We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Alcohol Stocks To Buy According to Analysts. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Tilray Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:TLRY) stands against the other alcohol stocks.

An analysis by Goldman Sachs has revealed that beer and spirits volumes in the American market have shown little correlation with economic growth. This is because beer and spirits are often seen as affordable luxuries or even staples. Liquor tends to enjoy stable sales even when general consumer spending takes a hit elsewhere, while there have also been times when alcohol sales even increase during economic downturns, as they did during the COVID-19 pandemic and the Great Recession of 2008-09.

READ ALSO: 10 Best Liquor Stocks To Buy According to Short Sellers

However, things haven’t been exactly easy for the alcohol sector lately, especially after the recent report from the U.S. Surgeon General claimed that alcohol consumption in the country is directly linked to approximately 100,000 cases of cancer and 20,000 deaths annually. The report has proposed to put cancer warning labels on alcoholic beverages, signaling a shift toward more aggressive tobacco-style regulation for the sector if adopted.

The proposition, if enacted, could seriously hurt sales for a sector that is already struggling with a pullback in drinking by younger consumers. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, America’s per capita annual consumption of alcohol in 2022 was 2.5 gallons, down from 3.28 gallons in the early 1980s. The growing popularity of low-and no-alcohol products, rising prevalence of cannabis use, and anti-obesity drugs picking up steam certainly haven’t helped either.

Another looming threat for the American liquor industry is that of tariffs. The European Union is due to reimpose its retaliatory tariff on American whiskey in late March, but at a higher rate of 50%. Over the last two years, American whiskey exports to the EU have surged by more than 60%, and total US spirits exports grew to a record high of $2.2 billion in 2023. But this success story could face a devastating turn unless President Trump’s administration can swiftly negotiate a prolonged suspension or permanent removal of the tariff.

However, amidst the sharp decline in sales following the pandemic, one category that could be a bright spot for the struggling booze industry is that of spirit-based RTD’s, despite the fall in the overall spirits segment. Americans consumed over 62 million cases of ready-to-drink spirits in 2023, up almost 25% from 2022, making it the second-largest spirit category by volume, right behind vodka. A plethora of new brands have popped up in the market over the last few years, offering canned versions of many bar classics, including Negroni, Daiquiri, and even the good ol’ Jack & Coke.

The alcohol sector also seems to be responding adequately to the evolving consumer trends by investing heavily in a wide range of low- and no-alcohol beverages. The strategy seems to be paying off, as according to Nielsen, non-alcoholic beer, wine, and spirits collectively surpassed $565 million in sales in 2023, up 35% from the year before. Sales of Guinness 0.0, the zero-alcohol version of the highly beloved Irish stout, surged by nearly 50% between February 2023 and February 2024, putting it among the Best Selling Non Alcoholic Beers in the US. Nearly every major industry player has come up with No-Lo versions of their highly acclaimed brands, making sure they don’t miss out on their share of a market that is becoming more and more established every day.

Methodology: 

To collect data for this article, we examined all the companies in the alcohol sector that are listed on NASDAQ and NYSE and then compiled a list of the stocks with the highest upside potential according to Wall Street analysts, as of January 27, 2024. Following are the Best Alcohol Stocks According to Analysts.

At Insider Monkey we are obsessed with the stocks that hedge funds pile into. The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).

Tilray Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:TLRY)

Stock Upside Potential: 47.37%

Tilray Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:TLRY) has a highly diversified global portfolio with businesses in medical adult-use cannabis, beverages, spirits, wellness products, and a vast array of consumer-connected lifestyle brands. The company operates in over 20 countries across five continents with a portfolio of over 40 consumer-connected lifestyle brands and 20 vertically integrated facilities that produce approximately 90% of its products in-house.

The core business of Tilray Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:TLRY) is cannabis and it operates the largest cannabis business in Canada by revenue, the leading medical cannabis business across Europe, and the largest branded hemp business in North America. However, cannabis is a notoriously tough business to profit from and Tilray hasn’t been able to turn a single annual profit over the last four years. This forced the company to diversify beyond cannabis and so it expanded into the craft beer industry with the acquisition of several breweries from Ab InBev and Molson Coors. What started off as a venture is now a serious segment and Tilray counts among the top five craft beer businesses in the United States in terms of scale.

Tilray Beverages, the beverage business of Tilray Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:TLRY) now generates a third of the company’s global revenue and includes more than 20 beverage brands, which includes 15 American craft beer brands, 10 network manufacturing facilities, over 700 distributors, 20 brew pubs and restaurants, and a single integrated sales and marketing team operating across the US. Tilray Beverages booked $119 million in net revenue in the first half of FY 2025, a 68.5% increase on the year prior.

Tilray Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:TLRY) reported a total revenue of $211 million for Q2 of 2025, and though it was up 9% YoY, the figure fell short of the broader market consensus of $218 million, due in part to a 16% decrease in the company’s Canadian adult-use cannabis sales. Tilray reported an operating loss of $42.2 million during the quarter, up from the $41.8 million loss it posted a year ago. The company’s reported cash flow for the first half of FY 2025 was a negative $76 million, up from the $46.3 million cash it burned during the same period a year earlier.

Despite all the aggressive diversification and expansion, Tilray Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:TLRY) is struggling to turn a profit and so the company has recently announced its Project 420, a comprehensive plan focused on enhancing margins and profitability with an aim to achieve $25 million in cost savings, synergies, and cost avoidance initiatives. The company’s strategy to diversify geographically is also paying off and Tilray’s international business grew by 25% YoY in Q2 2025 as it launched new commercial products and expanded its reach across Europe.

Shares of Tilray Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:TLRY) were held by 16 hedge funds in the IM database at the end of Q3 2024, putting it among the 7 Best CBD Stocks To Invest In Right Now.

Overall TLRY ranks 3rd on our list of the best alcohol stocks to buy according to analysts. While we acknowledge the potential for TLRY as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than TLRY but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.