Molson Coors cuts outlook on weak U.S. beer demand

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Molson Coors Beverage Co. lowered its full-year guidance as the challenging consumer environment in the U.S. drives shoppers away from the company’s products.

The Coors Light and Miller Lite manufacturer now expects 2025 underlying diluted earnings per share to increase in the low single digits. It previously said profit would rise in the high single digits. It also projected a low single-digit decline in sales, lowering its previous guidance of a low single-digit increase.

The company blamed macroeconomic pressure and weaker consumer demand. It also took a hit from the loss of its Pabst Brewing contract, and this time, international beer sales didn’t save the company the way they did last quarter.

The beer maker also disclosed that CEO Gavin Hattersley plans to retire by the end of the year.

Shares fell 7% at 9:33 a.m. as markets opened in New York.

Beer sales fell across the board. Volumes dropped 8% globally, and fell nearly 9% in the U.S. While the company pointed to macroeconomic pressure and the end of its Pabst contract, beer demand has been slipping for some time.

More drinkers are reaching for spirits, canned cocktails, or skipping alcohol altogether, which is a trend Molson Coors has been trying to counter with investments in non-alcoholic drinks and premium brands like Peroni and Madri. It recently took a stake in Fever-Tree and began distributing the mixers in the U.S.

Molson Coors’ investment in Fever-Tree is already starting to show results, Hattersley said on a call with investors, calling the early signs “promising.”

“Every single case we sell of Fever-Tree is incremental to our business,” he said. The company has exclusive rights to distribute the mixers in the US and plans to use its network to scale the brand further.