Remember when Jones Soda (Nasdaq: JSDA ) was cool?
You have to go back to early last year, when it hooked up with National Beverage (Nasdaq: FIZZ ) to create a wider distribution. The stock was rocking.
The fizz has gone flat in recent quarters, and yesterday's second-quarter report isn't going to carbonate the shares anytime soon.
Gross revenue grew by 6% to $14 million during the quarter, but $2.3 million in promotional allowances and slotting fees to get the company’s new product onto retailer shelves crushed net revenue, which fell by 10% to $11.7 million. The edgy soda company posted a loss of $0.10 a share, after breaking even a year ago.
Wall Street was braced for just a $0.07-per-share deficit on a 10% spike in net revenue. Investors must be used to having their hearts crushed every three months; Jones has now missed analyst earnings estimates in each of the past six quarters.
How can Wall Street overshoot the company's prospects so consistently? Are the pros simply underestimating the high costs that bottlers incur in acquiring retailer selling space, or are they overestimating the potential reach of Jones?
Jones Soda bottles may sell briskly at your local Panera (Nasdaq: PNRA ) , but that didn't stop Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX ) from giving them the boot last year. Jones may be able to squeeze its 24c vitamin-drink mixes into Whole Foods (Nasdaq: WFMI ) , but Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT ) still discontinued the company's 16-ounce cans and bottle four-packs.
Reality has been a bruiser here. The rollout of canned sodas is cannibalizing the higher-priced bottled product in some markets. Even this year's introduction of more mainstream lemon-lime and cola flavors has done little to pick up overall sales.
The next arrow in the company’s quiver -- and perhaps its last -- is Jones Gaba, a new energy-drink line that claims to increase mental focus. Gaba should be out by year's end. Let's hope that the executives drink cases of the stuff between now and then, because mental focus is about the only thing that can get Jones Soda back on track.
Can one drink make a company? Of course. Where would Hansen Natural (Nasdaq: HANS ) be without Monster? However, there have been more monsters than Monsters lurking under Jones shareholders' beds. Gaba, don't fail it now.
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