Boston Beer Co. Inc. lost about a quarter of its value after it said demand for Truly hard seltzers was lower than anticipated.
“We overestimated the growth of the hard-seltzer category in the second quarter and the demand for Truly, which negatively impacted our volume and earnings for the quarter and our estimates for the remainder of the year,” Chief Executive David Burwick said on a conference call Thursday. “Our outlook for the hard-seltzer category in the second half of 2021 is uncertain”
Shares of the company, which also sells Samuel Adams beer, fell about 24% to $717.17 at midday Friday.
The company increased its production of Truly for its summer peak but ended up with higher-than-planned inventory at its breweries and increased supply-chain costs, Mr. Burwick said.
The Boston-based company on Thursday missed Wall Street analysts’ earnings and sales projections for the fiscal second quarter. Boston Beer reported net income of $59.2 million for the three months ended June 26, slightly lower than the year-ago period as higher operating expenses eclipsed revenue growth. The company posted growth in depletions, or sales by distributors to retailers, of 24% for the second quarter, but the metric slowed from its first-quarter growth of 48%.
