Millennials more and more want to get wasted in style — and on Monday the trend took its toll on a number of brewers.
The young crowd is “shifting away from beer” in favor of wine and liquor, according to a report from an analyst at Goldman Sachs — which forecast the move by the under-35 set will help push down sales of beer in the US by 0.7 percent this year.
Major brands like Budweiser, Coors and Miller are feeling the brunt of the move as millennials choose wine, spirits, and craft and imported beers when they want to get a little loose, according to the Goldman report.
The report left some brewers’ shares looking flat and stale.
Boston Beer, the maker of Sam Adams, saw its shares fall 5 percent, to $130.50, while Constellation Brands, the maker of Corona, slipped 1.3 percent, to $196.00.
Goldman lowered its 12-month price target for Boston Beer, to $110 from $140 — 15 percent below Monday’s close.
Constellation’s 12-month share price target was cut to $210 by Goldman.
The affect on wine makers was more subdued — perhaps because of the splintered market.
“We don’t really think that wine consumers are particularly brand loyal,” Sonia Vora, analyst at Morningstar, told The Post. “The majority of consumers tend to buy based on promotions than on loyalty.”
In the beer business, the three major brands make up about 65 percent of the total market, according to the Goldman report.
Volume for “core domestic” brands like Bud, Miller, and Coors are expected to be down 3 percent this year. They have been declining every year since at least 2011, according to Goldman.
Sales of craft beer, by contrast, are expected to rise 2.5 percent in 2017, the bank said. While that’s a bright spot for the industry, it’s way off from the 17.9 percent growth in 2011.
While big brewers have been grappling with the rise of upstarts for about a decade — in many cases buying small brewers — the report hints that the companies’ troubles may be bigger than just millennial sots chasing after the trendiest new drink.
Younger people “may not be drinking as much as prior generations did at their age,” the report said, without giving a reason for the shift.
Boston Beer, whose stock has already fallen 19 percent this year, is expected to fall another 20 percent on weaker volume — especially since consumers have grown less interested in its seasonal ales, according to the report.
Boston Beer has tried to sidestep sluggish beer sales by expanding into hard ciders.
Goldman downgraded the stock to a sell rating, from neutral.
Constellation, which Goldman said would also suffer from flagging volume, was downgraded to a neutral rating, which is higher than a sell.
Even with Monday sell-off, Constellation shares remain up 28 percent for the year.
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