: Boston Beer’s stock falls 6% after profit miss as company lowers guidance

Boston Beer Co.’s stock SAM tumbled 6% after hours Thursday, after the brewer of Sam Adams beer . The company posted net income of $45.3 million, or $3.70 a share, for the quarter, up from $27.3 million, or $2.21 a share, in the year-earlier period. The number included a non-cash brand impairment charge of 96 cents a share. Revenue fell 0.9% to $601.6 million. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of $4.08 and revenue of $594.0 million. Depletions, a metric that measures the number of cases sold by distributors to retailers, fell 6%, due to decreases in the company’s Truly, Angry Orchard, Samuel Adams and Dogfish Head brands, which were partially offset by increases in its Twisted Tea and Hard Mountain Dew brands. The company narrowed and lowered its EPS guidance range and now expects EPS of $6.04 to $8.04 compared with prior guidance of $6.00 to $10.00. It expects depletions to be down 5% to 7%, compared with prior guidance of down 2% to 8%. The stock has gained 11% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 SPX has gained 94%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.