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Earnings documents stored for STZ.
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-07-09What Analysts Really Pressed STZ On This Quarter
Trefis
What Analysts Really Pressed STZ On This Quarter
Constellation Brands says it has a new playbook for its sluggish beer giants, but on its latest earnings call, analysts pressed for the details and tested management's real confidence in a shaky consumer. With its stock down -21% over the last year and trading near lows, the pressure was on for Constellation Brands (STZ) on its latest earnings call. The central question analysts kept circling was whether the new CEO has a real plan to restart the company’s biggest and most important beer brands or just a new set of buzzwords. The answers revealed a company confident in its strategy but deeply cautious about the economy its customers are living in. What's The Playbook For A Stalled Corona? The most pointed challenge of the day zeroed in on the awkward truth: the company’s growth engines, Modelo Especial and Corona Extra, are sputtering. As one analyst framed it, both brands have been a “bit of a challenge,” and there are real “question marks” around getting them back to growth. This cuts to the core of the investment case; if these brands are stuck, growth in smaller names like Pacifico isn’t enough. The new CEO’s response was a tale of two strategies. For Modelo Especial, the job is to finish scaling the brand by closing remaining gaps in distribution and awareness. For Corona Extra, a fully mature brand, the playbook is different. It’s no longer about getting the name out there, but about driving “saliency, relevance, connecting with consumers in the moment.” Management insisted the brand’s health remains "remarkable" but conceded they need to “dial up the everyday activation switch.” The answer described the destination, not the roadmap, leaving the specific tactics for this new playbook an open question. If The Consumer Is Back, Why Isn't The Guidance Up? The second major test was of management’s confidence. The company reported a solid quarter and noted a “modest reacceleration” in consumer activity as gas prices eased. So why not raise the full-year guidance? This was a direct probe into whether management truly believes the turnaround is durable. The answer was blunt: the environment has “low visibility.” The quarter was a rollercoaster, starting strong in March before a “large spike in gas prices” caused consumers to pull back. The CFO was clear that after a good quarter, the company did not want to change its outlook given the uncertainty around macr...
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-07-08Is Constellation Brands (STZ) Undervalued After Earnings Exposed Growth And Margin Questions?
Simply Wall St.
Is Constellation Brands (STZ) Undervalued After Earnings Exposed Growth And Margin Questions?
Find winning stocks in any market cycle. Join 7 million investors using Simply Wall St's investing ideas for FREE. Constellation Brands (STZ) has moved back onto investors’ radar after first quarter earnings showed lower sales and revenue but higher net income and earnings per share, alongside cautious commentary on margins and segment trends. See our latest analysis for Constellation Brands. Constellation Brands’ recent earnings update and continued share repurchases come against a weaker price backdrop, with the share price down 12.31% over 90 days and the 1 year total shareholder return declining 20.65%. This points to fading momentum as investors reassess growth and risk. If this mix of earnings strength and share price pressure has you thinking about where else capital could work, it might be a good time to scan for other opportunities through the 19 top founder-led companies Constellation Brands now trades well below recent levels even as earnings per share move higher. This puts you at a crossroads: lean in after the pullback, or wait for an even cheaper entry as the valuation picture unfolds next? Against a last close of $131.76, the most followed narrative on Constellation Brands points to a fair value of about $176.09. This puts the current pullback in a different light and frames the recent earnings surprise against a longer term cash flow story. Read the complete narrative. Want to see what assumptions sit behind that cash flow bridge and fair value gap? Revenue, margins, and the earnings multiple all pull in different directions here. Result: Fair Value of $176.09 (UNDERVALUED) Have a read of the narrative in full and understand what's behind the forecasts. However, Constellation Brands still faces pressure from higher tariffs and input costs, along with softer beer and wine demand that could challenge those cash flow and margin assumptions. Find out about the key risks to this Constellation Brands narrative. Given the mix of caution and opportunity around Constellation Brands, it makes sense to review the full picture for yourself and act promptly while the data is fresh, starting with the 5 key rewards and 2 important warning signs. If Constellation Brands has you rethinking where your next dollar goes, do not stop here. Broaden your watchlist with fresh ideas that match your goals. Target income first and let price moves come second by scanni...
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-07-01Corona maker Constellation Brands tops forecasts as beer business drives earnings growth
InvestorsHub
Corona maker Constellation Brands tops forecasts as beer business drives earnings growth
Constellation Brands Inc Class A (NYSE:STZ) reported first-quarter results ahead of Wall Street expectations, supported by continued strength in its beer division. Adjusted earnings came in at $3.43 per share, surpassing the consensus forecast of $3.25 by $0.18. Revenue reached $2.43 billion, slightly above analysts’ expectations of $2.41 billion, although total sales declined 3% compared with the same period a year earlier. Shares rose 2.4% in premarket trading on Wednesday following the results. The company’s beer business remained its primary growth engine, with net sales increasing 2% to $2.28 billion and operating income also rising 2% to $891.4 million. Beer shipment volumes grew 1.8%, while Constellation continued to gain the largest dollar share among beer brands across tracked US retail channels. Within the wine and spirits division, organic net sales increased 8%. However, reported net sales fell 47% following the divestiture of several wine brands completed in 2025. Barclays analysts described the quarterly performance as stronger than anticipated despite softer expectations for the beer business in recent weeks. “STZ just reported a better-than-expected quarter across all key metrics, albeit in the context of estimates for the beer division that had moderated in recent weeks given weak industry scanner data,” the bank said in a post-results note. “The majority of the beat stemmed from better topline and margins, but we estimate a ~4c tailwind from BTL items (namely tax),” Barclays added. Constellation reaffirmed its fiscal 2027 adjusted earnings guidance of between $11.20 and $11.90 per share. The midpoint of $11.55 remains below analysts’ consensus estimate of $11.74. The company continues to forecast enterprise organic net sales growth of between negative 1% and positive 1%, alongside free cash flow of $1.6 billion to $1.7 billion. Performance across the beer portfolio was mixed. Modelo Especial recorded an approximate 2% decline in depletion volumes, while Corona Extra fell by more than 5%. In contrast, Pacifico, Victoria and Modelo Chelada delivered growth of 21%, 14% and 6%, respectively. Operating cash flow increased 4% to $662 million, while free cash flow rose 9% to $485 million. “Our portfolio continues to benefit from the strength of our brands, disciplined commercial execution, and our ability to connect with consumers across a broad r...
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-07-01Constellation Brands Inc (STZ) Q1 2027 Earnings Call Highlights: Navigating Growth Amid Volatility
GuruFocus.com
Constellation Brands Inc (STZ) Q1 2027 Earnings Call Highlights: Navigating Growth Amid Volatility
This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Release Date: July 01, 2026 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Constellation Brands Inc (NYSE:STZ) has a strong portfolio with brands like Modelo, Corona, and Pacifico, which have deep consumer connections and enduring relevance. The company is leveraging strong commercial capabilities, consumer insights, and data technology tools to make effective decisions and maintain brand relevance. There is significant growth potential in white spaces, such as the non-alcoholic segment, where Corona non-alcoholic is experiencing strong double-digit growth. Constellation Brands Inc (NYSE:STZ) has shown strong fixed cost leverage, contributing to robust gross margins, particularly in the beer segment. The company is focusing on expanding participation across more consumer occasions, which could drive further growth and brand engagement. The consumer environment remains volatile, with fluctuations in gas prices impacting consumer spending and behavior. Modelo Especial and Corona Extra have faced challenges, with the need for a refined playbook to maintain and grow these scaled brands. There is uncertainty in the macroeconomic environment, leading to cautious guidance despite strong initial quarterly performance. The Hispanic consumer segment, a key demographic for Constellation Brands Inc (NYSE:STZ), continues to face economic pressures, affecting sales. Increased SG&A and marketing expenses, particularly around major events like the World Cup, are expected to impact operating margins in upcoming quarters. Is STZ fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator. Q: Nick, your prepared remarks touched a lot on your refined strategy for Constellation. How do you plan to sustain growth at scale versus scaling emerging brands, and what white spaces are you exploring? A: Nicholas Fink, CEO: We have a strong track record of scaling brands with a disciplined execution playbook. For established brands like Corona, maintaining relevance requires connecting with consumers in meaningful ways. As for white spaces, we're exploring opportunities like Corona non-alcoholic, which is experiencing strong growth. We aim to invest in these areas thoughtfully and test market responses before scaling. Q: Can you provide more color on what you're seeing in June, especially wit...
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-07-01Constellation Brands (STZ) Stock Looks Discounted On Earnings But Weak On Sales
Simply Wall St.
Constellation Brands (STZ) Stock Looks Discounted On Earnings But Weak On Sales
Track your investments for FREE with Simply Wall St, the portfolio command center trusted by over 7 million individual investors worldwide. Constellation Brands stock has had a difficult run over the last three years, yet the current valuation checks suggest the market may now be pricing it more cautiously than the underlying fundamentals alone would indicate. Over the past three years, the share price has declined about 40%, which points to a meaningful reset in investor expectations. Recent earnings outperformance can support the case that profit resilience may matter more for valuation than flat sales, while higher marketing spend and softer demand remain a clear risk to future margins and returns. The company screens as undervalued across 6 of 6 valuation checks, so the broader metrics currently lean cheap rather than expensive. The issue now is whether that combination of a weaker share price history and a strong value score means Constellation Brands is priced with enough cushion for the risks in its outlook. Find out why Constellation Brands' -14.2% return over the last year is lagging behind its peers. The P/E ratio is a useful lens for Constellation Brands because earnings are still a key focus for investors following recent quarterly beats. On this measure, the stock trades on about 14.1x earnings, which is below both the Beverage industry average of roughly 16.8x and a broader peer group average of 20.1x. A more tailored benchmark that blends Constellation Brands' size, margins and risk profile suggests a fair P/E of about 17.8x. The current multiple therefore sits at a clear discount to that level. Despite recent earnings outperformance helping sentiment after cautious guidance and softer sales trends, the market is still valuing each dollar of Constellation Brands' earnings more conservatively than both its industry and what the fair ratio implies. On the P/E multiple, Constellation Brands stock currently appears undervalued relative to both peers and its own fair earnings-based benchmark. See what the numbers say about this price — find out in our valuation breakdown. Simply Wall St Narratives for Constellation Brands pick up where the current valuation puzzle leaves off by explaining which combinations of future growth, margins and earnings would need to occur for the stock to be worth materially more or less than its current price. Each narra...
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-07-01Constellation Brands Q1 fiscal 2027 earnings: Revenue falls 3.3%
Quartz
Constellation Brands Q1 fiscal 2027 earnings: Revenue falls 3.3%
Constellation Brands reported first-quarter fiscal 2027 results Tuesday showing net sales down 3.3% from a year earlier to $2.43 billion, as softening consumer demand weighed on the beverage company's top line. Adjusted earnings came in at $3.43 a share. That was ahead of analyst expectations of $3.19 a share, according to The Wall Street Journal. The bulk of the revenue decline came from the wine and spirits segment, where sales dropped 47% to $149.2 million, reflecting the impact of brand divestitures the company made in 2025, the company said. Pricing gains and stronger shipment volumes pushed beer revenue up 2% to $2.28 billion. On the depletion side — a metric tracking how much distributors sell through to retailers — volumes slipped 0.3%, with weakness in Modelo Especial and Corona Extra only partly countered by gains in Pacifico, Victoria, and Modelo Chelada. CEO Nicholas Fink said he sees room to expand the company's core brands and intends to pursue opportunities in categories adjacent to its existing product lines. "I see significant runway to continue growing our leading brands with an even greater emphasis on understanding consumer occasions and relevance—increasingly looking at our business through the lens of when, where, and why consumers are choosing our brands," he said in a statement. What began as a solid quarter deteriorated as fuel costs tied to the war in Iran added fresh pressure on top of years of accumulated inflation, the company said. Consumers at lower income levels pulled back most sharply, trading down in search of value as the quarter wore on, according to The Journal. Among the headwinds Constellation has navigated is a slowdown in purchases by Hispanic consumers — a group that accounts for about half of its beer buyers — whose spending has been held back by both cost-of-living strains and anxieties over immigration enforcement, according to Barron's. Even so, the sales gap in areas where Hispanic residents are more concentrated has been narrowing, the company said. Executives had flagged earlier in the year that purchases from that demographic appeared to be turning a corner, according to Barron's. Full-year adjusted earnings guidance remained unchanged at $11.20 to $11.90 a share, while the reported earnings forecast was bumped higher to $11.50 to $12.20 a share from a previous range of $11.10 to $11.80. For the full year, m...
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-07-01Constellation Brands' Q1 Earnings Beat, Sales Top on Beer Strength
Zacks
Constellation Brands' Q1 Earnings Beat, Sales Top on Beer Strength
Constellation Brands, Inc. STZ reported first-quarter fiscal 2027 results, wherein the top and bottom lines surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The company’s sales declined year over year, but earnings improved from the year-ago period.The fiscal first quarter reflected steady execution across Constellation Brands’ core businesses, with earnings benefiting from improved profitability, disciplined cost management and continued strength in the beer portfolio. The Beer business remained a key driver, supported by shipment growth, favorable pricing and strong share gains across tracked U.S. channels, even as some flagship brands faced softer depletion trends. The Wine and Spirits business continued to reflect the impact of portfolio divestitures, but its remaining brands delivered organic growth and outperformed the broader category.Comparable earnings per share (EPS) of $3.43 rose 7% year over year in the fiscal first quarter and surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.22. On a reported basis, the company’s EPS was $3.79 compared with $3.43 reported in the year-earlier quarter. Constellation Brands Inc price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Constellation Brands Inc Quote Net sales declined 3% year over year to $2.433 billion but surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.404 billion. Organic net sales increased 3% year over year. Constellation Brands' sales for the beer business jumped nearly 2% year over year to $2.28 billion, backed by a rise of 1.8% in shipment volumes and favorable pricing. Depletions fell 0.3% as declines for Modelo Especial of just 2% and Corona Extra of about 5% were more than offset by increases from Pacifico, Victoria and the Modelo Chelada brands of nearly 21%, 14% and 6%, respectively.Sales in the wine and spirits segment plunged 47% year over year to $149.2 million in the fiscal first quarter. The decline mainly reflected a 64.1% drop in shipment volumes tied to the 2025 Wine Divestitures.On an organic basis, wine and spirits net sales rose 8%. Organic shipments increased 7.7%, while depletions grew 6.6%, led by gains of approximately 4% for Kim Crawford and 62% for Mi CAMPO Tequila. The wine and spirits portfolio outpaced the total wine and spirits category in both dollar and volume sales across Circana U.S. tracked channels.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company's beer, and wine and spirits segments is currently peg...
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-07-01Constellation Brands Fiscal First-Quarter Earnings Unexpectedly Rise
MT Newswires
Constellation Brands Fiscal First-Quarter Earnings Unexpectedly Rise
Constellation Brands (STZ) shares rose early Wednesday after the beer and wine company reported an u
TranscriptFY2027 Q12026-07-01FY2027 Q1 earnings call transcript
Earnings source - 71 paragraphs
FY2027 Q1 earnings call transcript
Welcome to the Constellation Brands Fiscal Year 2027 first quarter earnings call. At this time, all participants are in listen-only mode. A question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. If anyone today should require operator assistance during the conference, please press star zero on your telephone keypad. Please note that this conference is being recorded. At this time, I turn the conference over to Blair Veenema, Vice President of Investor Relations. Thank you. You may now begin, Blair.
Thank you, Rob. Good morning, all, and welcome to Constellation Brands Q1 Fiscal 2027 conference call. I'm joined this morning by Nick Fink, our CEO, and Garth Hankinson, our CFO. Before we proceed, we trust you had the opportunity to review the news release and CEO CFO commentary made available in the investor section of our company’s website, www.cbrands.com. On that note, as a reminder, reconciliations between the most directly comparable GAAP measure and any non-GAAP financial measures discussed on this call are included in the news release and website.
We also encourage you to refer to the news release and Constellation’s SEC filings for risk factors that may impact forward-looking statements made on this call. Before turning it over to Nick to kick things off, please keep in mind that, as usual, answers provided today will be referencing comparable results unless otherwise specified. Lastly, in line with prior quarters, I would ask that you limit yourselves to one question per person, which will help us to end our call on time. Thanks in advance. Now over to you, Nick.
Thanks, Blair. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. Before we get into the Q&A, I'd like to share a few observations from my first two and a half months as CEO of Constellation Brands. Having spent significant time in the market over the last several months, I am increasingly confident in the enduring strength of our brands and the role they continue to play in consumers' lives, even in periods when discretionary spending is more challenged.
Over time, we have repeatedly shown an ability to create demand and scale brands through a combination of consumer insights, commercial execution and disciplined investment. That capability is reflected in the strength of our portfolio today. Whether it's Modelo, Corona, Pacifico, Kim Crawford, or Mi CAMPO, these are brands with strong identities, deep consumer connections, and enduring relevance. I also believe some of our greatest opportunities remain directly in front of us.
As brands become larger and more established, it is important to find new ways to remain relevant in consumers' lives. That requires a deeper understanding of behavior, motivations, and the moments that matter most to consumers. That's an area where I believe we have significant strengths and meaningful opportunity. Leveraging strong commercial capabilities, rich consumer insights, and increasingly powerful data and technology tools that can help us move faster and make effective decisions. My focus is on ensuring that we continue to build on those advantages. Lastly, I believe the most successful companies are willing to challenge their own assumptions about where future incremental growth will come from while still executing with excellence in the core.
We have a strong portfolio and attractive positions today we also need to maintain a forward-looking perspective about where consumer demand is heading and how we can leverage our capabilities to continue to create value through disciplined investment and execution. Across all three areas, one common theme is the importance of developing world-class insights. The better we understand consumers and emerging trends, the better positioned we'll be to allocate resources, execute effectively, and create sustainable growth. While the quarter reflected a continuation of the dynamic consumer backdrop that we have been operating of as late, my confidence in the long-term opportunity for this business remains strong. We have exceptional brands, outstanding people, and a set of capabilities that position us well for the future. Now back over to you, operator, for any questions.
Thank you. We'll now be conducting a question and answer session. In the interest of time, we ask you please limit yourself to one question. If you'd like to ask a question, you may press star one on your telephone keypad, and a confirmation tone will indicate your line is in the question queue. You may press star two if you'd like to withdraw your question from the queue. Participants using speaker equipment, it may be necessary to pick up your handset before pressing the star keys. Thank you. Our first question is from the line of Nadine Sarwat with Bernstein. Please proceed with your question.
Morning, guys. Thank you for taking my question. Nick, your prepared remarks touched a lot on your refined strategy for Constellation. Perhaps a two-part question from me on strategy. First, you intend to deploy a different playbook to sustain growth at scale versus scaling emerging brands. How could that different playbook look like in practice? Second, you called out exploring white spaces where you have a right to win. Is this organically, through acquisitions? What white spaces are you seeing as most attractive today? Thank you.
Thank you for the question. Be happy to give some perspective, Nadine. I think there's little doubt about our capability to scale brands. We've got this incredible track record, and as I've spent time much deeper into it with the teams, as well as just getting out into the market with our distributors talking about it, there is an execution playbook. It's disciplined, and, you know, frankly, it's the best I've seen. It's thoughtful, it's considered, and there is a way in which we build distribution, we build awareness, we do it in a sustainable fashion that we know is going to hold over the very long run. You've seen us do that over many decades, brands like Corona now continuing the job of Modelo and some great rising stars in the portfolio. We will continue to do that.
A little doubt, and I'd say that's a clause ability there. You then go to some of the places where we've scaled a brand, and I look at a brand like Corona, where the brand metrics are phenomenal. Most loved beer brand. We've got great distribution, we've got great awareness. Really, brand health sort of green across the board. The way to continue to maintain and grow a brand like that will be different to the playbook in which we're driving awareness and driving distribution, and there's still opportunities there. It becomes much more about saliency and relevance, connecting with the consumer where they are, understanding RGM and price pack architecture, connecting into the right cultural moments, being visible in the places where they are in the way that they want to interact, connecting into the right types of occasions.
It is a different playbook, but it is one that many great consumer products companies do at scale and do very well. I think it's a place where we'll continue to sharpen the capability and get after that. If we can do both of those things, there is a ton of value creation to be had there. There's no question in my mind. Then you go to the third place you referenced, which is white spaces, and we have a consumer that's evolving quickly. We have a customer that's evolving quickly. We have shelves that are evolving and look very different to the way they looked five years ago, 10 years ago. There is a lot happening.
Being open-minded to what is happening in those spaces, what are fads and what are trends, being able to know the difference between those things, knowing what's sustainable, what's not sustainable, seeing where momentum exists, and then in a thoughtful and disciplined way, being able to get after that. An example for already in our portfolio, you take Corona non-alcohol. Here's a brand that we have strong double-digit growth behind. We're now number four in the category. That's a space we weren't playing in. Should we be putting more fuel on that fire because the fire is burning? That's a great example of white space didn't really exist for this company. Now we've got a toe in the water.
Do we want to go double down on something that we've already got some real momentum behind, and be willing to invest, again, in a disciplined way? I'm not talking about going out and making huge bets and hoping it comes, but we, and I think have done a much better job over the last couple of years of developing test and learn capabilities, ways to go try one market versus a different market, see what works, see where we're going to accelerate, see where we want to be agile and change. That would be an example of a place where we might go do something like that.
Our next question is in the line of Filippo Falorni with Citi. Please just give us your question.
Hi, good morning, everyone. You called out in the prepared remarks as being pretty volatile start of the year, strong March, then softer April and May. I was hoping you can give us a little more color what you're seeing in June, especially given the gas prices have moderated a bit more recently. Are you seeing an improvement in consumption trends as gas prices come down? Also, obviously, in June, we've had three weeks of World Cup, maybe you can give us some perspective there on the consumption on your brand around World Cup and whether we should see a further potential improvement in the on-premise business where a lot of those occasions potentially reside. Thank you so much.
Sure. I'll be happy to jump in with some perspective, and Garth can perhaps share some color as well. There's no question it's a volatile quarter. You saw, and you can see it in all the Circana and other data, a very strong March out of the gates and I would say in a more normalized consumer environment, a lot of great interaction with both us and the category, but particularly, our brands resonating very strongly. A massive spike in gas prices, and we did see the consumer respond by slowing down. I think that to be unexpected, and that's not just us. As we've talked to even other companies in the consumer field, traffic's down, a lot of choices being made.
As we ended the quarter, got into the early part of this quarter, some of those headwinds have moderated, we've started to see a modest re-acceleration, I wouldn't say back to where we were in March, but a healthy return to some growth rates. The Circana data, just even for the last week, was very encouraging. Not just category, but really around our brands, which are somewhat more premium positioned and very attractive to the consumer. We saw some very strong numbers as consumers get to make the choices that they want to make and would like to make. Encouraging in a somewhat more normalized environment that the portfolio is more than holding its own and performing really well.
Certainly, it's been great to see both World Cup and some of the energy that we saw in one of our key markets like New York around the Knicks, which was, to me, I think, yes, some lift from that. Even just more importantly, consumers engaging in that beer occasion, coming together in the on-premise, in the off-premise. The pictures from New York, I thought, were remarkable. Just to see young people being together, watching the game projected on the sides of buildings, and those are beer occasions, right? It's just a great reminder to that consumer of the role that this category can play in their lives. I think having these great events rolling through the summer could be quite meaningful in that regard. Garth, I don't see anything to add?
I think you hit it all, Nick.
All right. Thank you.
The next question is in the line of Lauren Lieberman with Barclays. Please proceed with your question.
Great. Thanks so much. Good morning. Just getting to the quarter itself, I was struck by the fixed cost leverage that looks like you enjoyed this quarter with the gross margins, the margins for beer at 39%. I just wanted to talk a little bit about the drivers of that. The 1.8% shipment growth is certainly better than what was anticipated, but it's a high bar for the margin with volumes still sub 2%. Just kind of curious as we think about that going forward, you're absorbing incremental depreciation, but again, the strength of the margin in the quarter was particularly strong. I just want to understand the building blocks better so we can think about the path forward. Thanks.
Hey, Lauren, thanks for the question. Really, you hit on it. We had about 30 basis points of benefits this quarter versus last year, really due to fixed overhead absorption, largely due to fixed overhead absorption, as you say, related to the higher shipment. In addition to that, we also continue to make great progress on our cost savings agenda, that was certainly a benefit. We also had 20 basis points of favorability due to pricing net of mix.
That was offset by about 30 basis points of currency headwinds and other small things that will flow through cost of goods. That really is what drove the favorability on gross profit margins. On operating margins, we declined 10 basis points. We had the 20 basis points of favorability on gross margin expansion, we had 20 basis points headwinds on increased SG&A.
Similar to last year, as we've added employees to support Veracruz going live later this year, we've brought those folks online, until Veracruz commissions, they will sit in SG&A rather than COGS. Then we had 10 basis points of headwinds related to incremental marketing, mostly to support the World Cup that is happening now, as we indicated at our April earnings call. As we look forward into Q2 and Q3, we would still expect gross margins to be strong, we will see some incremental headwinds as it relates to operating margins.
Keeping in mind, we've increased our marketing spend expectations for the full year to drive incremental marketing investment, particularly around the World Cup and college football and the NFL. You'll see in Q2 and in Q3 a spike in marketing as a percent of net sales. As we said in our prepared remarks, that'll be over the 10% in those two quarters. In Q2 and Q3, we will see SG&A increases. They're a bit more material in Q1. A big part of that is lapping last year's lower compensation benefits related to incentive income or incentive compensation.
Our next question is in the line of Dara Mohsenian with Morgan Stanley. Please proceed with your question.
Hey, good morning. You mentioned in the prepared remarks you're looking to extend participation across more occasions. Just high-level, can you give us a bit more detail there on how you execute that? Is it more marketing on base brands and refining that? Is it more through innovation? Is it more through moving into new areas or the white spaces through M&A? Just wanted to get a bit more detail on how specifically you do that. Obviously moving into white spaces potentially is a piece of that. So how significant a focus do you expect the white space expansion to be just relative to driving base business brand trends? Thanks.
Yeah, I'll start with that. Look, I think the headline is there would be no greater way we can create value than nailing this with our core brands and core portfolio, period. So, when I talk about and understanding consumer occasions, it's really sort of taking the blinders off of not just thinking about our brands as they compete versus another beer or to be even more narrow, Mexican beer.
Actually, how do you look more broadly at what is the choice that your consumer is making in that moment. The team does some fantastic work. We have a whole wheel of identified different consumer occasions. Then we make focused choices, like here's where we want to compete, and here's the moments where maybe we're happy if you take our product, but we're not spending to go win that moment in the same degree.
Understanding against other, not just other beers for the beer brands, but could apply to the wine spirits as well, but not just within your category, but what choices as consumers increasingly cross over, what choices are they making? How do you remain salient and do you win even with the core portfolio in that moment? If you can do that, you can actually Even within the beer portfolio, start to create some differentiation amongst our brands. They have different brand personas. They have a lot of similarities, but appeal to slightly different consumer groups, different age cohorts, maybe different moments. You see some of the work that we're doing behind Pacifico, which is more lifestyle oriented, more around adventure. Doesn't necessarily play in some of the same moments.
If we're able to do that, you expand the aperture of what these brands can do, how they can play and frankly, I think you can offer a larger addressable moment, and compete in a greater way as a portfolio, as opposed to duplicating some of the activities. That's first and foremost. To the extent that within that as well, we identify other opportunities where the consumer is looking for something, and we think that is a space in which we can participate in a meaningful but disciplined way. I think we should consider that as well, and I gave the example earlier of Corona Non-Alcoholic. That business is growing strong double digits. Our consumers are telling us they love the product. We haven't put a ton behind it yet.
Should we start to participate at that, not just think of it as a product, but what is the occasion in which they're consuming that product? Is it an occasion where they don't want alcohol at all? Is it an occasion where they're actually combining use of it with some of our alcoholic products and extending the occasion? I think having that very strong consumer insight then definitely leads to an ability to execute in a much more targeted way and grow both the addressable moment as well as our share of that moment.
Next question is from the line of Chris Carey with Wells Fargo. Please share with your question.
Hi, good morning, everyone. I wanted to ask about, I guess, the complexity of, or the complexion rather, of the portfolio. Modelo Especial remains sluggish. Corona Extra has obviously been a bit of a challenge. You're seeing tremendous growth in other parts of the portfolio that are lifting up the portfolio just a bit. I think the sustainability of some of those faster growth offerings feels quite durable, but there remains question marks around most importantly, Corona Extra, and then Modelo Especial just getting back to a bit of growth. Can you just give us a bit more context on how you see these two brands specifically and a bit more detail on what you're doing to re-accelerate and maybe most specifically with Corona Extra, given the duration of the headwinds that the brand has seen? Thanks so much.
Yeah, sure. Happy to do so. I'll start off by vehemently agreeing with you on the sustainability of the things in the portfolio that are growing as strongly as they're growing. I say that because of the very disciplined way in which the team's going about achieving that growth, driving awareness, driving distribution, but doing those two things in concert with each other and making sure that we don't get ahead of ourselves so that we're building it in a very disciplined way. I've been incredibly impressed as I've spent time with our team and our distributors, how they do that. I've seen it done differently with less discipline and less sustainability. I think the way that we're doing it is best in class. Really agree with you on that.
You're right to point out some of the challenges, and the headwinds on Especial and Extra, and I think that's fair. That goes to my earlier point of, once things are scaled, the toolkit for continuing to both maintain and then grow those brands becomes different. In the case of Modelo Especial, there is still room to grow. We haven't finished the job scaling that brand. There is still a significant gap to distribution. Unaided awareness is remarkably low given that this is the number one value brand by value in the marketplace, which is actually quite an incredible opportunity as we continue to drive awareness, and it becomes more and more of a general population brand. The job is yet to be finished on Modelo Especial.
We will finish the job, but we need to develop the very sharp toolkit of what do you do as that becomes fully scaled, and how do you continue to drive saliency and relevance, which gets us to Corona and developing that playbook on Extra. That will be a playbook that will then deploy for anything that is scaled, and that becomes a bit of a different playbook. You're not driving awareness and distribution anymore. You're driving saliency, relevance, connecting with consumers in the moment, and really being both available to them, which is top of mind awareness and distribution. Activating in that moment, being the thing that they choose. That is a somewhat different skill. One that there are plenty of companies out there that have developed really well, and that we need to demonstrate that we can bring.
I will tell you, over the course of my career, I've worked on some tired brands. I've rebuilt some tired brands and rejuvenated tired brands. Our brands are not tired. They have some of the most, and I'm just saying this sincerely, remarkable brand health of any brands I've ever seen. You start with Corona Extra To start with most loved beer. Most loved beer, right?
Still number one in New York City, one of the cultural icons of this country, still number one in Miami. You're starting from this really powerful foundation. We need to dial up the everyday activation switch, I have absolute confidence that with the right focus there, that is something that we can do that will not just help Corona Extra, will allow us to continue to deploy those capabilities against anything else we scale over time.
The next question is in the line of Rob Ottenstein with Evercore ISI. Please proceed with your question.
Great. Thank you very much. In a way, this is kind of a follow-on to the last question. As you said, I think we'd all agree, you have some amazing brands. The performance has been tough. Obviously, there's a lot of macro factors that are out of your control. Let's just focus on things that are in your control, I do know it's early days for you. For over a year, you didn't have a head of sales, right? Bill Newlands, very well regarded, left, I think, in March of 2025. Now you've hired Jack Edwards from Diageo Beer, who has a fantastic reputation, I think started about a month or two ago. You got the great brands. You're in a great category in many ways.
Have you had a chance to sit down with Jack yet and talk about what is under your control in terms of driving execution with distributors, with retailers, to make sure that you're best leveraging the remarkable brands that you actually do have? Again, I know it's early days on this, are there a couple of things that maybe you can point out that are areas in which you're going to be working with Jack and look like reasonable wins and objectives over the next six months that can improve the trajectory in terms of what you can control? Thank you.
I'm happy to share a few thoughts. Don't want to be overly telegraphic about some of the competitive ideas that we have, but rest assured that they're there. Firstly, I'll start by acknowledging your point. I think, yes, indeed, macro headwinds, we talked about both, generally in the economy and some of the things we saw both in the quarter. By the way, our consumer, even more adversely impacted by that.
While that gap has improved, there is still a gap that we're seeing within the Hispanic zip codes relative to gen pop. We're cycling through those headwinds. That said, you're right. We don't sit and make excuses. We think about what it is that we have that's under our control that we can go execute. I've talked about there are things like, still distribution gaps on Modelo. Still awareness gaps.
We can continue to drive those. That is within our control. There is more I think we can do on a brand like Corona Extra. We just talked about that, right? That might be getting more tactical in the field, in the on-premise, in the places where our consumers live and breathe. I think that is with our control. As Jack is coming on board and we're spending more time together, it's really some of that in-field execution, which has been really good, but we can always push ourselves to improve more. Thinking about our pack price architecture, thinking about our revenue management. How do we meet the consumer where the consumer is in an increasingly K-shaped economy, right?
We're seeing some really interesting activity across our pack sizes, where we have by far the largest share of both the small pack size and the larger sharing pack size. I think that's a really interesting place to play, but you got to make it really available to your consumer and make sure they can find it and discover it. Does that start to get our portfolio to a place where, notwithstanding some of the headwinds, it is more accessible? Those are some of the ideas that we're working on. Again, I think it is early days. Jack has been out on the road nonstop since he started, I think as he absorbs and digests everything he's seeing, we'll continue to generate new ideas. We're very excited to have him on board. He's a real talent.
Thank you. The next question is in the line of Bonnie Herzog with Goldman Sachs. Please proceed with your question.
All right. Thank you. Good morning, everyone. I had a question on your FY 2027 guidance. You maintain your beer net sales guidance despite strong shipments in the quarter, comparisons do become pretty favorable in FQ2 and Q3. I guess I wanted to understand if the decision to maintain guidance reflects, I don't know, an abundance of caution regarding the dynamic consumer environment, and I guess, maybe touch on that, especially with the Hispanic consumer. Are there specific distribution or maybe shipment headwinds in the next few quarters that we should be thinking about? Thank you.
Sure, Bonnie. Thanks for the question. I'll start, Nick, you can weigh in, too. I mean, look, we're off to a solid start to the year. There's no denying that. As we look to the balance of the year, and as we laid out in April, this continues to be a rather dynamic operating environment, right? With, in some instances, low visibility. Nick referenced earlier around how we started the quarter and then how we ended the quarter and, again, how things kind of moved around.
The impact on gas prices in Q1, right? If you look at the end of our fiscal year, at the peak of Q1, gas prices were up well over 50% across the U.S. on average. That was more than $1.60 a gallon, if you look at it on that rate. In a market like California, gas prices at its peak were up 40%, Illinois, 70%, New York, Florida, Texas, up over 50%. Inflation was up largely due to a few prices, there were other things that kept inflation a bit higher than anyone would like.
That's a little bit long-winded to say there are a lot of things that are going around in the market that just give us uncertainty. While we're off to a good start, we don't think that after one good quarter that we want to change what the outlook is for the full year, just given some of the limited visibility we have on those macroeconomic metrics. Anything you want to add?
No, completely agree.
Our next question is from the line of Peter Grom with UBS. Please proceed with your question.
Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. I wanted to follow up on your response to Filippo's question earlier. Nick, I think you mentioned thus far in June, you've kind of seen a return to healthy growth rates, but not at March levels. Look, this may be a hard question to answer, but when you think about the improvement, is there a way to parse out how much of that's related to World Cup or maybe some of these unique events that are ending here in a few weeks versus maybe signs that the consumer pressure is abating? I guess the premise of the question is really just trying to understand whether you think this improvement we've seen kind of quarter to date is durable as we look ahead. Thanks so much.
Yeah, look, it's a great question, and it's one that we're asking ourselves, and we're gonna continue to do the work and the analysis to really get our heads around as we see how the rest of the year develops and then how we can continue to drive the momentum where the momentum's sustainable. I will tell you from the early reads, and yet, by the early, right, we're just like still a few weeks. I know we're a few weeks in, but we're just a few weeks in. It does seem to us to be pretty broad-based, right?
We can get to some account data or some on-premise data where you do see big spikes around a game or in that particular geography, but it's not like you then look to the rest of the country, and you're seeing a vastly different result as an average. You can see a big spike here, but it's not moving the needle for everything. I'd say it's fairly broad-based. Texas and California continue to be Sorry.
Texas and Florida, I should say, continue to be challenged. California has been pretty good. That hasn't necessarily changed as a result of the World Cup. We think that is more of a macroeconomically led headwind for our consumer, in particular, in those geographies. We've seen that sort of continue notwithstanding the improved performance. It does look like the return of health to us might be more to do with some of the headwinds abating than any kind of one-time tailwinds.
As I said earlier, it still doesn't hurt that you certainly have the World Cup event, that you have the mix of major market, and that people are just getting together and enjoying that occasion, which we think is also just a key future unlock of people remembering how important it is to come together to socialize and the role that our products can play in that.
Our next question is from the line of Peter Galbo with Bank of America. Please proceed with your question.
Hey, good morning, guys. Maybe just to put a finer point on those last few questions around Q2. Garth, I was hoping just for maybe a little bit more clarity on the shipment side for Q2. There's a lot of, I think, moving pieces in the quarter. Your kind of over-shipped, I think, in Q1 ahead of where you normally seasonally would be. You have the lap versus last year where I think there was some destocking. Maybe you can just help us think through the relationship for Q2 between absolute shipments and depletions, because I know that the growth rates between the two can be a bit wonky. Thanks very much.
Yeah, just to start on that, let me just say that on a full year basis, we would expect, as we always do, that shipments and depletions would align with one another, very closely align with one another. In Q1, which is typical for us in every fiscal year, we ship ahead of depletions to support the key summer selling season. That's fairly typical. We move through the year, we will see some of that become more in line with one another, again, supporting the fact that when we get to the end of the fiscal year, shipments and depletions will essentially equal one another.
Thank you. Our final question is from the line of Michael Lavery with Piper Sandler. Please proceed with your question.
Thank you. Good morning. Just as you think about the consumer and occasions, one of the things we've seen, just as kind of a stepped-up level of innovation focus is higher ABV, mostly in RTDs, but certainly in the consumer's mind, some of the lines get blurry, and it's in the same consideration set very often. It, in most situations, wouldn't seem like it has a different consumption effect on the consumer. It's more, it looks like a volume headwind, if they get more bang for the buck with maybe only a modest mix lift.
It would seem at a high level to be category value dilutive. How do you think about just competing against that, participating in it? How do you weigh some of maybe the trade-offs and maybe risks or opportunities in terms of just how that innovation thread evolves?
It's an interesting question. Look, we talk a lot about K-shaped economy, and you also see sort of K-shaped consumer behavior, right? You're seeing that behavior, which I agree with you, I think is a value-driven behavior. You're seeing other parts of the K where it's sort of a, I want a great premium product, like think about what's happening in Corona Non-Alc where we've got very strong double-digit growth, no alcohol, right? It's about I'm willing to pay more to have a very premium experience with a great tasting liquid. We continue to see those both ends of that K. I think for us, we just need to be thoughtful about where we want to play and participate.
I'd say we have a toe in the water on the higher ABV stuff, with both small RTD brand as well as some of the stuff that we're doing with our Chelada business, which now would be the third largest RTD business if we measured it that way. A good example of this company's ability to innovate into something like RTDs but do it in a way that is thoughtful and sustainable and true to our brands. Our Spritzer product plays there. We need to be thoughtful about what is that impact on the whole portfolio. Are we meeting the consumer where they are with what they drink and what they would like? Then to the earlier question about controlling the controllables, then how do we go execute that in field?
You've got to make sure if you want to play in something like that the consumer knows that you are there and can find you, which I think is probably some of the work to do. I think we need to be thoughtful about these emerging trends and be choiceful about which are the ones that we want to participate in or not. Garth, I don't know, on a perspective whether it's more or less dilutive, I'm not sure. I think it's probably just a consumer occasion.
I agree with that.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes our question and answer session, and we'll also conclude today's conference. We thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect your lines. Simon, have a wonderful day.
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-06-30Constellation Brands: Fiscal Q1 Earnings Snapshot
Associated Press
Constellation Brands: Fiscal Q1 Earnings Snapshot
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — Constellation Brands Inc. (STZ) on Tuesday reported fiscal first-quarter profit of $653.8 million. On a per-share basis, the Rochester, New York-based company said it had net income of $3.79. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring gains, came to $3.43 per share. The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of six analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $3.22 per share. The wine, liquor and beer company posted revenue of $2.59 billion in the period. Its adjusted revenue was $2.43 billion, also exceeding Street forecasts. Five analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $2.4 billion. Constellation Brands expects full-year earnings in the range of $11.20 to $11.90 per share. _____ This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on STZ at https://www.zacks.com/ap/STZ
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-06-30Constellation Brands (STZ) Reports Q1 Earnings: What Key Metrics Have to Say
Zacks
Constellation Brands (STZ) Reports Q1 Earnings: What Key Metrics Have to Say
For the quarter ended May 2026, Constellation Brands (STZ) reported revenue of $2.43 billion, down 3.3% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $3.43, compared to $3.22 in the year-ago quarter. The reported revenue compares to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.4 billion, representing a surprise of +1.21%. The company delivered an EPS surprise of +6.4%, with the consensus EPS estimate being $3.22. While investors scrutinize revenue and earnings changes year-over-year and how they compare with Wall Street expectations to determine their next move, some key metrics always offer a more accurate picture of a company's financial health. Since these metrics play a crucial role in driving the top- and bottom-line numbers, comparing them with the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated about them helps investors better project a stock's price performance. Here is how Constellation Brands performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts: Net Sales- Wine and Spirits: $149.2 million versus $142.2 million estimated by four analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a -46.8% change. Net Sales- Beer: $2.28 billion versus the four-analyst average estimate of $2.27 billion. The reported number represents a year-over-year change of +2.2%. Operating Income- Wine and Spirits: $-1.1 million compared to the $-1.37 million average estimate based on four analysts. Operating Income- Corporate Operations and Other: $-56.1 million compared to the $-59.68 million average estimate based on four analysts. Operating Income- Beer: $891.4 million compared to the $877.84 million average estimate based on four analysts. View all Key Company Metrics for Constellation Brands here>>> Shares of Constellation Brands have returned +2.5% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's -1.8% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), indicating that it could underperform the broader market in the near term. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Constellation Brands Inc (STZ) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-06-30Constellation Brands (STZ) Q1 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates
Zacks
Constellation Brands (STZ) Q1 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates
Constellation Brands (STZ) came out with quarterly earnings of $3.43 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.22 per share. This compares to earnings of $3.22 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +6.40%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this wine, liquor and beer company would post earnings of $1.74 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.9, delivering a surprise of +9.2%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates four times. Constellation Brands, which belongs to the Zacks Beverages - Alcohol industry, posted revenues of $2.43 billion for the quarter ended May 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.21%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $2.52 billion. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates four times over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. Constellation Brands shares have added about 1.2% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 8.7%. While Constellation Brands has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions. Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Constellation Brands was unfavorable. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to underperform the market in the near future. You can see t...

