As we state in our earnings release, some of the information we discuss and that may come up on this call reflects the company's or management's expectations or predictions of the future. I'll begin my remarks this afternoon with an overview of our strategy and operating results before turning the call over to Diego to discuss our supply chain, Q4 results, and 2026 financial outlook. Our disciplined, fewer things, better innovation approach drove a successful national launch of Sun Cruiser, which is both revenue and margin accretive. Efficiency improvements across our breweries and our productivity agenda drove 410 basis points of gross margin expansion, allowing us to increase brand investment meaningfully.
Our business continued to be highly cash generative, with 2025 free cash flow of $216 million or $19.72 per share, which allowed us to repurchase $200 million in shares in 2025. Moderation trends are also having an impact on demand, and in certain states, hemp-derived beverages are competing for shelf space and drinkers, despite recent federal regulations which restrict their availability after November 2026. We continue to see long-term growth opportunities in the beyond beer category, which is 85% of our total company volume and where we are the industry's second-largest player. From 2019 to 2025, driven by growth in hard tea and hard seltzers, the beyond beer category has doubled in volume and now represents 9% of total U.S.
Our 2026 volume outlook of flat to down mid-single digits assumes that macroeconomic headwinds persist. Our priorities for the year will be supporting our full portfolio of brands through advertising and local in-market execution investments, developing margin-accretive innovation, and driving margin improvement through productivity. We're partnering with some of our wholesalers to increase local brand building capabilities and improve execution on the shelf. With respect to innovation, we continue to prioritize high growth, margin-accretive opportunities.