Boston Beer is bearing the brunt of a peaking fad: hard seltzer. Wall Street took notice.
Driving the news: Demand for its Truly Hard Seltzer fell flat. Customers didn't buy nearly as much as the spirits giant anticipated. Now its inventory is piled high with it.
- It hurt profits and forced executives to scale back estimates for how much money it will make this year.
The bottom line: Seltzer is everywhere. The customers who are buying have more options than ever to choose from.
- "New hard seltzer brands at retail [stores] ... have resulted in a proliferation of choices and consumer confusion," founder Jim Koch told analysts.