Mondelēz International

Kraft Foods Inc. was incorporated in the Commonwealth of Virginia in 2000 as a subsidiary of Philip Morris. On December 11, 2000, it acquired all outstanding shares of Nabisco for $55 per share in cash.⁠[1]

On June 13, 2001, Kraft completed its initial public offering, selling 280 million shares at $31 each and raising $8.68 billion. The stock listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker KFT and closed its first day at $31.25. It was the year’s biggest IPO and the second-largest in U.S. history at the time, behind AT&TAT&TAT&T (AT&T Inc.) is a telecommunications company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Its predecessor was SBC Communications, a regional holding company created in the 1984 breakup of the Bell System; SBC merged with the original AT&T Corp. in 2005 and adopted its name, and it has since operated a nationwide wireless network and fiber broadband, at one time also owning DIRECTV and WarnerMedia.Open the full entry Wireless’ $10.6 billion offering.⁠[2]

After the IPO, Philip Morris owned approximately 83.9% of the company’s outstanding capital stock. At December 31, 2001, the company employed approximately 114,000 people.⁠[1]

Irene B. Rosenfeld was appointed Chief Executive Officer and a director of Kraft Foods Inc. in June 2006 and became Chairman of the Board in March 2007.⁠[3]

Effective as of the close of business on March 30, 2007, Altria Group, Inc.AltriaAltria Group, Inc., formerly Philip Morris Companies Inc., is an American tobacco company whose wholly owned subsidiaries include Philip Morris USA, John Middleton, U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company, Helix Innovations and NJOY; its stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.Open the full entry distributed its remaining 89.0% interest in Kraft to its stockholders in a tax-free transaction, and Kraft became fully independent.⁠[4]

In April 2007, Rosenfeld and 11 Kraft employees from around the world rang the Opening Bell at the New York Stock Exchange, as the company celebrated its new listing on the S&P 100 and S&P 500S&P 500The S&P 500 is a U.S. large-cap equity index compiled by S&P Dow Jones Indices. It includes 500 leading companies, covers about 80% of available market capitalization and is described by S&P DJI as “widely regarded as the best single gauge of large-cap U.S. equities.”Open the full entry indices.⁠[5]

On November 30, 2007, Kraft acquired the global biscuit business of Groupe Danone S.A. for €5.1 billion (approximately $7.6 billion) in cash.⁠[4]

On February 2, 2010, Kraft Foods announced that its Final Offer for Cadbury plc had succeeded, with holders of 71.73% of Cadbury’s outstanding shares having accepted. The combined company had annual revenue of approximately $50 billion. Rosenfeld said the combination created “a global powerhouse in snacks, confectionery and quick meals.”⁠[6]

On October 1, 2012, Kraft Foods Inc. completed the spin-off of its North American grocery business, Kraft Foods Group, Inc. Shareholders received one share of Kraft Foods Group common stock for every three shares of Kraft Foods Inc. common stock.⁠[7]

The company changed its name to Mondelēz International, Inc., and its old ticker KFT was retired. Beginning October 2, 2012, its shares traded on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker MDLZ. At the time of the spin-off the company had annual revenue of approximately $36 billion and operations in more than 80 countries.⁠[8]

In its 2012 annual report the company wrote: “Our name reflects our vision to create a more delicious world in which to live.” Its headquarters were then in Deerfield, Illinois.⁠[3]

On July 2, 2015, Mondelēz International completed transactions to combine its wholly owned coffee businesses with those of D.E Master Blenders 1753, creating a new company, Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE). Mondelēz received €3.8 billion ($4.2 billion as of July 2, 2015) in cash and a 43.5% equity interest in JDE. Acorn Holdings B.V., the owner of DEMB, held the remaining 56.5%.⁠[9]

In June 2016, Mondelez offered $107 per share in cash and stock for Hershey, valuing the deal at $23 billion. Hershey’s board unanimously rejected the indication of interest and determined that it provided no basis for further discussion. The Hershey Trust, a charity created by founder Milton Hershey, held about 81% of Hershey’s voting rights.⁠[10]

In August 2016, Mondelez said it was no longer pursuing the acquisition of Hershey. Rosenfeld said, “we determined that there is no actionable path forward toward an agreement.”⁠[11]

On August 2, 2017, Mondelez announced that Dirk Van de Put, President and CEO of McCain Foods Limited, would succeed Rosenfeld as CEO on a date not later than November 20, 2017, with the board enlarged from 13 to 14 members. Rosenfeld would remain Chairman through March 31, 2018, and Van de Put would become Chairman effective April 1, 2018.⁠[12]

Rosenfeld, then 64, had faced pressure from activist investors to raise the company’s profit margins, which trailed those of competitors.⁠[13]

On August 1, 2022, Mondelēz International completed the acquisition of Clif Bar & Company, an energy-bar maker headquartered in Emeryville, California, whose brands include CLIF, CLIF Kid and LUNA.⁠[14]

The deal, valued at $2.9 billion, closed less than two months after it was first announced. Mondelez’s snack bar business had generated about $300 million in sales before the deal and was expected to exceed $1 billion in revenue with Clif Bar added.⁠[15]

On May 23, 2024, the European Commission fined Mondelez €337.5 million (about $366 million) for obstructing sales of its products between European Union member states, stating that “such illegal practices allowed Mondelez to continue charging more for its own products.”⁠[16]

In the fourth quarter of 2024, Mondelēz sold its remaining 85.9 million shares in JDE Peet’s N.V. to JAB Holding Company, fully exiting the investment.⁠[17]

On February 3, 2026, the company announced fiscal 2025 net revenues of $38,537 million, up 5.8% from $36,441 million in 2024. Net earnings attributable to the company were $2,451 million, compared with $4,611 million in 2024. The company said profitability was hurt by “unprecedented cocoa cost headwinds.”⁠[18]

At December 31, 2025, the company had approximately 91,000 employees and sold products in over 150 countries. Its reportable segments are Latin America, AMEA, Europe and North America.⁠[19]

On October 29, 2026, the company announced third-quarter net revenue of $9,967 million, up 2.3%, and diluted EPS of $1.02, up 78.9%, and reaffirmed its 2026 outlook of at least 2% organic net revenue growth. Van de Put said, “We delivered strong third-quarter results.”⁠[20]

The same day, the company signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Undercover Chocolate Company, Inc. and Undercover Ingredients LLC, expected to close in the first quarter of 2027.⁠[17]