The framework reads distribution. Smart money appears to be selling into strength. Institutional holders may be rotating out. Price has moved down 8.3% since our last review. Ethical screening: FAIL. This security does not pass our values-based screening criteria. The risk-adjusted return profile shows negative risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it D, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is holding around 17% above its long-term trend line with momentum reading bearish. Over the past year the shares are down 20%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 15%. The street (13 analysts) rates it none, with a mean price target of $230.
The Boston Beer Company, Inc.
SAM · the NYSE · USD · Market cap $1.4B · 2,736 employees
The Boston Beer Company, Inc.
FAIL · Does not pass the screenScreen close, 2026-09-18 · not a live quote
Last reviewed 4 days ago
Screened 2026-09-18 · the tape above runs as of 09:00 UTC · two dates, stated on purpose · verdict and workings shown in full · never trimmed
What this means: price 171.57 against the desk's fair-value range, base estimate 143.86, over the last year.
- Trend Markdown
- Insiders no filings inside 60 days, left as found
- Positioning no disclosures inside 60 days, left as found
- Options no verdict drawn today, left as found
- Ethical does not pass the values gate
Our analytic regime reads on this name, dated and marked against the screened price. Small sample per name, and separate from the daily-framework accuracy on the Track Record page.
This name holds its markdown label.
The Boston Beer Company, Inc. holds its Markdown at $171.57. The statistical read favours the sellers, held for 478 days.
| Phase | Markdown · caution |
| Quantitative state | The statistical read favours the sellers, held for 478 days |
| Price at the screen | $171.57 |
| Valuation | N/A trailing · 16.65 forward price to earnings |
| Values screen | FAIL · score 30.0 |
| Beta | 0.83 |
Five Screens, Shown in Full
Does not pass. Prohibited business activity: Brewers
| Test | Figure | Limit | What it means | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business activity | Excluded | Core business clean | Prohibited business activity: Brewers | Fail |
| Debt load | Excluded | Below 33% | Interest-bearing debt is of its assets, above the one-third ceiling the screen allows. | Fail |
| Interest-bearing cash | Excluded | Below 33% | Interest-bearing cash and securities are of assets, above the one-third limit. | Fail |
| Receivables | Excluded | Below 49% | Money owed to the company is of assets, above the 49% limit. | Fail |
| Revenue purity | Excluded | Below 5% | of revenue comes from non-compliant sources, over the 5% line. | Fail |
Five checks adapted from AAOIFI screening standards: business activity plus four balance-sheet ratios. All five must pass for ethical clearance. Every figure is arithmetic on public accounts, not judgement.
What the Numbers Say It Is WorthThe Fair Value Range
Fair value range in USD, drawn from the 2026-09-18 screen. The gold marker is the market price at the same screen. The price runs 16.2% above the base estimate.
Third-party analyst targets: 12 covering, consensus Hold. The average target sits +14% from the screen price.
Reading the gap · Our more conservative model reads it as fully-to-richly valued here, while the Street is more bullish: a quality-at-a-fair-price name rather than a deep-value one.
Price History & ProjectionsWhere it has been, where the models see it going. History from market close data; projection points are our fair-value estimates and third-party analyst targets, dated to the 2026-09-18 screen.
Fair value and rating are our own model estimates; the Street's range reflects third-party analyst estimates. Analysis, not advice.
The Business, in Plain WordsBoston Beer fails the ethical screen outright
A cold Samuel Adams might taste fine after work, yet the company behind it runs straight into our ethical line. Brewers sit on the prohibited list, so we pass without hesitation. The numbers offer no reason to argue the point either, with revenue shrinking 4 percent, margins in negative territory and return on equity at minus 8 percent.
Our fair value sits at 158 dollars against a market price of 179, leaving no margin of safety and a forward multiple that offers little comfort for a business this weak. Thirteen analysts call it a hold with a higher target, but that view ignores the ethical screen that exists precisely for cases like this one.
The real risk lies in treating any alcohol producer as just another consumer name when the screen has already drawn the boundary. Analysis, not advice.
| Forward P/E | 16.7xreasonably valued |
| EPS, trailing | -6.68 |
| EPS, forward | 10.30 |
| Revenue growth | -3.3%revenue is shrinking |
| Profit margin | -3.6%currently unprofitable |
| Return on equity | -8.6%not currently earning a positive return on equity |
| FCF yield | 21.45% |
| Debt to equity | 4.42heavy leverage: higher risk if revenue softens |
| Current ratio | 1.05adequate liquidity, worth monitoring |
| Beta | 0.83steadier than the market |
| Short interest, float | 0.22% |
| 52-week range | 158.68 - 264.46 |
| Market cap | $1.4B |
| Employees | 2,736 |
The risks · The things to watch: it's a small-cap, so the share price can swing harder than the market; it carries a real debt load, which raises the stakes if revenue slips.
Plain-English interpretation of our own screen data. Analysis, not advice.
Where & How to TradeSAM trades on the NYSE. As a listed security it is accessible through almost any international broker offering its home market. New to this, or investing from abroad? Our guide to accessing global markets covers brokers, currencies and the practical steps.
Every Entry, As Written
The framework reads distribution. Smart money appears to be selling into strength. Institutional holders may be rotating out. Price has moved up 1.2% since our last review. Ethical screening: FAIL. This security does not pass our values-based screening criteria. The risk-adjusted return profile shows negative risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it D, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is holding around 17% above its long-term trend line with momentum reading bearish. Over the past year the shares are down 20%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 15%. The street (13 analysts) rates it none, with a mean price target of $230.
The framework reads distribution. Smart money appears to be selling into strength. Institutional holders may be rotating out. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: FAIL. This security does not pass our values-based screening criteria. The risk-adjusted return profile shows negative risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it D, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is holding around 17% above its long-term trend line with momentum reading bearish. Over the past year the shares are down 20%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 15%. The street (13 analysts) rates it none, with a mean price target of $230.
The framework reads distribution. Smart money appears to be selling into strength. Institutional holders may be rotating out. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: FAIL. This security does not pass our values-based screening criteria. The risk-adjusted return profile shows negative risk-adjusted returns.
The framework reads distribution. Smart money appears to be selling into strength. Institutional holders may be rotating out. Ethical screening: FAIL. This security does not pass our values-based screening criteria. The risk-adjusted return profile shows negative risk-adjusted returns.
Each entry above was written on its date, before the outcome. A journal you can prune is not a journal.
- Winners And Losers Of Q2: Boston Beer (NYSE:SAM) Vs The Rest Of The Beverages, Alcohol, and Tobacco Stocks StockStory · 12d ago
- ‘US Consumption of Alcoholic Beverages Is at Historic Lows’: Heineken Hires GLP-1 Pitchwoman to Sell Beer 24/7 Wall St. · 12d ago
- Boston Beer hires tech-savvy CMO to hone data-driven marketing Marketing Dive · 13d ago
- Boston Beer Company (SAM) Looks Undervalued As Growth Narrative Faces A Fresh Test Simply Wall St. · 16d ago
- 1 Cash-Heavy Stock on Our Buy List and 2 Facing Challenges StockStory · 21d ago
Headlines from third-party outlets, linked for reference: not our reporting, not advice.
Screened names in the same industry · explore each on its own page.
| Period | Price then | Price return | Divs per share | $1,000 became | Total return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 month | $188.54 | -6.2% | · | $938 | -6.2% |
| 2 months | $257.21 | -31.3% | · | $688 | -31.3% |
| 3 months | $229.20 | -22.8% | · | $772 | -22.8% |
| 6 months | $199.47 | -11.4% | · | $887 | -11.4% |
| 1 year | $220.03 | -19.6% | · | $804 | -19.6% |
| 2 years | $291.80 | -39.4% | · | $606 | -39.4% |
| 3 years | $328.49 | -46.2% | · | $538 | -46.2% |
| 5 years | $1,028.96 | -82.8% | · | $172 | -82.8% |
Historical returns from market close data. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
This entry now belongs to the ledger. Whatever SAM does next, these words stay.
Thirteen thousand names carry this page. One desk keeps them honest.
Membership opens the full screen archive, the composites built from it, and the daily coverage that prices what the screen approves.
Join the deskScreening is research, not a fatwa and not financial advice. Figures are drawn from public accounts at the screen date shown. Always manage your risk.