Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA (NYSE: BUD) and Boston Beer Company, Inc. (The) (NYSE:SAM) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings and profitabiliy.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA and Boston Beer Company, Inc. (The), as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA | 1 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 2.50 |
| Boston Beer Company, Inc. (The) | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1.63 |
Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA currently has a consensus target price of $124.50, indicating a potential upside of 2.74%. Boston Beer Company, Inc. (The) has a consensus target price of $141.29, indicating a potential downside of 8.29%. Given Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA is more favorable than Boston Beer Company, Inc. (The).
Insider and Institutional Ownership
5.3% of Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.1% of Boston Beer Company, Inc. (The) shares are held by institutional investors. 4.5% of Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 31.3% of Boston Beer Company, Inc. (The) shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Volatility and Risk
Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA has a beta of 1.06, meaning that its stock price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Boston Beer Company, Inc. (The) has a beta of 0.51, meaning that its stock price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Dividends
Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA pays an annual dividend of $3.07 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Boston Beer Company, Inc. (The) does not pay a dividend. Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA pays out 152.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA has increased its dividend for 7 consecutive years.
Profitability
This table compares Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA and Boston Beer Company, Inc. (The)’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA | 7.37% | 20.68% | 6.52% |
| Boston Beer Company, Inc. (The) | 9.65% | 19.94% | 14.45% |
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA and Boston Beer Company, Inc. (The)’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | EBITDA | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA | $49.04 billion | 4.78 | $18.47 billion | $2.02 | 59.99 |
| Boston Beer Company, Inc. (The) | $879.31 million | 2.15 | $180.47 million | $7.03 | 21.91 |
Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA has higher revenue and earnings than Boston Beer Company, Inc. (The). Boston Beer Company, Inc. (The) is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA beats Boston Beer Company, Inc. (The) on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA
Anheuser Busch Inbev NV (AB InBev) is a Belgium-based company engaged in the brewers industry. The Company owns a portfolio of over 200 beer brands. The Company’s brand portfolio includes global brands, such as Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois; international brands, including Beck’s, Leffe and Hoegaarden, and local champions, such as Bud Light, Skol, Brahma, Antarctica, Quilmes, Victoria, Modelo Especial, Michelob Ultra, Harbin, Sedrin, Klinskoye, Sibirskaya Korona, Chernigivske, Cass and Jupiler. The Company’s soft drinks business consists of both own production and agreements with PepsiCo related to bottling and distribution arrangements between its various subsidiaries and PepsiCo. Ambev, which is a subsidiary of the Company, is a PepsiCo bottler. Brands that are distributed under these agreements are Pepsi, 7UP and Gatorade.
About Boston Beer Company, Inc. (The)
The Boston Beer Company, Inc. is a craft brewer in the United States. The Company is engaged in the business of producing and selling alcohol beverages primarily in the domestic market and in selected international markets. The Company operates through two segments: Boston Beer Company segment, and A&S Brewing Collaborative segment. The Boston Beer Company segment comprises of the Company’s Samuel Adams, Twisted Tea, Angry Orchard and Truly Spiked & Sparkling brands. The A&S Brewing Collaborative segment comprises of The Traveler Beer Company, Coney Island Brewing Company, Angel City Brewing Company and Concrete Beach Brewing Company. Both segments sell low alcohol beverages. The Company produces malt beverages and hard cider at the Company-owned breweries and under contract arrangements at other brewery locations. As of December 31, 2016, the Company sold its products to a network of approximately 350 wholesalers in the United States and to a network of distributors.
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