At a glance
Boston Beer Company Inc is worth $2.01B, about 20 times its fiscal 2025 earnings. Revenue fell 2.4% to $2.09B in fiscal 2025, with 5.2% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 2.4% a year. It pays no dividend; it spent $533.9M buying back its shares over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned −11.0% over the past year with dividends reinvested and −16.8% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 28.6% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 44.3% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%).
The business in plain English
Boston Beer makes and sells alcoholic drinks, mostly in the US with some international sales. It was founded in 1984 as a craft brewer and has since moved into what the industry calls “Beyond beer”: flavored malt beverages, hard seltzer, hard cider and ready-to-drink cocktails made with spirits. About 86% of its 2025 volume came from these drinks. The company says it is the second-largest supplier in that category, with a 20% share.
Its main brands are Twisted Tea, the largest-selling US flavored malt beverage since 2022; Truly Hard Seltzer; Samuel Adams and Dogfish Head craft beers; Angry Orchard, the top-selling US hard cider since 2013; and Sun Cruiser, a vodka cocktail launched in 2024 that grew into the fifth-largest spirits ready-to-drink brand. Hard Mountain Dew, sold under a license from PepsiCo, made up about 2% of net revenue in 2025.
The company brews at its own plants in Boston, Cincinnati, Delaware and Pennsylvania. It makes cider at its orchard in New York and also has other companies' facilities produce some drinks under contract. Distributors carry its cans and bottles mainly to grocery, club, convenience and liquor stores, and its kegs to bars, restaurants and stadiums. In the fiscal year ended December 27, 2025, revenue fell 2.4% to about $2.09 billion. Operating profit (earnings from the core business before interest and taxes) was 6.9% of sales.
Price history
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SAM -11.0% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
Latest results
- In Q3 FY2026 (ended Sep 26, 2026), revenue was $555.5M, down 2.8% from a year earlier, and net income was $43.2M (-6.5%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $2.09B (-2.4% year over year; +2.4% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a 5.2% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +2.4% watch |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 6.9% watch |
| Free cash flow margin | 10.3% good |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | 12.8% watch |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | 9.1% good |
| Cash and investments | $308.1M (no borrowings found in the filings) good |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $1.85B | $192.0M | $113.4M |
| FY2021 | $2.20B | $14.6M | $-91.6M |
| FY2022 | $2.22B | $67.3M | $109.4M |
| FY2023 | $2.13B | $76.3M | $201.1M |
| FY2024 | $2.14B | $59.7M | $172.6M |
| FY2025 | $2.09B | $108.5M | $215.6M |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $2.01B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 20 |
| Dividend yield | 0% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAM price data to Oct 28, 2026 | +1.6% | -11.0% | -14.7% | -16.8% | +2.3% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +1.6% |
| 2025 | -35.0% |
| 2024 | -13.2% |
| 2023 | +4.9% |
| 2022 | -34.8% |
| 2021 | -49.2% |
| 2020 | +163.1% |
| 2019 | +56.9% |
| 2018 | +26.0% |
| 2017 | +12.5% |
| 2016 | -15.9% |
| 2015 | -30.3% |
| 2014 | +19.8% |
| 2013 | +79.8% |
| 2012 | +23.9% |
| 2011 | +14.2% |
| 2010 | +104.1% |
| 2009 | +64.1% |
| 2008 | -24.6% |
| 2007 | +4.6% |
| 2006 | +43.9% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 57.1% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 59.8%, back to its old high 13.2 months after the low |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 25% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 28.6%, back to its old high 1.2 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 29.2% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 44.3%, not recovered by the end of the data |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-11-03 to 2026-11-03 (21 read): 0 open-market purchases and 2 sales ($642K).
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 4, 2025 | Michael Spillane Director | sell | $406K |
| Nov 4, 2025 | Michael Spillane Director | sell | $236K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| C. James Koch | 21.62% | Dec 31, 2025 |
| BlackRock, Inc. | 13.4% | Sep 30, 2026 |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | 7.58% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| AQR Capital Management, LLC | 6.47% | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Millennium Management LLC | 4.9% | Jul 16, 2026 |
| FMR LLC | 2.3% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| T. Rowe Price Investment Management, Inc. | 0.6% | Mar 31, 2025 |
ETFs with the most weight in SAM
| LSAT Leadershares Alphafactor Tactical Focused ETF | 3.51% |
| NIXT Research Affiliates Deletions ETF | 0.69% |
| SIXL ETC 6 Meridian Low Beta Equity ETF | 0.45% |
| QSML WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Quality Growth Fund | 0.41% |
| XMHQ Invesco S&P MidCap Quality ETF | 0.36% |
| JPME JPMorgan Diversified Return U.S. Mid Cap Equity ETF | 0.33% |
| GVLU Gotham 1000 Value ETF | 0.31% |
| SMDX Intech S&P Small-Mid Cap Diversified Alpha ETF | 0.21% |
What could go wrong
- Twisted Tea and Truly face shrinking categories. Sales of flavored malt beverages, the category Twisted Tea competes in, fell about 4% in dollars in 2025. Hard seltzer, home of Truly, fell 4.5% after an 8% drop in 2024 and has lost volume since 2021.
- Class B holder has significant control. The 10-K says the holder of the company's Class B shares has significant control. Investors who own the publicly traded Class A shares may have little say over the board and major decisions.
- Reliance on distributors and outside breweries. It depends on distributors, which also sell rival brands, to get its drinks to stores and bars. It also relies on plants owned by others and may not make full use of its own breweries.
- Tariffs and packaging costs pressure profits. Boston Beer depends on key can and packaging suppliers and some foreign ingredients. It says tariffs have already hurt the company and expects that to continue.
- Much larger rivals fight for shelf space. AB InBev, Molson Coors, Constellation, Heineken and Mark Anthony Brands have far more money and marketing power. Coke, Pepsi, Monster and Arizona have also entered alcoholic drinks.
- Younger drinkers are cutting back. Millennials and Gen Z are embracing moderation or abstinence. The 10-K says US beer shipments fell about 4% in volume in 2025. New taxes, warning labels or advertising limits are also possible.
Recent events
- Quarterly results released
- Executive or board change
- Other company announcement
- Quarterly results released
- Change in control; Other company announcement
- Other company announcement
- Other company announcement
- Quarterly results released
- Other company announcement
- Executive or board change; Other company announcement
For income and retirement investors
Boston Beer does not pay a dividend, and its yield was 0% as of October 28, 2026. An income investor would get no cash payments, so any return must come from a rising share price. Instead, the company returns cash through buybacks: about $534 million over fiscal 2021–2025, including $202 million in fiscal 2025. That was close to the year's $216 million of free cash flow, the cash left after running and investing in the business.
Past downturns hit the stock hard. It fell about 60% in the 2008 financial crisis, close to the broad market's 57% drop, and took about 13 months to recover from its low. In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 29% and recovered in about a month. In the 2022 bear market it fell 44%, while the market fell 29%. As of October 28, 2026, it had not regained its January 2022 peak. A single stock like Boston Beer carries more risk than a diversified fund.
Questions investors ask
Does Boston Beer pay a dividend?
No. Boston Beer paid no dividends in fiscal 2021 through 2025, and its dividend yield was 0% as of October 28, 2026. Instead, it returns cash by buying back its own shares. It spent about $534 million on buybacks over those five fiscal years, including $202 million in fiscal 2025. Buybacks reduce the number of shares, which can lift earnings per share, but they give holders no regular income.
How does Boston Beer make money?
Boston Beer makes money by brewing and selling alcoholic drinks, mainly in the US, through distributors that supply stores, bars and restaurants. About 86% of its 2025 volume came from “Beyond beer” products such as Twisted Tea, Truly Hard Seltzer, Angry Orchard cider and Sun Cruiser. The rest came from traditional beer, mainly Samuel Adams and Dogfish Head. Revenue was about $2.09 billion in the fiscal year ended December 27, 2025.
How much has Boston Beer stock fallen?
A lot. As of October 28, 2026, the share price was down about 60% over five years and 11% over one year. The stock rose 163% in 2020, then fell 49% in 2021, 35% in 2022 and 35% in 2025. Hard seltzer, home of its Truly brand, grew rapidly from 2018 to 2021 and has declined in volume since. Over 10 years the shares were still up about 26%. Their largest drop from a peak in 21 years of price history was about 88%.
Who controls Boston Beer?
The holder of its Class B shares has significant control, according to the 10-K filed on February 24, 2026. That limits the say of investors who own the publicly traded Class A shares. Among large holders, C. James Koch reported a 21.62% stake as of December 31, 2025, and BlackRock reported 13.4% as of September 30, 2026. On June 1, 2026, the company filed a Form 8-K reporting a change in control. That filing has the details.
Does Boston Beer have any debt?
It may have none. Its filings show no borrowings in the standard debt categories. As of September 26, 2026, the company held about $308 million in cash and investments. It had total assets of about $1.24 billion and shareholder equity of about $736 million. It produced about $216 million of free cash flow in fiscal 2025 and spent $202 million buying back shares that year.