18. The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM)
The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM) was among the stocks Jim Cramer discussed as he said that the Iran peace negotiations could trigger an oil glut, cool inflation, and pull interest rates down. A caller inquired about Cramer’s thoughts on the company, and in response, he said:
No, I don’t, no, I’m not, it’s not just that I don’t like the beer. No, I just don’t, I think it’s just, it’s flat. It’s just not going to make you money. The beer business is just okay right now. I don’t recommend any of the liquor companies because they’re not doing well enough. My wife is in that business, but she’s in agave spirits, and agave is probably the only growth area left in the entire spirits complex.
The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM) makes and sells alcoholic beverages, including beers, hard ciders, and seltzers, under brands such as Samuel Adams, Truly, and Twisted Tea. Longleaf Partners Small-Cap Fund stated the following regarding The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM) in its fourth quarter 2025 investor letter:
The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM) – Alcoholic beverage company Boston Beer was a detractor for the year as alcohol consumption faced headwinds. Volume declines at Twisted Tea, the company’s largest brand, weighed on the stock. Twisted’s pricing had gotten a little overextended, but the company is actively working to fix this problem and has also successfully fended off numerous competitors that entered the hard tea space over the last few years. Additionally, Truly is still having difficulty returning to growth after multiple difficult years but is now a much smaller part of the company. Boston Beer has continually proven itself as one of the best innovators in the industry, as shown again by its new and successful vodka-based product Sun Cruiser, which is in the process of a national rollout and will be key to getting the company back to growth. We have been pleased by the speed at which management has corrected margin problems that arose in the aftermath of the hard seltzer boom, and we still believe there is further room for improvement. Founder Jim Koch stepped back into the CEO seat in August for the first time in almost 25 years after former CEO Michael Spillane stepped down. The company still has a net cash position and is one of our largest share repurchasers. We think repurchase is a great use of capital for a consumer packaged goods company with quality brands that trades at 1x revenue, all at a time that it could be an acquisition target amidst industry consolidation.
