Boston Beer Inc. executives slashed their annual earnings forecast Thursday, admitting that demand for hard seltzer continued to fizzle below their expectations. Boston Beer
SAM,
+0.39%
reported second-quarter earnings lower than Wall Street expected, and adjusted its annual guidance to reflect a less rosy view. It now expects earnings for the full year of $6 to $11 a share, after previously guiding for $11 to $16 a share.
“I continue to be optimistic about the long-term growth outlook for Boston Beer’s diversified beverage portfolio, despite the greater-than-expected continuing decline in demand in the hard seltzer category that we have seen year to date,” founder and Chairman Jim Koch said in a statement. “Based on our first-half performance and our view on the remainder of the year, we have reduced our fiscal-year 2022 volume and earnings guidance.” The alcoholic-beverage company bet big on hard seltzer with its Truly brand after the success of White Claw, but the market for seltzer turned in 2021 and took Boston Beer stock with it. Executives admitted their mistake a year ago, but the stock has continued to struggle since, declining 63.7% in the past year while the S&P 500 index
SPX,
+0.99%
dropped 7.8%. Despite last year’s hard lesson on hard seltzer, executives still …