.S. And then it came to Mexico and it was really driving a lot of transactions. So we also -- in this case, we also shifted the way we manage our promotional approach to the brand making sure we could elevate the customer -- the experience of the customer. So to give you a more concrete answer, we are focusing on renewing our stores in a very intentional way. Just to give you some data in 2026 in Mexico, we're going to have more store renovations than openings in the case of Starbucks. So we really understand what the customer is looking forward. And the second part is innovation in terms of product and understanding that we are a love brand in Mexico and people are looking forward. We just recently launched in '26 a bear that hugs the cup. And it's really -- they flew out of the shelves. So we have more and more surprises that I cannot share coming particularly for the World Cup. And also in terms of experience, we are introducing a strategy around elevating the experience in the stores by implementing wooden trays and stainless steel cutlery for here [serve ware]. Again, creating the right environment and the right and the best experience for the customer. And in terms of operational impact, as I mentioned before, we are very much focused on our -- on having the best operators and making sure they can impact positively their business during -- as we move forward. But this is more or less regarding the strategy that we are focusing.
Federico Rodríguez Rovira: And regarding the second question around margins for the future, is too soon. Obviously, we are seeing positive impact. But I would say that we're expecting a positive trend regarding EBITDA margin expansion for 2026 as long as we are facing, as Christian has just mentioned, and you know it, some macro tailwinds like a stronger peso. Remember that each peso appreciation or devaluation is around 30 basis points in the total EBITDA margin. And additionally, this is supporting the raw materials, the gross margin. We can move the mix in a positive way in the different business units. But remember, we want to attract more traffic to our stores. We are not in the rush to increase on an artificial way the margin. We want to have a strong customer base into the same-store sales. And obviously, we have a lot of levers. You were asking around this. Obviously, the stronger peso is some macro reason, but we have some internal indulgent reasons such as the optimization of the portfolio. We have not finished. You know that we are analyzing some of the units, mainly in Americas to see what we are doing with them. We cannot disclose any more facts around this. I know there are a lot of news into the press, but that's all that we can say. We need to respect and being really disciplined around that we have a bunch of collaborators into the different business units that we are analyzing. And we are doing this in an everyday basis because obviously, while we are selling some of the business units, such as the 2 casual dining brands that we sold in Chile in the third quarter, we are looking for new Tier 1 brands such as Raising Canes and Chipotle. That would be one of the first lever. The second one, we have a bunch of opportunities regarding productivity, I would say, in America, not only in Mexico, but in South America, too, especially because not this year, but in the future, we are facing a journey reduction of 8 towers in 4 years in Mexico. So we need to move forward and be in advance of the rest of the competitors. And I think that with 5,000 stores all around the world with a stronger environment such as the European one, we have a lot of ideas to increase productivity and have expansion margins into the total EBITDA while we offset these impacts. And additionally, we have ideas regarding simplifying the support center in Europe, in Mexico, in Colombia. I think that we need to consolidate a lot of things that we have not executed in the last 10 years, and we'll be doing that during 2026. But as I always say, it is more relevant to have a strong same-store sales because in the bottom, you can have a lot of savings. It's a bunch of money. But in the long term, we are more worried around comparable stores, around new openings instead of only executing saving costs in the bottom.
Renata Fonseca Cabral Sturani: And if I may, a follow-up maybe for Christian about potential impacts from the situation we are seeing happening in Jalisco since Sunday. It would be great to have some color.
Christian Gurría: Of course. Renata, as a precautionary measure, we had to close some of our stores in the region during Monday -- Sunday and Monday, obviously, prioritizing the safety and security of our partners, our collaborators, our team members and also our customers. But by Tuesday morning, 100% of our stores were reopened. We are back to business as usual. Obviously, we are seeing in particular cities kind of a steady return of consumption, people being confident to get out there and going back to their lives. And delivery was clearly one of the channels highly and positively impacted by this as people were staying home. But we are clearly seeing across the week, people going back to their routines and our business recovering in a steady way. It's also important to mention that we have -- none of our stores were damaged -- none of our stores in the region were damaged or targeted and our supply chain was never disrupted. We have some blockades, but our supply chain was fully operational and never disrupted.
Operator: Our next question is from Mr. Ulises Argote from Santander.
Ulises Argote Bolio: So the question that I had was kind of a follow-up on those earlier comments that you were making on the quality over quantity approach to the portfolio. You mentioned there in the remarks, and I think this has been kind of an ongoing discussion of focusing on store remodelings across regions as a part of the strategy. So I was wondering maybe if you could provide there some color on how this will be broken down in 2026 across the regions? Maybe if we can get some color on format. But I think more importantly, if you could comment on the sales lift and the improvements you are seeing from the remodel locations. And then I have another one, but I'll do it afterwards.
Christian Gurría: Thank you for your question. Let me start by answering we have -- in the case of the foodservice restaurant segment or casual dining or in the case of Starbucks, what we've seen is that you have -- when we remodel the stores, our same-store sales in the case of Starbucks grow from 6% to 13%. This is where we are -- what we've seen and experienced in a very consistent way. And in the case of the casual dining segment, clearly because the customer spends more time in our stores, in our restaurants, the uplift we've seen in same-store sales can go from 10% even we have cases where we are around 25% to 30% increase in same-store sales. This is driven, first of all, not only because of the look and feel of the store improves, but in many cases, as we know how the store and the customer uses the store, these renovations normally are adapted to the reality of how our customers use the store. So -- and in any other cases, we add additional seating or we add a terrace or we do some optimization in terms of the type of the mix of furniture we have in the stores. So the reality is that that's why we are prioritizing these remodelings. Also, it's important that when we choose to remodel a store, there are different reasons, either because the store has the look and feel of the store and the conditions of the store are not up to the expectations, our expectations and the guest expectations or different strategies around market penetration, in some case, the competitive landscape. So there are different reasons why we go and decide which stores to remodel. And to your first part of the question on if we have -- what is the breakdown? In the case -- the information I can share with you is, for example, in casual dining is 3:1, 1 opening, 3 remodelings Starbucks is around 1.4. And in Domino's Pizza, the impact is less important when you remodel a store due to the way the business model works. But when the stores that we have an important dine-in traffic, those are the stores where we put the resources, just to give you some examples.
Federico Rodríguez Rovira: Yes. And additionally, to Christian's answer, when we are performing a remodeling in the full service or the Starbucks stores. Usually, we tend to see an incremental traffic of around 5% to 10%. Obviously, this depends in some of the cases of casual dining, you have to increase the terrace, for example, to have more capacity. But each time you are changing the look and feel of the store, you are increasing the traffic, and that is completely linked to the same-store sales increase that we are highlighting as a target, not only for this year, but in the long term. And regarding the...
Christian Gurría: If I may also one important component is how our team members feel. Honestly, every time we remodel the store, they are always super proud. They are happy to see the store being in the best shape, and I'm proud to be part of that store.
Federico Rodríguez Rovira: And for the long-term CapEx allocation regarding the 3 main pillars that we have into the portfolio, I would say that 60% is completely linked to Starbucks Coffee, 20% to Domino's Pizza and 20% to the full-service restaurants units, Ulises.
Ulises Argote Bolio: Perfect. Very clear. So if I understood correctly, these initiatives are a bit more focused on Mexico, but also kind of cross region more selective. Is that a correct assumption to make?
Christian Gurría: It's across all our geographies, Ulises. Same is happening and going on in Spain, in South America, Portugal, France, et cetera. Everywhere.
Ulises Argote Bolio: Okay. Super clear. And the other question that I had was maybe if we could get some thoughts there or some -- or you share some insights of how you're positioning, let's say, to capitalize from the World Cup? Maybe any type of initiatives that you're taking? Any color that we could get there, that would be very much appreciated.
Federico Rodríguez Rovira: For sure. We have no doubt that the 3 brands that will be most benefited by the World Cup incremental traffic are Domino's Pizza, Starbucks and Chili's. As you know, Chili's has been the preferred concept and brand for people to go and watch sports, all types of sports for many, many years. So in the case of Chili's, we are doing very important investments in technology in terms of screens, sound and also a very, very fun campaign. As you know, there will be 3 stadiums in Mexico, Monterrey, Guadalajara and Mexico City. And we are having a campaign Chili's is your -- is the fourth stadium. So we are already out there with the campaign. We have -- we have a strong partnership with some strategic partners as Heineken, and we are doing a lot of things together with them. So we have important expectations of what -- how Chili's is going to be benefited by this. As you know, only you can fit all 85,000 to 100,000 people in the stadium, the rest, well, Chili's for sure is an extraordinary option to watch the games and with a great happening. In the case of Starbucks, obviously, the traffic, the incremental traffic that we're going to have in different airports in hotels, and we have a very good market share of stores and penetration in Mexico and Guadalajara and Monterrey and some adjacent cities and airports that are going to be activated for the World Cup, so for sure. And we have fun initiatives coming also for the customers to drive this traffic. And obviously, Domino's Pizza watching games at home. It's going to be super powerful and Domino's Pizza and the games and the World Cup have always been linked and be together as football. So those for sure are going to be the 3 brands that are most benefit. We have a lot of surprises. We are already planning additional initiatives that we are reviewing as we speak. So for sure, we are going to be able to capitalize this very special event.
Christian Gurría: But remember, Ulises, this is a one-off.
Operator: Our next question is from Mr. Froy Mendez from JPMorgan.
Fernando Froylan Mendez Solther: Can you hear me well?
Christian Gurría: Yes, we can.
Fernando Froylan Mendez Solther: Federico, if we were to assume that the FX didn't move from current levels, would your comments regarding the better margins into 2026 would still hold? And in that sense, what is your expectation? I know you'll have your guidance in the Alsea Day, but how much of the margin expansion that you're seeing depends on having better pricing or, let's say, less promotional activity in the key brands? And I will have a second question, if I may.
Federico Rodríguez Rovira: Sorry for being so repetitive. But obviously, this is a tailwind. Each peso should be around 30 basis points. Remember, that maybe that implies that around 60 basis points during the first quarter year-over-year. In the remaining months, the weight and the comparison is not that much. But as I said before, obviously, we have closed January, I have the figures. They are positive. We are expanding margins. But I want to be cautious because, obviously, the events from Guadalajara, even while we only shut down 300 stores during 1 day, obviously, I'm not having the total performance regarding traffic in those stores. So as all the years, we have some different events, positive negatives, and I want to be really cautious at this point, with January completed, we have expanded the margin. But I don't know what is happening in the rest of the year. Obviously, we have positive events such as the World Cup. We'll tell you the expansion of margins that we're thinking. But again, we want to increase the traffic in each one of the stores, each one of the brands. That is the main objective. I prefer to sacrifice some of the margin if I'm increasing -- I'm going to make stories, but 3 points in same-store sales in Chili's, Domino's Pizza, that is more money, and that is a more strong customer base for the future. Sorry for the ambiguous answer, Froy, but I don't want to take in advance with only 1 month closed at this point.
Fernando Froylan Mendez Solther: Excellent. And my second question, maybe more for Christian. We hear about this CapEx rationalization, the effort to diverse some of the probably nonperforming brands. But at the same time, we see new brands coming into the portfolio, Cane's, Chipotle with obviously not needle-moving CapEx, but I'm sure it will take time away from management. I'm not sure also how much synergies there are in their supply chain and their sourcing of raw materials with the rest of the brands. So how should we think about when we see a lot of the long-term CapEx that you mentioned focused on Starbucks, Domino's and full service with also these like small opportunities that you still are trying to tap? And isn't that a little bit distracted at some point for management?
Christian Gurría: Thank you, Froy. Several answers to different views, different points. First of all, fortunately, as you know, in Alsea, 36 years around, we are able to really develop our team members and to have a lot of internal talent that allows us to really being able to bring these brands and do not distract the rest of the organization. As you know, we -- the way we are organized now is via -- before we have these country managers, which were managing the different brands that we had in each region. And then in the past months, we have moved into a brand manager that manages -- we have a brand manager for Domino's Pizza or a Managing Director, a Managing Director for Starbucks Alsea for Domino's Pizza Alsea for BK Alsea, a Managing Director for Food Service in Mexico and a Managing Director for Food Service in Europe. That allows us to really focus first of all, make sure all best practices, learnings, one single direction and strategy to keep the brand directors or managing directors focusing on their own brands. And likewise, we have created a new brand division, let's call it like that, where we have a team solely and fully and only dedicated to these 2 new brands. So there is really no distraction of the management. We were able to have a very strong Managing Director, which was part of our C-suite team for many, many years, Pablo de Brito, which now he is running -- he was the Commercial Director for Alsea and now he's the Head of with a very clear and independent structure for both brands. In terms of synergies, obviously, there are synergies. We clearly have synergies. We have been working in the past 6 months to make sure we have -- we are ready to -- around all the product sourcing, protein produce. There are things that are proprietary to the brands that we will import as we do with the rest of our brands coming from the U.S. But the reality is that there are a lot of synergies. It's -- our Alsea muscle allows us to do this kind of plug-and-play approach when we bring these new brands. So clearly, there are important synergies in these terms. So in the case of supply chain and management, really, there is no -- actually, it adds on to what we already have. Then another point you made is about the CapEx. The reality is that the way we -- the obligations we have with both brands intensive non-CapEx-intensive approach. We are going to open 2 new -- 2 Raising Cane's stores this year at the end of the fourth quarter and 3 to 4 Chipotle stores also during 2020 -- in the second half of 2026. So -- and once we see how we do, which we are very, very optimistic and positive of how these brands are going to add value and being accretive to the Alsea portfolio, we will sit down and define -- we know more or less what's the white space or the market holding capacity for both brands. We're going to share a little bit more about that during our Alsea Day. But the reality is that we are very optimistic that by first divesting and at the same time, bringing the right brands and the brands of the future in the portfolio, we have a very strong portfolio of brands in the future.
Operator: Our next question is from Mr. Bob Ford from Bank of America.
Robert Ford: I'm inspired by your Raising Cane's cups, so I'll bite. Can you guys discuss the magnitude of the opportunity you see for the brand in Mexico? And how do you think about replicating the authenticity of the celebrity and influencer engagement that Cane's enjoys in the U.S.? And when you think about the unit economics, how would you compare that with your best practice or properties in Mexico?
Christian Gurría: As you can see, we are excited to bringing Raising Cane's into the family. In Mexico, we see a huge opportunity in Mexico for Raising Cane's. And let me tell you why. First of all, chicken is the #1 protein consumed and the fastest-growing protein in Mexico. This is clearly a fact. The second one is for decades, there has been only one player in the chicken market in Mexico in the organized segment for decades. So the white space and what we are seeing is huge. It's super important. The other -- the roasted chicken industry is hold by the moms and pops. And then you have this organized chain that has been there for decades. So the reality is that we see a lot of white space. And also Raising Cane's is not only an amazing and Tier 1 brand, it also aligns to our full Alsea strategy. So on that -- and we will give you more light in terms of the market holding capacity that we see and our development plan during the Alsea Day in March 18. The second question you answered, which I love this question because I truly believe that the way Raising Cane's communicates and resonates between the community for us, clearly, community is going to be a key success factor for the success of the brand and bringing this you know exactly what I'm talking about when I mentioned local teams, but at the same time, important celebrities, but at the same time, the college basketball team or the community schools team. We are already working with Raising Cane's to bring this same effect to Mexico. We are planning to have even the same agency. So the reality is that we are working very close together holding hands. Of course, we are going to take advantage of these assets in terms of influencers, celebrities that they have, but also the local influencers, the local community, the local celebrities are going to play a very important role for us to be successful. So I believe I have answered your 2 questions.
Robert Ford: And the last one was about unit economics.
Federico Rodríguez Rovira: Regarding the economics, I can take that question, Bob. Obviously, we cannot disclose the terms of the agreement we have signed with Raising Cane's. But the EBITDA margins at a 4-wall level are pretty similar with Starbucks or Domino's Pizza and the same for the royalty fee and opening fee that we will be paying. It is relevant to consider that even while we are really excited about the opening of Raising Cane's and Chipotle for 2026, we will be opening, as we have commented in the past, only 5 stores. We do not want to have a terrific contribution. We need to open the first store, and let's see what is happening if we are achieving the EBITDA margins, the profitability that we model in the months before.
Robert Ford: Great. And then just one other question, and that is France. I mean it's -- what are the next steps for you in France? And do you see any opportunities to either reduce some of the expenses or drive revenue?
Christian Gurría: Of course. Well, France, we have not seen the expected recovery that we had. There has been some recovery. We are at 85% of our sales, pre-boycott sales in October 2023. There was additional pressure, a slight pressure in the summer. So our objective remains to fully restore the transactions that we had pre-boycott. We have a very strong strategy around how to turn this around in terms of resources, in terms of store renovations, additional things that are part of this plan that we are working on. To your point around efficiencies, yes, we have done already the restructuring that we needed to do in terms of management, in terms of synergies with our operations in Europe. So we will see, for sure, better margins and better EBITDA as we move through the year. But our priority and our focus is to recover this 15% of traffic that we have not recovered yet. So we have a clear strong focus on this, and it's one of our priorities for 2026.
Operator: Our next question is from Mr. Pedro Perrone from UPS
Unknown Analyst: We have a quick question from our side based on same-store sales trends in the first quarter, especially for Mexico and for Europe. If you could give us some color about these trends and especially connecting to top line, that would be very helpful.
Federico Rodríguez Rovira: I would say, to be clear, Mexico, Europe and South America, the trend is pretty similar to the one we have in the months of December and November. So no news, good news. As I said before, it is in the target that we have set for 2026 from low to mid-single digit depending on the maturity of the brand and the region. So that's the answer, Pedro.
Operator: Our next question is from Mr. Ben Theurer from Barclays.
Rahi Parikh: This is Rahi on for Ben. Just the first one, I know Bob mentioned a bit on -- with the EU. But is there any other challenges we should be aware of for the EU that would impede recovery? And then another one I thought would be interesting is to look at GLP-1. Have you seen any impact on consumption from GLP-1 in Europe? And when do you think you would see some impact in Mexico, if any? And have you have any formulation changes in the EU in regards to GLP-1? That's it for us.
Christian Gurría: Let me get your second question first, we have not -- really, we have not seen any particular effect on GLP-1. Nevertheless, as you have seen in previous months, protein is becoming a very important element in the market. So in the case of Starbucks, we are fully in the game with different protein being an important priority in terms of beverage and our food program is moving towards that. And so what I would answer to that, we are observing. We are observing it. We are acting around that. We are trying to be ahead of the curve. But we don't see -- it's too early. I would say it's too early. But so far, we have not seen anything relevant. Obviously, the U.S. is the one kind of driving this trend. And we are watching, we are talking with our franchisors, what are they seeing -- but the reality is that we were already ahead of the curve with protein drinks in Starbucks and our food program is moving in a way towards that, not fully, but it's part of the strategy. So more or less that. And the rest of the brands, really not really. We are watching, but -- and that's it. We are observing what's going on.
Rahi Parikh: I just want to follow up for that answer. It was for the EU as well, right? So no impact as well.
Christian Gurría: Exactly. Neither in the European Union or in Mexico or Latin America, we are seeing these types of effects. What we -- I can tell you to add a little bit of color to that is that it's more now protein, it's more like trendy and innovation more than linked to GLP-1 or any of its effects, I would say, positive or negative.
Federico Rodríguez Rovira: Yes. I'm complementing the answer. France is less than 2% of the total revenues contribution for Alsea. In Europe, we are present in Iberia, Spain and Portugal. I would say that is the most relevant contribution for Europe. The trend is positive. We are expanding margin, increasing the same-store sales coming from traffic in the main brands such as Domino's, Starbucks and the full-service formats that we hold in there. And even while in France, we're still at around 85% of the traffic that we had in 2023 is less relevant, but we still see the opportunity in there to open more stores. We will be struggling during 2026 to see if in 2027, we can return to the path of growth.
Operator: That was the last question. I will now hand over to Mr. Christian Gurría for final comments.
Christian Gurría: First of all, thank you all very much for your questions and for your interest in Alsea. And really thank you very much. 2025 reinforced the resilience of our business and the strength of our portfolio. We entered 2026 with a clear focus, a stronger financial position and a disciplined approach to profitable growth. We look forward to continue the dialogue with you in the coming months. But most of all, we're really looking forward to see you all in New York. We are preparing a very -- the team is doing an amazing job to prepare a very good event there, and we are really looking forward to see you there. And thank you again.
Operator: Alsea would like to thank you for participating in today's video conference. You may now disconnect.