Anheuser-Busch (NYSE:BUD) Posts Better-Than-Expected Sales In Q1
Beer powerhouse Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE:BUD) reported Q1 CY2024 results topping analysts' expectations, with revenue up 2.3% year on year to $14.55 billion. It made a GAAP profit of $0.54 per share, down from its profit of $0.81 per share in the same quarter last year.
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Anheuser-Busch (BUD) Q1 CY2024 Highlights:
- Revenue: $14.55 billion vs analyst estimates of $14.37 billion (1.3% beat)
- Adjusted EBITDA: $4.99 billion vs analyst estimates of $4.80 billion (4.1% beat)
- EPS: $0.54 vs analyst estimates of $0.47 (14.9% beat)
- Gross Margin (GAAP): 54.3%, in line with the same quarter last year
- Organic Revenue was up 2.6% year on year
- Sales Volumes were down 0.6% year on year
- Market Capitalization: $112.1 billion
We are encouraged by our results to start the year, and the consistent execution by our teams and partners reinforces our confidence in delivering on our 2024 growth ambitions.” – Michel Doukeris, CEO, AB InBev
Born out of a complicated web of mergers and acquisitions, Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE:BUD) boasts a powerhouse beer portfolio of Budweiser, Stella Artois, Corona, and local favorites around the world.
Beverages and Alcohol
These companies' performance is influenced by brand strength, marketing strategies, and shifts in consumer preferences. Changing consumption patterns are particularly relevant and can be seen in the explosion of alcoholic craft beer drinks or the steady decline of non-alcoholic sugary sodas. Companies that spend on innovation to meet consumers where they are with regards to trends can reap huge demand benefits while those who ignore trends can see stagnant volumes. Finally, with the advent of the social media, the cost of starting a brand from scratch is much lower, meaning that new entrants can chip away at the market shares of established players.
Sales Growth
Anheuser-Busch is one of the most widely recognized consumer staples companies in the world. Its influence over consumers gives it extremely high negotiating leverage with distributors, enabling it to pick and choose where it sells its products (a luxury many don't have).
As you can see below, the company's annualized revenue growth rate of 7.4% over the last three years was decent despite selling a similar number of units each year. We'll explore what this means in the "Volume Growth" section.
This quarter, Anheuser-Busch reported decent year-on-year revenue growth of 2.3%, and its $14.55 billion in revenue topped Wall Street's estimates by 1.3%.
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Volume Growth
Revenue growth can be broken down into changes in price and volume (the number of units sold). While both are important, volume is the lifeblood of a successful staples business as there’s a ceiling to what consumers will pay for everyday goods; they can always trade down to non-branded products if the branded versions are too expensive.
To analyze whether Anheuser-Busch generated its growth from changes in price or volume, we can compare its volume growth to its organic revenue growth, which excludes non-fundamental impacts on company financials like mergers and currency fluctuations.
Over the last two years, Anheuser-Busch's quarterly sales volumes have, on average, stayed about the same. This stability is normal as the quantity demanded for consumer staples products typically doesn't see much volatility. The company's flat volumes also indicate its average organic revenue growth of 8.5% was generated from price increases.
In Anheuser-Busch's Q1 2024, year on year sales volumes were flat. This result was more or less in line with the same quarter last year.
Key Takeaways from Anheuser-Busch's Q1 Results
It was good to see Anheuser-Busch beat analysts' adjusted EBITDA and EPS expectations this quarter. We were also glad its revenue outperformed Wall Street's estimates. Overall, this quarter's results seemed fairly positive and shareholders should feel optimistic. The stock is up 4.7% after reporting and currently trades at $63.42 per share.
Anheuser-Busch may have had a good quarter, but does that mean you should invest right now? When making that decision, it's important to consider its valuation, business qualities, as well as what has happened in the latest quarter. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here, it's free.
