Boston Beer (SAM 1.44%) delivered its third-quarter earnings report Thursday, with results that beat analysts' estimates on earnings, but missed on revenue. It also offered an upbeat outlook for next year.
The alcoholic beverage company's adjusted EPS of $6.51 was 24.2% higher than analysts' consensus expectation of $5.24, according to Zacks Equity Research. By contrast, net revenue fell approximately 5.5% short of the predicted $521.4 million, clocking in at $492.8 million.
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Despite the miss, quarterly net revenue jumped by $114.3 million -- or 30.2% -- year over year, while shipments increased by 30.5%, causing the company to revise its full-year projections for shipments upward.
"Our diversified brand portfolio continues to fuel double-digit growth for the tenth consecutive quarter," said Boston Beer founder and Chairman Jim Koch. He asserted that this trend would likely continue with "major innovations to be introduced in 2021," including a hard seltzer line, hard fruit cider, canned cocktails, and the company's first non-alcoholic beer. CEO Dave Burwick added that management expects all of the company's brands to grow next year, and is targeting overall volume growth of 35% to 45%.
In addition, the company forecasts price increases of 1% to 2% next year. During the Q3 earnings call, Burwick said that improved cost efficiency should cause top-line growth to outpace operating expense increases, raising the brewer's operating income.
