Earnings Preview: Molson Coors

Molson Coors Brewing Company (TAP) is expected to report Q1 earnings before market open on Tuesday, May 6, with a conference call scheduled for 12:00 pm ET.

Guidance

Analysts are looking for EPS of 28c on revenue of $1.31B. The consensus range is 25c to 33c for EPS, and $1.28B to $1.34B for revenue, according to First Call. Molson Coors did not give guidance for the quarter or the fiscal year.

Investors will be listening to the conference call for details on the definitive agreement between Molson Coors and SABMiller (SBMRY.PK) to merge their U.S. operations into MillerCoors LLC, especially since the company said it would not give shareholders cash back, in the form of share buybacks or higher dividends, until after the pending deal closed.

Analyst Views

On April 22, Credit Suisse initiated Molson Coors with an Outperform, saying it expected the joint venture to be approved and drive earnings growth. Another important issue for the company, which investors will be keyed into, is the rising cost of the commodities needed to make beer.