Constellation Brands
raised fiscal-year earnings expectations after reporting second-quarter profit and revenue that beat Wall Street estimates, driven by strength of the Modelo brand. The stock is falling anyway.
Blame the decline on the company’s wines and spirits sales, which fell 14% in the second quarter to $444.1 million, pushing shares 3.5% lower on Thursday.
Constellation Brands
(ticker: STZ) reported fiscal second-quarter adjusted earnings of $3.70 a share on sales of $2.84 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet were expecting the parent of Modelo and Corona beers to report earnings of $3.37 a share on revenue of $2.82 billion.
Beer sales rose 12% from the prior year, driven by strength of Modelo.
“Modelo Especial continued to outperform the market as the top share gainer and solidified its position as the No. 1 beer in U.S. tracked channels,” Chief Executive Bill Newlands said in a press release.
Modelo became the top-selling beer in the U.S.—taking the title from
Anheuser-Busch InBev’s
(BUD) Bud Light—during Constellation’s fiscal 2024 first quarter. Modelo nabbed the honor after customers boycotted Bud Light, whose sales plummeted in response to a spring advertising partnership with a transgender social media influencer.
Constellation Brands raised its adjusted earnings outlook for fiscal 2024, saying it expects profit of between $12 and $12.20 a share, above prior estimates of $11.70 to $12 a share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet were expecting adjusted earnings of $11.72 a share.
Constellation stock has gained roughly 4% in 2023.
Write to Angela Palumbo at [email protected]
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