Weekly Beverage Alcohol Recap | April 17, 2026

**Major M&A & Corporate Moves**

- Sazerac tables $15B ($32/share) all-cash bid for Brown-Forman; Pernod Ricard pursuing parallel "merger of equals" talks; family governance structure is key differentiator

- Mark Anthony Brands acquires The Finnish Long Drink; spirits-based RTD pivot; brand posted +24% dollar and volume growth over trailing 52 weeks

- Uncle Nearest insolvent; receiver marketing all assets; $108M+ loan defaults; targeting going-concern sale by end of Q2

- Southern Glazer's integrates fine wine teams into Signature division; assumes national distribution for Frederick Wildman brands effective May 1

- Jackson Family Wines selects Reyes Beverage Group as exclusive distributor in seven markets tied to Reyes' pending RNDC acquisition

- Johnson Brothers expands Stoller Wine Group distribution to nine additional markets

- Baker Distributing acquires Calmont Beverage in Vermont; collapses state to two-distributor market; craft brands stranded

- Robert Foye takes ~A$1M stake in Treasury Wine Estates; pushes five-point turnaround plan focused on US market

**Earnings & Financial**

- Pernod Ricard cuts FY26 outlook to –3% to –4% net sales; US organic sales –12%; Q3 group sales €1.945B (–15% reported); travel-retail outlook reversed to full-year decline

- PepsiCo Q1 beat: revenue $19.44B (+8.5%); adjusted EPS $1.61 vs. $1.55 consensus; NA foods volume +2%; Gatorade brand refresh announced

- Boston Beer hit with $175.5M Ardagh verdict over aluminum can volume shortfall; plans appeal; holds $223M cash, zero debt

- Molson Coors faces aluminum cost headwind; TD Cowen cuts FY26 EPS to $4.58 (below consensus $4.72 and guidance); Hold, $43 PT

- Constellation Brands: new CEO Nicholas Fink emphasizes "builder to operator" shift; FY26 beer guidance (–1% to +1%) seen as conservative; Pacifico, Modelo Oro, Barrilitos highlighted

- Albertsons Q4 net loss of $480.8M on $600M opioid charge; FY26 identical sales guided flat to +1%

**Scanner Data & Market Performance**

- Easter week (ending April 5): spirits +16% holiday dollars; RTDs +13.1%; wine +9.2%; beer +6.1% — beer lagged all segments

- Q1 2026 off-premise: total beer dollars +1.2% YTD; volume –0.5%; Constellation +0.77 share points; A-B +0.14; Molson Coors –0.59; Boston Beer –0.33

- Fastest Q1 growers: Happy Dad +35.1%; Athletic Brewing +19.3% dollars, +25.5% volume

- Pacifico +38.5% Easter week; Michelob +16.9%; Smirnoff +15.7%; Cutwater +46%; BuzzBallz +20%

- Energy drinks: Celsius/Alani Nu +35.1% L2W (Alani Nu +97.7%); Monster +6.9% but –159bp share; Red Bull +6.4% but –175bp share

- CSDs: Coca-Cola +12.1% L4W vs. PepsiCo +0.6%; Easter week Coke +20.1%

- NA beer: +17% dollars and volume in Q1, moderating from +26% pace in Q1 2025

**Craft Beer**

- BA 2025 production data: craft volume –5.1% to 21.856M barrels; 481 closures vs. 300 openings; 1,072 closures over two years

- Sierra Nevada overtakes Boston Beer for #2 craft ranking; Athletic Brewing rises to #6

- Diageo (#5 overall via Guinness growth); Garage Beer and Tivoli Brewing debut in top 50

- Retail dollar sales –3.6% to $27.8B; dollar share held flat at 24.6%; employment –4% to ~189K

**Wine**

- US wine consumer spending hit record $115.33B (+2.5%) but volume fell –2.4% to 361.8M cases

- Wine DTC March value +5% to $462M; volume –4% (improving from –30% Jan, –14% Feb); Napa drove nearly all dollar growth

- Wine-at-home CPI: –1.3% YoY in March, deepening from –0.4% for full 2025

- Napa structural crisis: unsold Cab grapes, Alpha Omega foreclosure, Benessere Vineyards heading to auction, fallow vineyard recommendations

- Robledo Family Winery files Chapter 11

- Cognac NAFTA shipments –49% in March (vs. +34% Feb); XO –38%; Far East +12%

- E&J Gallo launches 200ml Tetra Pak; acquires Whiny Baby brand; 25% of wine drinkers using AI recommendations

- DRINKS partners with Forbes for Forbes Wine Club & Shop; Forbes Wine vertical launching summer 2026

- CA AB 1585: would require 100% American grapes for "American" label; bulk imports +19% in 2025

**Buffalo Trace / Ultra-Premium**

- Eagle Rare 30 unveiled at $12,500 SRP; oldest age-stated bourbon from Buffalo Trace; Bonhams auction April 24; broader release May

**Legal & Regulatory**

- FTC Robinson-Patman suit against Southern Glazer's continues; alleges systematic price discrimination favoring chains over independents

- Five former Southern Glazer's employees indicted for eight-year bribery scheme targeting Albertsons shelf placement

- Napa winemaker Jeffry Hill sentenced for AVA mislabeling fraud

- Fifth Circuit strikes down 1868 federal home distillery ban; Commerce Clause left unresolved

- Carnival found 60% liable, $300K awarded after 14-shot over-service incident

- WHO second industry dialogue: labeling, digital marketing, age verification focus

- Mexico Senate weighing mandatory cancer warning labels on alcohol packaging

**Consumer & Retail Trends**

- Core retail sales +7.05% YoY in March; six-month growth streak; avg. tax refund +11.1% to $3,521

- Numerator: 93% of consumers looking to save; 43% eating out less; 28% cutting grocery spend

- Goldman Sachs lowers 2026 discretionary cash inflow forecast to +4.2%

- Louis Jadot/Morning Consult: 56% of Americans dating less due to costs; 27% stopped entirely; wine purchase driven by taste and budget over prestige

- Wine Opinions: 20% of frequent drinkers drinking less; health concerns primary driver; decline concentrated in at-home consumption

- Nicotine pouches reach 29.3% household penetration; RBC finds 6–12% spending overlap with bev-alc — limited competitive threat

- 7-Eleven closing 645 NA stores; IPO delayed to FY2027; ~200 food-forward openings partially offset

- Chili's surpasses Olive Garden as #2 US casual dining chain; systemwide sales $5.5B (+20.6%); no new restaurants opened

**Mississippi Warehouse Crisis**

- State's sole wholesale warehouse dysfunction: ~174K cases stranded; five+ liquor stores closed; key brands unavailable for months; replacement facility not expected until 2027

**Vermont Self-Distribution**

- H.921 passed Vermont House: would allow brewers to self-distribute up to 5,000 barrels annually; legislature adjourns May 8