Top Beer Stocks for Q3 2020

The beer industry is made up of companies specializing in the production of beer, although many of them produce other alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Some of the well-known names include Netherlands-based SABMiller International BV, Netherlands-based Heineken NV, and Molson Coors Beverage Co. (TAP). Beverages are considered consumer staples so the beer industry may be considered a small part of the broader consumer staples sector. Beer stocks, as represented by the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP), have underperformed the broader market, providing investors with a total return of 6.6% compared to the S&P 500's total return of 14.3% over the past 12 months. These market performance numbers and the statistics in the tables below are as of June 10.

Here are the top 3 beer stocks with the best value, the fastest earnings growth, and the most momentum.

Best Value Beer Stocks

These are the beer stocks with the lowest 12-month trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. Because profits can be returned to shareholders in the form of dividends and buybacks, a low P/E ratio shows you’re paying less for each dollar of profit generated.

Source: YCharts

• Kirin Holdings Co. Ltd.: Kirin Holdings is a Japan-based producer of beer, soft drinks, juice, food products, wine, whiskey, and pharmaceuticals.
• Ambev SA: Ambev is a Brazil-based company primarily engaged in the production and distribution of beer. The company also produces and distributes soft drinks and other non-alcoholic beverages including non-carbonated beverages. Ambev posted a 55.9% decline in profits on essentially flat revenue for Q1 2020, which ended March 31 2020. The company noted that it began to witness the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its operations in March, and expects Q2 results to be materially worse than those reported for Q1.
• United Breweries Co. Inc.: United Breweries, also known as Compania Cervecerias Unidas, is a Chile-based producer and distributor of a wide range of branded beers. The company also produces wines, spirits, and non-alcoholic beverages such as soft drinks, bottled water, and juices.

Fastest Growing Beer Stocks

These are the beer stocks with the highest year-over-year (YOY) earnings per share (EPS) growth for the most recent quarter. Rising earnings show that a company’s business is growing and is generating more money that it can reinvest or return to shareholders. Due to the global recession spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, this group had mixed performance. The best performing company, Kirin Holdings, was the only one that grew earnings, but it was not possible to compute the percent change because they moved from negative to positive. The other two companies shrank the least in the most recent quarter; their stocks were those in the sector whose earnings fell the least.

Source: YCharts

• Kirin Holdings Co. Ltd.: See above for company description.
• Boston Beer Co. Inc.: Boston Beer produces and sells craft-brewed beers and cider products at its own breweries and various other contract breweries. The company posted a 23% decline in net income while revenue grew 31.4% in Q1 2020, which ended March 28, 2020. Boston Beer noted that, due to the impact of COVID-19, reductions in net revenue and increases in other costs amounted to $10.0 million for Q1.
• Tsingtao Brewery Co. Ltd.: Tsingtao Brewery is a China-based producer and distributor of beer products. The company reported full-year EPS growth of 30.2% on revenue growth of 5.3% for 2019.

Beer Stocks with the Most Momentum

These are the beer stocks that had the highest total return over the last 12 months.

Source: YCharts

• Boston Beer Co. Inc.: See above for company description.
• Tsingtao Brewery Co. Ltd.: See above for company description.
• Kirin Holdings Co. Ltd.: See above for company description.