Boston Beer has again cut its earnings forecast as demand for its once hot hard seltzer Truly continued to decline along with the category as a whole. Hard seltzer dollar sales declined by 13% in the second quarter of 2022 (in measured off-premise channels).
Boston Beer’s shares on Wall Street have now fallen by more than 70% since the seltzer fad peaked in 2020.
Boston Beer won’t be letting up on their non-beer portfolio anytime soon, which has helped drive company growth over the last decade. “In the second half, we will focus our efforts on Twisted Tea, Truly and Hard Mountain Dew which we believe have the most potential to positively impact our business,” Jim Koch, founder and chairman of Boston Beer said on an earnings call. “Our multi-brand strategy plus our long history of innovation have supported our growth over the long-term, and we will work hard to capitalize on these strengths going forward.”
Revenue for the company rose to $616.2 million from $603 million a year ago despite both lower shipments and depletions as Boston increased its prices. Depletions and shipments for the first 29 weeks of 2022 have declined 7% and 11%, respectively, from the comparable periods in 2021. The company now estimates that full year 2022 changes in depletions and shipments will be between a decrease of 8% and a decrease of 2%.
See a transcript of Boston Beer’s earnings call to investors here.