By Kelly Cloonan

Molson Coors logged lower profit and sales in its latest quarter as it continues to contend with softer demand for beer.

"It's no secret that our industry is facing significant headwinds," Chief Executive Rahul Goyal said during Wednesday's CAGNY conference shortly after the company reported results.

Goyal said the beer industry declined in 2025, deviating from historical trends and leading to continued uncertainty.

The industry has faced pressure lately as younger generations show less appetite for drinking, weight-loss drugs dent demand and consumers tighten their spending.

The maker of Blue Moon and Miller High Life said it is also contending with rising commodity input costs. Goyal pointed to increases in aluminum pricing and the Midwest premium, a regional surcharge added to the base price of aluminum.

The stock slid 7.4% to $47.05 in after-hours trading. Through the market close shares have declined 16% in the last year.

The company expects commodity inflation to be a particularly challenging obstacle this year, though anticipates its top-line trends will improve.

Over the medium term, Molson Coors is working to get back to growth by investing further in its core beer brands such as Coors Light and Miller Lite, Goyal said. It is also looking to invest in its value brands in certain markets, extending brands like Miller High Life across a few more states, in order to resonate with price-conscious consumers.

The company is also working to accelerate growth for its premium beer brands like Blue Moon, and to scale up its "beyond beer" category, which includes brands like Simply Spiked and Topo Chico Hard Seltzer, Goyal said.

"We must find a way to get this category healthy again, and we need to do it together as an industry," Goyal said. "We need to make sure we can bring people back into the occasions where beer fits."

The brewer posted a fourth-quarter profit of $238.3 million, or $1.22 a share, compared with $287.8 million, or $1.39 a share, a year earlier.

Adjusted earnings per share were $1.21, compared with estimates of $1.15 a share, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

Net sales fell 2.7%, to $2.66 billion, compared with analyst estimates of $2.72 billion.

The decline was driven by lower financial volume, partially offset by favorable price and sales mix and foreign currency effects, the company said.

For the full year, the brewer guided for sales to be roughly flat, down 1% to up 1% from last year on a constant currency basis. It expects adjusted earnings per share to fall 11% to 15%.

The company said it provided the guidance despite uncertainties related to inflationary commodity cost pressures and a softer beer industry.

Write to Kelly Cloonan at kelly.cloonan@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 18, 2026 18:27 ET (23:27 GMT)

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