JBS has taken a decisive step in its internationalization strategy on Friday, 13, when its actions begin to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) after years of preparation and overcoming obstacles. The double listing, which maintains BDRS negotiation in B3, represents not only a change in corporate structure, but a company bet to attract global investors and reduce the distance it evaluates for international competitors such as Tyson Foods.
The market was already priced, but now the focus turns to the next steps, as Broadcast Agro told the Agro, Food and Beverages Analyst at XP Investimentos Leonardo Alencar. “The listing only actually ends in December 2026, when we will be clear about Free Float and liquidity. Until then, the price of action still reflects more the flow of this process than the foundations of the company,” he said.
The fundamentals, however, are one of JBS’s main assets in the conquest of the global market. With geographical and protein diversification, the company has reduced the volatility of its results-a key point for investors. “JBS is a commodity with recurrence. In 2024, it performed excellent, and 2025 is still positive, even with potentially smaller margins,” said Alencar.
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The challenge now is to convince the American market that it deserves higher multiples. While JBS today operates about 4.5 times EV (market value)/EBITDA, Tyson Foods negotiates 6x and Hormel, focused on processed, at 12x. The expectation of the company is that, when approaching international investors, there is a gradual reevaluation of its market value. Bradesco BBI projections point to a 50% to 149% appreciation potential if JBS approaches the multiples of its global peers.
On the JBS side, the speech is of optimism. “The listing will increase our international visibility and strengthen our position as a global leader,” said CEO, Gilberto Tomazoni, in a teleconference with analysts and investors. The CFO, Guilherme Cavalcanti, stressed that the base of foreign shareholders has already jumped from 65% to 80%, and that the debt spread fell into anticipation of the change. JBS’s controlling shareholder and advisor, Wesley Batista, went further: “The multiple there [nos EUA] It is infinitely superior. It is transformational to be in the largest financial center in the world, ”he commented to CNN Money.
With the consolidated listing, JBS now aims to include in S&P 500 – which will require adjustments such as increased free float (fraction of shares of a company that are available for free trading in the stock market). The company expects to enter the Russell index in June 2026 and S&P 500 at a later time. The possibility of JBS becoming the first Brazilian company to integrate S&P 500 is treated as a milestone. “We will pursue that,” said Batista. “We believe we will be there and we will celebrate a lot.”
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The company also signals that the highest liquidity can open doors for acquisitions. “Growing up is part of our DNA,” said Batista, citing industrialized foods (such as pizzas and margarines) as a possible focus of expanding JBS performance. “Being listed in the NYSE by accessing a volume of funds detained by the largest investment funds in the United States, it will logically open conditions for JBS,” he added.
If you already think about the next steps after the double listing, JBS completed the way to NYSE that was not free of controversy. The company faced resistance from environmental groups such as Greenpeace, and criticism from American politicians. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren questioned donations of $ 5 million from the Pilgrim’s Pride subsidiary to Donald Trump committees, suggesting a possible influence on the approval of the list by the US securities commission. Governance consultancies such as ISS and Glass Lewis also recommended that shareholders vote against restructuring, although the Mason Capital Fund has defended the operation as a “multibillionaire opportunity.”
Alencar recalls that the process was long and marked by uncertainties. “The expectation of the company had existed a long time ago, but the end of the sec. There was still doubt about the position of BNDES, which in the past was against, but ended up abstaining in the decisive vote,” explained the XP analyst.
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While the market follows the first trading sessions in New York, JBS’s challenge will be to balance promises of appreciation with the need to prove that its diversification and governance are up to global standards. As Alencar sums up: “We are still in the beginning. The real test will come when the dust of the listing downloads, and investors look only at the fundamentals.”
