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The Boston Beer Company

SAM
45
Beverages - Alcoholic · Consumer Defensive
Price
$185.95
-4.87 (-2.55%)
Market Cap
$1.94B
Winston Score
45
Winston is serious
Mixed quality — meaningful strengths and weaknesses.
Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through Jun 27, 2026
How the score breaks down
Quality
Good
Growth
Weak
Cash Flow
Weak
Stability
Exceptional
Valuation
Data not available

Share count falling — buybacks

14.8% over 4y

The company has reduced its share count over this period, returning value to shareholders through buybacks.

Diluted shares outstanding: 12.4M (2021) → 10.6M (2025)

Winston Score History

The full picture

The Boston Beer Company makes alcoholic drinks sold across the United States and in select international markets. Its most famous brand is Samuel Adams beer, but the company also makes Twisted Tea hard iced tea, Truly Hard Seltzer, and Angry Orchard hard cider. It sells mainly to adult consumers through bars, restaurants, and retail stores.

The company earns money by brewing and selling its beverages to distributors, who then sell to retailers and venues. Boston Beer operates primarily in the U.S., with a small international presence, and generates roughly $2 billion in annual revenue. Its strength comes from owning several well-known brand names across different drink categories, which gives it shelf space and consumer recognition that smaller rivals struggle to match. The biggest risk the company faces is the sharp decline in hard seltzer sales — Truly lost significant market share to competitors — and Boston Beer must find new growth from emerging categories like hard tea or non-alcoholic drinks to offset that pressure.

Growth Profile

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+3.4% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Slow revenue growth

EPS Growth

-9.0% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Earnings declining

R&D Spend

$0/ year

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (2%)

Research and development spending

Insider Activity

28.5%ownership

Declining

Insider ownership declining — could be dilution or selling

Cash Runway

~2 years

$266M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↓ Burn rate worsening

Adequate runway but may need to raise capital within 2 years

Growth context

The Boston Beer Company is growing revenue at 3% year-over-year. The Winston Score measures business quality today — these growth metrics show what could matter tomorrow.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

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Quality

Profit per sale
Gross Margin
47.1%
Healthy — 47.1% gross margin
Profit after running costs
Operating Margin
11.6%
Modest — 11.6% operating margin
Return on the money invested
ROCE
16.3%
Strong — 16.3% return on capital

ROIC between 15% and 25%. Every dollar invested in the business earns 15 to 25 cents back per year.

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Growth

Sales growth
Sales YoY
+1.8%
Nearly flat sales (+1.8% YoY)
Profit growth
EPS YoY
-195.6%
Earnings shrinking (-195.6% YoY)

Earnings per share down more than 10%. Either a bad year, or a real decline.

How steady the profit is
EPS Consistency
4/8 quarters
Earnings inconsistent quarter-to-quarter

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash
Cash Conversion
N/A
Data not available
Spare cash per sale
FCF Margin
9.1%
Modest free cash flow (9.1%)

FCF margin between 0% and 10%. Some cash from sales, but not a lot.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns
Debt / Equity
0.04
Conservative — low debt load (0.04)
Covers its interest
Interest Cover
100.00x
Comfortably covers interest (100.0x)

Interest coverage above 8. Profits cover interest many times over.

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Valuation

Price vs profit
P/E Ratio (TTM)
N/M
Negative earnings — P/E not meaningful
Cheaper or dearer next year
P/E vs Forward
N/A
not available
Data not available

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Dividends

Not applicable for this business.
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