Executive Summary

Q3 revenue rose 8.8% to $511.4M on 7.4% organic growth, with volume +5.0% and price +3.8%; gross margin expanded 20 bps to 64.7% and adjusted EBITDA grew 11.4% to $124.7M (24.4% margin) .
Adjusted diluted EPS was $0.35 vs $0.24 a year ago; GAAP diluted EPS from continuing ops was $0.24 vs $0.21; cash from operations was $91.0M and adjusted FCF $60.4M .
Channel growth was broad-based: Water Direct/Exchange +8.0%, Refill/Filtration +7.1%, and “Other Water” (primarily Mountain Valley) +102.2%; “Other” non-core declined 35.5% .
Strategic catalysts: special cash dividend of $0.82 per share (payable Nov 21, record Nov 5) and expected close of BlueTriton transaction Nov 8 with rebrand to Primo Brands (NYSE: PRMB) as early as Nov 11, subject to customary conditions .

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well
- Broad-based top-line strength with both volume and price contributing; adjusted EBITDA rose faster than sales and margin expanded 60 bps YoY to 24.4% .
- Mountain Valley momentum: “Other Water” channel revenue up 102.2% YoY, reflecting strong retail/on-premise demand for the premium brand .
- CEO tone positive on execution: “Once again, we had a fantastic quarter, exceeding revenue and volume expectations across our core water channels” (Robbert Rietbroek) .
What Went Wrong
- Free cash flow moderated YoY: adjusted FCF was $60.4M vs $92.7M in Q3’23 as prior-year quarter benefited from outsized working capital improvements .
- “Other” non-core (e.g., residual office coffee/co‑packing) declined 35.5%, weighing on mix .
- SG&A increased 7.1% to support growth, limiting operating income progression (operating income $59.0M vs $59.8M LY) despite margin improvements at gross/EBITDA level .

Financial Results

Metric	Q3 2023	Q2 2024	Q3 2024
Revenue ($M)	$470.0	$485.0	$511.4
Gross Margin %	64.5%	65.6%	64.7%
Adjusted EBITDA ($M)	$111.9	$112.9	$124.7
Adjusted EBITDA Margin %	23.8%	23.3%	24.4%
Diluted EPS – Continuing Ops	$0.21	$0.08	$0.24
Adjusted Diluted EPS	$0.24	$0.26	$0.35
Cash from Operations ($M)	$126.7	$101.3	$91.0
Free Cash Flow ($M)	$89.9	$61.0	$54.6
Adjusted Free Cash Flow ($M)	$92.7	$73.3	$60.4

Channel revenue breakdown (continuing ops):

Channel	Q3 2023 ($M)	Q3 2024 ($M)	YoY %
Water Direct/Water Exchange	$356.2	$384.8	8.0%
Water Refill/Water Filtration	$62.0	$66.4	7.1%
Other Water (primarily Mountain Valley)	$13.6	$27.5	102.2%
Water Dispensers	$16.5	$18.7	13.3%
Other (non-core/OCS/co‑pack)	$21.7	$14.0	(35.5%)
Total Revenue	$470.0	$511.4	8.8%

Selected balance sheet KPIs:

KPI	FY 2023	Q2 2024	Q3 2024
Cash & Equivalents ($M)	$507.9	$603.3	$667.3
Long-term Debt ($M)	$1,270.8	$1,250.3	$1,268.8
Total Assets ($B)	$3.523	$3.520	$3.563

Guidance Changes

Metric	Period	Previous Guidance	Current Guidance	Change
Revenue	FY 2024	$1.855B–$1.885B (Q1 guide) → $1.87B–$1.89B (Q2 raise)	No update provided in Q3 8‑K release	Maintained vs Q2 (no new Q3 update)
Adjusted EBITDA	FY 2024	$410M–$430M (Q1 guide) → $420M–$440M (Q2 raise)	No update provided in Q3 8‑K release	Maintained vs Q2 (no new Q3 update)
Adjusted Free Cash Flow	FY 2024	$175M–$185M (Q1 guide) → $180M–$190M (Q2 raise)	No update provided in Q3 8‑K release	Maintained vs Q2 (no new Q3 update)
Revenue	Q3 2024	$485M–$495M (set at Q2)	Actual $511.4M	Beat guide high end
Adjusted EBITDA	Q3 2024	$115M–$125M (set at Q2)	Actual $124.7M	In-line/at high end
Dividend	Special	Announced Oct 15: $0.82/sh; record Nov 5; pay Nov 21	Executing ahead of merger	New (transaction-related)

Note: Q3 8‑K/press release focused on results and BlueTriton closing preparations; it did not include a fresh FY update, and prior Q2 FY guidance remains the latest numeric outlook disclosed .

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

Topic	Previous Mentions (Q1 2024)	Previous Mentions (Q2 2024)	Current Period (Q3 2024)	Trend
Volume/price balance	Vol +5.1%, price +4.5%; gross margin +160 bps; adj. EBITDA +24%	Vol +3.1%, price +4.5%; GM +110 bps; adj. EBITDA +14.9%	Vol +5.0%, price +3.8%; GM +20 bps; adj. EBITDA +11.4%	Consistent, broad-based growth
Mountain Valley (premium)	Retail rev +57%; capacity expansions; new aluminum 9‑pack	Retail/on-premise +87%; lines running 24/7	“Other Water” channel +102.2% YoY (primarily Mountain Valley)	Accelerating growth and scaling
Route optimization/service	OTIF 93%; ARO 2.0 rolling out; revenue/units per route up 8%/5%	OTIF 94%; units/route/day +2%; revenue/route +5%	Continuation implied by margin/volume performance	Sustained efficiency gains
Dispensers & tariffs	Sell‑through ~222k; tariff refunds received ($2.6M in Q1)	Sell‑through ~260k (+~4%); refunds cumulative $10.8M; timing uncertain	Dispensers +13.3% revenue YoY; no new refund update in release	Healthy sell‑through; pricing reset sustained
Digital/customer experience	App upgrades, SEO pages, expanded support hours	App redesign and Quick Shop; chat interactions >30k	Noted execution success in service and growth	Ongoing digitization/customer focus
Portfolio/merger with BlueTriton	—	Transaction progress, regulatory filings; synergy rationale	Court and shareowner approvals; expected close Nov 8; rebrand to PRMB	Closing imminent; integration ramping

Sources: Q1/Q2 transcripts and Q3 press materials as cited.

Management Commentary

“Once again, we had a fantastic quarter, exceeding revenue and volume expectations across our core water channels. Revenue growth was driven by both volume and pricing, leading to earnings growth and margin expansion across our business.” — CEO Robbert Rietbroek .
“We anticipate the closing [of BlueTriton] will occur on or about November 8, 2024… the new combined company's name, Primo Brands, and new ticker symbol ‘PRMB’… as early as Monday, November 11, 2024.” — CEO Robbert Rietbroek .

Q&A Highlights

Prior quarters focused on: Mountain Valley demand/capacity build-out; route optimization (ARO 2.0) driving units/route and revenue/route; dispenser sell-through health; retention improvement (~85% Q1; ~86% Q2); guidance cadence and capex targeting ~7% of revenue plus strategic spend .
For Q3, the company held an earnings call and webcast on Nov 7; third-party sites posted the transcript, but the document was not retrievable in our database; corporate press/releases emphasized results and near-term merger closing, rebrand, and special dividend .

Estimates Context

We attempted to retrieve S&P Global consensus for Q3’24 revenue, EPS, and EBITDA, but the data was unavailable due to a missing CIQ mapping for PRMW in the estimates system. As a result, we cannot provide a definitive beat/miss vs S&P Global consensus for Q3’24 at this time [GetEstimates error].

Key Takeaways for Investors

Strong operational momentum: revenue growth with positive mix/volume and disciplined pricing is translating into margin expansion and robust adjusted EPS growth .
Premium brand engine: Mountain Valley’s outsized growth underscores a durable premiumization vector and supports channel diversification (retail/on‑premise) .
Cash generation solid albeit below FY23’s unusually strong Q3: expect normalization vs last year’s working capital tailwinds; liquidity remains strong with ~$667M cash .
Merger catalysts: imminent BlueTriton close, rebrand to PRMB, and special dividend of $0.82/share are key near-term stock drivers; integration workstreams already underway .
Guidance framework unchanged since Q2 raise; Q3 results exceeded the revenue range and landed at the high end of adjusted EBITDA guidance, implying potential upward estimate revisions if momentum sustains (consensus unavailable) .
Watch 2025 setup: synergy and integration execution, continued Mountain Valley expansion/capacity, dispenser sell-through trends, and service metrics (OTIF/retention) to sustain margin trajectory .

Supporting Documents and Additional Relevant Releases

Q3 2024 8‑K (press release & exhibits): comprehensive results, channel detail, non‑GAAP reconciliations .
Special Dividend Announcement (Oct 15, 2024): $0.82/share, record Nov 5, pay Nov 21 .
Q2 2024 8‑K (prior guidance and Q3 targets): Q3 revenue $485–$495M; adj. EBITDA $115–$125M; FY guidance raised .
Q1 2024 8‑K (initial FY 2024 guidance and execution baseline) .

All figures are as reported by the company in cited filings and press materials. Non‑GAAP measures and reconciliations are provided in exhibits to the press releases .

Primo Water Corp /CN/ (PRMW)·Q3 2024 Earnings Summary