News · The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (SAM) · Consumer Defensive

Boston Beer rises 7.7% after third-quarter earnings beat

Session of October 22, 2026 · Published October 23, 2026 · 3 min read

What happened

Boston Beer (SAM) rose 7.7% on October 22, 2026, after third-quarter GAAP diluted earnings per share of $4.37 beat estimates. The company reported net revenue of $520.1 million for the quarter and a third-quarter profit of $43.2 million versus $46.2 million a year earlier, according to GlobeNewsWire and Zacks Investment Research. Management discussed declines in company shipments and depletions on the earnings call, with shipments down 4.9% and depletions down 5%, according to a Seeking Alpha transcript.

Closing price over the last 30 trading sessions. On October 22, 2026, SAM closed at $195.72, up 7.7% on the day and 13.4% higher than 30 sessions earlier.

How big was the move

The stock closed at $195.72, a session that was 3.9 times a typical daily move for this stock. Trading volume was 2.0 times its 20-day average, and the stock opened 1.6% above the previous close. The S&P 500 fell 1.2% on the day while the Consumer Defensive sector median rose 3.1%, making the stock’s move 4.5 percentage points better than the sector median. With a beta of 0.18, the stock tends to move less than the market, so the magnitude of the session’s move points to company-specific news rather than broad market action.

Each bar is one day's price change; the outlined bar is October 22, 2026. A typical daily move over the past year was 2.3%, so the latest move equals 3.3 times that. Moves outside the dashed lines (about 4.6%) are unusual.

The technical picture

Short-term indicators showed strength: the stock was 12.8% above its 20-day moving average and 11.7% above its 50-day moving average. Its Relative Strength Index (14 days) was 76, above 70, a level often called overbought. The 50-day average remained below the 200-day average, a sign of a weak longer-term trend, and the stock was 26.0% below the 52-week high. Over one month the stock rose 16.7% and over three months it rose 8.6%, though it fell 10.6% over one year and was 24.4 percentage points behind the S&P 500 over that period. Volatility stood at 31% annualized over 60 days, lower than 75% of its own readings over five years.

Closing price over the past year. SAM ends the period 24.7% below its 52-week high, above its 50-day average ($175.24) and below its 200-day average ($199.28).

Fundamentals and valuation

For the four quarters through September 26, 2026, the company reported revenue of $2.11 billion, which grew 6.2% from a year earlier. Gross margin for that period was 44.5% versus 47.7% a year earlier, and operating margin was 5.4% compared with 6.2% a year earlier. Diluted earnings per share for the period were $-6.83, and earnings per share growth from a year earlier fell 180.5%. The company held net cash of $278.5 million and reported return on invested capital of 13.3%. Share count over one year decreased by 5.6%. The stock trades at 21.9 times expected earnings on a price to forward earnings basis, reflecting a valuation that may price in improvement despite mixed recent fundamental trends.

Quarterly revenue by period end. The latest quarter brought $555M, 3.3% more than the same quarter a year earlier.

Earnings and analyst expectations

Boston Beer’s October 22, 2026, report showed earnings per share of $4.37 against $4.21 expected, 3.8% above estimates, marking one consecutive quarter beating estimates. The average surprise over the last four reports was 7.0% below estimates, and the typical two-day reaction after recent reports was that the stock rose 0.8%. Analysts’ consensus price target is $204.44, which is 4.5% above the closing price, based on 32 analysts; 19% of those analysts rate the stock Buy or Strong Buy and the consensus rating is Hold.

Diluted earnings per share by quarter. The latest quarter shows $4.21, against $4.25 in the same quarter a year earlier.

What to watch

Next report: February 23, 2027
Third-quarter net revenue: $520.1 million (reported October 22, 2026)
Company shipments decreased 4.9% and depletions fell 5% in the quarter
Gross margin commentary: third-quarter gross margin rose to 51.7% (reported by The Motley Fool and MarketBeat)
Share count over one year: decreased by 5.6%

Full SAM analysis: scores, chart and financials →