Constellation Brands beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations as its beer brands gained market share, but continued consumer caution tempered results.
As it navigates high food and fuel prices and choosy shoppers, Constellation is turning to special occasions and diversification to help drive sales.
The maker of Modelo Especial, Corona and Pacifico on Wednesday reported fiscal second-quarter adjusted earnings of $3.74 per share on $2.63 billion in revenue, ahead of Wall Street estimates of $3.56 and $2.54 billion, respectively.
Beer revenue rose 5% to roughly $2.47 billion, while beer shipments increased 5.5%. However, the company said beer depletions, a measure of sales from distributors to retailers and other customers, declined slightly during the quarter, indicating consumer demand was softer than shipment demands suggest.
“We have spent much of the first half rebuilding distributor inventory levels,” said Constellation…
