Constellation Brands vs Duckie

About

Constellation Brands, Inc. is a Victor, New York-based beer, wine, and spirits company — publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: STZ) as an S&P 500 Consumer Staples component — producing and marketing the United States rights to Mexican beer brands including Modelo Especial, Corona Extra, Pacifico, and Modelo Negra (acquired from Anheuser-Busch InBev as a condition of ABI's 2013 Grupo Modelo acquisition), and a wine and spirits portfolio including Robert Mondavi, Kim Crawford, The Prisoner, Meiomi, and High West whiskey through approximately 10,000 employees. In fiscal year 2025 (ending February 2025), Constellation Brands reported revenues of approximately $9.8 billion, with the Beer Division (Modelo, Corona, Pacifico) generating approximately $8.4 billion (+4-5% organic growth) as Modelo Especial maintained its status as the #1-selling beer in the United States by dollar sales — a position Modelo captured from Bud Light in June 2023 following the Bud Light controversy and has held since. CEO Bill Newlands retired in 2024, with Garth Hankinson succeeding him, maintaining Constellation's strategy of investing behind the Modelo brand family's premium Hispanic-heritage positioning as the fastest-growing segment of US beer consumers (Hispanic adult beer drinkers choosing culturally authentic imported Mexican lagers over domestic brands). The Wine and Spirits segment faced significant headwinds from premiumization-to-value trading and market share pressure — Constellation announced a strategic review of the Wine and Spirits portfolio in 2024, exploring potential divestitures to focus capital exclusively on the Beer Division's high-margin, high-growth beer brands.