Molson Coors Beverage Company’s overall business remained in the red as the company closed its 2024 fiscal year. However, the fourth quarter showed improvement over the double-digit declines reported in Q3, and leadership is confident the company can return to growth in 2025, according to Molson Coors’ earnings call today with investors and analysts.
Just like the Kansas City Chiefs, draft beer also took an L in Super Bowl LIX. Draft beer volume declined -4.6% nationwide on Super Bowl Sunday, according to on-premise insights firm BeerBoard.
Following Molson Coors’ Q4 and full-year earnings report Tuesday, CEO Gavin Hattersley fielded questions from analysts on a range of topics from the stickiness of his company’s share gains, to why draft trends are struggling, to overall industry performance.
The results of Molson Coors’ Q1 in fiscal year 2025 (FY25) were in stark contrast to the first quarter of 2024. Q1 net sales declined 11.3% year-over-year (-10.4% on a constant currency basis), the company reported Thursday morning. A year ago, Molson Coors reported 10.7% YoY (+10.1% in constant currency) net sales growth in Q1.
Few were immune to beer’s tough March, even the country’s largest beer vendors, according to the latest monthly report from market research firm Circana.
Gavin Hattersley will retire at the end of 2025 after six years as CEO of Molson Coors Beverage Company. Molson Coors’ board of directors will begin a search for Hattersley’s successor, tapping “a nationally recognized search firm” to review internal and external candidates.
Molson Coors will close the Blue Moon brewpub in Denver’s River North Arts District at the end of the month, Brewbound has confirmed.
Molson Coors is not shying away from being a “category captain,” and plans to use its leading status with retailers to drive a new “category first, Molson Coors best” strategy, leadership shared last week during the Consumer Analyst Group of New York (CAGNY) Conference in Orlando, Florida.
Beer category dollar sales were roughly flat (-0.3%) to start the year at off-premise retailers tracked by market research firm Circana. Sales reached $2.854 billion at multi-outlet grocery, mass retail and convenience stores (MULO+C) in the first four weeks of 2025, through January 26.
Molson Coors Beverage Company is getting in on the mixer set with a new strategic partnership with Fever-Tree, taking an 8.5% minority stake in the business and granting the alcohol giant exclusive U.S. commercialization rights to the premium brand beginning February 1.
Dick and Jake Leinenkugel have gone public with their efforts to buy back their family’s namesake brewery in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, from Molson Coors, which plans to cease operations at the facility on Friday, January 17, and lay off 56 workers.
Molson Coors measures Blue Moon against the total industry, not just craft, CEO Gavin Hattersley explained Tuesday during the Morgan Stanley Global Consumer and Retail Conference. “We don’t measure it on craft because craft’s really struggling at the moment. And so we’re measuring success with Blue Moon on the total industry,” Hattersley said. “And on… Read more »
Molson Coors has acquired Cruz Blanca, the Chicago-based, Mexican-inspired beer brand, Brewbound has confirmed.
The beer category’s sluggish summer was apparent in Molson Coors’ third quarter earnings, which the company reported last week. Net sales in the Americas declined -11%, driven by a -15.6% decline in financial volumes “and unfavorable foreign currency impacts, partially offset by favorable price and sales mix,” Molson Coors wrote in its earnings report.
Molson Coors has acquired a majority stake in energy drink brand ZOA in a $53 million cash transaction, expanding its growing non-alcoholic beyond beer portfolio and adding to rising M&A interest across the energy space.
Molson Coors will cease operations at the Leinenkugel’s Chippewa Falls brewery and the company’s Tenth Street Brewery in Milwaukee, effective January 17.
Molson Coors Beverage Company is bringing an innovation portfolio of 8% ABV offerings strictly for the convenience channel as part of its above premium strategy for 2025.
