Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Can Boston Beer (SAM) Beat on Q1 Earnings Despite Cost Woes?

Read MoreHide Full Article

The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (SAM - Free Report) is scheduled to report first-quarter 2024 results on Apr 25. In the first quarter, the company is anticipated to have registered top and bottom-line growth from the year-ago quarter’s reported figures.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at 9 cents per share, suggesting growth of 112.3% from the loss of 73 cents per share reported in the year-ago quarter. The consensus mark has increased significantly in the past 30 days from the prior stated loss of 2 cents. For quarterly revenues, the consensus estimate is pegged at $414.8 million, suggesting 1.2% growth from the year-ago quarter’s reported number.

In the last reported quarter, SAM delivered a negative earnings surprise of 577.3%. It has a trailing four-quarter negative earnings surprise of 164.7%, on average.

The Boston Beer Company, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

 

The Boston Beer Company, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

The Boston Beer Company, Inc. price-eps-surprise | The Boston Beer Company, Inc. Quote

Key Factors to Note

Boston Beer has been benefiting from the progress of its Beyond Beer strategy, the premiumization of the beer industry and robust trends for its twisted tea brand. Additionally, the company’s innovation and intensified attention to pricing and product portfolio expansion efforts bode well.

SAM has been on track with growth of its Beyond Beer category. Beyond Beer has been growing faster than the traditional beer market and the company expects this trend to continue for several years. Its continued strength across the Beyond Beer portfolio is likely to have aided its performance in the to-be-reported quarter.

The company’s continued focus on pricing, product innovation, growth of non-beer categories and brand development is likely to have boosted its operational performance and position in the market.

Boston Beer’s focus on innovation to revive the Truly brand and expand Twisted Tea’s potential bodes well. As part of product innovation, the company expects to improve the Truly brand trends through a renewed focus on the core business, smart brand innovation, and strong distributor support and retail execution.

The Twisted Tea brand largely drove growth of Boston Beer in the last reported quarter. The brand’s physical availability, improved geographic, channel and package distribution, effective brand-building campaigns, increased media investment and optimized packaging design have been aiding its performance. The brand’s growing brand awareness and household penetration are expected to have continued in the to-be-reported quarter.

On the operational front, Boston Beer has been benefiting from strong price realization and procurement savings, which more than offset increased inflationary costs. This has been a boon to the gross margin. Additionally, a decline in advertising, promotional and selling expenses on lower freight to distributors due to reduced rates and volumes is likely to have boosted the bottom line in the first quarter.

However, declines in shipments and depletions, as well as continued challenges in the hard seltzer category, have been weighing on the company’s top-line performance. Soft performances of the Truly Hard Seltzer, Angry Orchard, Samuel Adams and Hard Mountain Dew have been hurting shipments.

Boston Beer has been witnessing a slowdown in the hard seltzer category and the demand for the Truly brand in recent quarters. The slowing hard seltzer trends have been partly hurting the company’s depletions.

On the last reported quarter’s earnings call, management expected first-quarter volumes to witness declines due to the continued weakness in Truly volume, partly offset by strong growth in Twisted Tea.

What Does the Zacks Model Say?

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Boston Beer this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. But that is not the case here. You can uncover the best stocks before they are reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Boston Beer has an Earnings ESP of +66.45% and a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) at present.

Stocks Poised to Beat Earnings Estimates

Here are some companies you may want to consider, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this season.

Church & Dwight Co. (CHD - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +2.37% and a Zacks Rank of 2 at present. The company is expected to register top and bottom-line growth when it reports first-quarter 2024 results. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its quarterly revenues is pegged at $1.5 billion, which suggests growth of 4.3% from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter.

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Church & Dwight’s quarterly earnings has been unchanged in the past 30 days at 86 cents per share. The consensus mark for earnings suggests growth of 1.2% from the year-ago quarter’s reported number. CHD has delivered an earnings surprise of 9.7%, on average, in the trailing four quarters.

PepsiCo (PEP - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +0.50% and a Zacks Rank of 3 at present. The company is slated to witness top and bottom-line growth when it reports first-quarter 2024 results. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PEP’s quarterly revenues is pegged at $18.2 billion, which suggests growth of 1.7% from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PepsiCo’s quarterly earnings has been unchanged in the past 30 days at $1.52 per share. The consensus mark for earnings suggests growth of 1.3% from the year-ago quarter’s reported number. PEP has delivered an earnings surprise of 6%, on average, in the trailing four quarters.

Monster Beverage (MNST - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +0.44% and a Zacks Rank of 3 at present. The company is expected to witness top and bottom-line growth when it reports first-quarter 2024 results. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MNST’s quarterly earnings has been unchanged in the past 30 days at 44 cents per share. The consensus mark for earnings suggests 15.8% growth from that reported in the year-ago quarter.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate Monster Beverage’s quarterly revenues is pegged at $1.9 billion, which indicates growth of 13.3% from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter. MNST has delivered an earnings surprise of 2.9%, on average, in the trailing four quarters.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

Published in