Boston Beer Buzz Wanes With Results Prompting Biggest Fall in 3 Years

  • Samuel Adams continues decline despite strong non-beer brands
  • Advertising and promotional costs narrowed operating margins

Bottles of Samuel Adams Boston Lager travel along the production line in a bottling house at the Shepherd Neame Plc brewery in Faversham, U.K.

Photographer: Bloomberg/Bloomberg
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Boston Beer Co.’s second-quarter earnings report Thursday is causing a sobering hangover Friday.

The craft brewer’s shares fell as much as 15.5 percent, the most intraday since February 2015, after earnings per share of $1.98 missedBloomberg Terminal the consensus estimate by 30 percent. Margins narrowed due to heavy spending on advertising and promotions meant to revive the company’s declining flagship Samuel Adams, though its Truly Spiked & Sparkling hard seltzer, Angry Orchard cider and Twisted Tea brands continued to grow.