Key Highlights

● Oatly shares moved down about 27.15% on October 28, 2026.

● The company cut its profit outlook, citing higher freight costs.

● The move stood apart from the broader market's modest session gain.

● The stock closed at $8.56 on October 28, 2026.

Oatly (NASDAQ:OTLY) shares fell sharply on Wednesday after the Swedish oat-drink maker reported third-quarter results alongside a significantly lower full-year profit forecast. The stock closed at $8.56, a decline of 27.15%, one of the steepest drops among US-listed shares in a session when the major indexes edged to fresh highs. The selloff shows how heavily investors weighted the company's earnings guidance over its improving top-line and margin numbers.

Company Context

The results themselves were not weak on their face. In its third-quarter release, published October 28 and furnished to the SEC on Form 6-K, Oatly reported revenue of $243.1 million for the quarter ended September 30, up 9.1% from $222.8 million a year earlier. In constant currency, revenue grew 8.9%. Gross margin improved by 4.4 percentage points to 34.1%, adjusted EBITDA rose to $9.4 million from $3.1 million, and the net loss attributable to shareholders narrowed to $27.5 million from $65.3 million in the year-earlier quarter.

Session Backdrop

The problem was the outlook. Oatly lowered its full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance to a range of $16 million to $20 million, down from the $25 million to $35 million range it had previously given. That cut the midpoint of its profit forecast roughly in half. The company attributed the reduction to fuel and freight inflation in North America and said timing delays are expected to weigh on fourth-quarter profitability. Other parts of the guidance were left unchanged: Oatly still expects constant-currency revenue growth of 8% to 10% for the year, a foreign exchange tailwind of about 200 to 250 basis points, and capital expenditures of $20 million to $30 million.

For a company that has spent several years trying to prove it can turn growth into consistent profit, a guidance cut of this size goes to the heart of the investment case. Oatly has been working to reach sustained positive adjusted EBITDA after years of heavy losses, and investors have tended to judge it by its progress on that front rather than by revenue alone. A lower profit range, even with sales growth intact, suggests cost pressures are absorbing much of the operating improvement the company had been building.

The cost explanation fits the wider macro backdrop. Oil prices remain far above where they were before the Iran war began in late February, with Brent trading around $110 a barrel early Thursday and US crude near $101. Higher fuel prices feed directly into transport and distribution costs for consumer goods companies, and freight weakness was a theme elsewhere on Wednesday as trucking and logistics stocks fell after Landstar's results. Oatly's experience is an example of how energy prices are spilling into the margins of companies far removed from the oil patch.

The release also included strategic updates. Oatly launched a new Fiber beverage platform aimed at the wellness category, and it said its strategic review of the Greater China business is ongoing. The company expects to complete that review within 2026 but gave no definitive timetable and no assurance that it will lead to a transaction or other change. Chief executive Jean-Christophe Flatin commented on the results in the release.

The broader market offered little help for consumer names facing cost headwinds. The Federal Reserve held its benchmark rate at 3.75% to 4.00%, with two dissenters favoring a hike, and the 10-year Treasury yield hovered around 5.0%.

What This Move Means for Oatly

Investors will likely watch how Oatly's fourth-quarter margins hold up against freight and fuel costs, whether revenue growth stays within the reaffirmed range, any conclusion to the Greater China review, and early traction for the new Fiber platform.