Boston Beer Co. has lowered its guidance for profits in 2026 to take account of litigation expenses incurred last month.
In April, it emerged the Samuel Adams brewer was facing damages of more than $175m in a legal dispute in the US over a packaging contract. A court in Illinois had filed a jury verdict in favour of the packaging supplier Ardagh Metal Packaging USA Corp.
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Ardagh’s lawsuit alleged Boston Beer had failed, or would fail, to buy contractual minimum volumes of certain aluminium drinks can containers from 2021 to 2025.
In its first-quarter statement yesterday (30 April), Boston Beer confirmed it had faced “pre-tax litigation expense of $175.5 million and related pre-judgement interest expense of $36.5 million resulting from a verdict entered on April 6, 2026, awarding damages to a supplier”.
Boston Beer added its “pre-judgment interest” had not yet been decided “and potential outcomes range between zero and $36.5 million”.
“In addition to the damages and interest, the company has recorded legal fees of $4 million in general and administrative expenses for a total of $216.0 million
pre-tax or $15.52 per diluted share,” it said.
For its first quarter, Boston Beer booked a GAAP diluted loss per share of $13.88, taking account of the litigation expenses of of $15.52 per share.
The group has taken account for the litigation-linked expenses per share in its updated full-year guidance for GAAP earnings per share.
In 2026, the company now expects to book a GAAP EPS loss of between $7.02 and $5.02, compared to a previous guided growth of $8.50 to $11.00.
Boston Beer continued to deny that it breached its contract with Ardragh “and intends to pursue all available post-trial motions and appellate remedies”.
In its first quarter, the business saw net revenue decline 4.4% to $433.9m, attributed to lower volumes.
Boston Beer has also lowered its guidance for depletions and shipments. While it had previously guided for a percentage change of “flat to down mid-single digits” it now expects to see this “down low-single digits to mid-single digits”.
For the first quarter ended 28 March, the company saw shipment volumes drop 6.9% on the same period last year to 1.6 million barrels.
The dip was attributed mainly to “difficult comparisons as distributors built inventories for Sun Cruiser and Truly Unruly innovation in the first quarter” and “modestly lower overall distributor inventory levels”.
The group continues to expect shipments in the first half to decline “toward the lower end of its full-year volume guidance” and expects “better shipment performance later in the year”.
“Today we are modestly narrowing our guidance range to reflect our latest volume outlook and a more challenging cost environment,” said CFO Diego Reynoso.
“We continue to deliver strong gross margin performance and expect our savings agenda to help mitigate tariff and commodity headwinds as we move through the year.”
