Category Archives: BUD

Anheuser-Busch InBev Price Momentum $BUD

Below is a chart of Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) from 2011 to 2022, reflecting Price Momentum data.

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Molson Coors Beverage Co. 10-Year Targets

Below are the valuation targets for Molson Coors Beverage Co. (TAP) for the next 10 years. Continue reading

YoY: Anheuser-Busch InBev

Below is a chart of Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) from 2010 to 2019 reflecting the year-over-year (YoY) percentage change.

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In the last 12 months,  Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) has increased approximately +7%, on a YoY basis.  Below is the history of returns when  Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) has increased by +7% YoY levels since 2010 and the stock is held for a minimum of 3 years.

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Following a similar increase of +7%, had Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) been acquired and held for at least 3 years, the average annualized return of 15% was achieved with a high level of probability. 

We have to warn that the data being reviewed is strictly within a bull market that began in 2009 and has not been tested over periods of a full economic cycle.  Therefore, we put particular emphasis on the downside risk being played out as reflected in our Speed Resistance Lines of November 15, 2019 and/or a general market decline of 20%-30% as a time that we’d take some interest in Anheuser-Busch InBev.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SRL

In our previous work, we have outlined the impact of dividends and the historical precedent related to the qualitative elements of Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD).  Why have we put so much focus on ONLY one fundamental element as it relates to a stock and its future prospects.  As stated by Geraldine Weiss in her book Dividends Don’t Lie:

“The philosophy that the dividend yield of a quality company can reveal volumes about a stock’s future performance does not lend itself merely to a certain tax climate or a particular market cycle.  It is a basic principal. one that serves as a faithful guide through even the most confounding stock market phases (page 10).”

Many argue that such a narrow perspective on esoteric points regarding the dividend doesn’t tell the whole story.  Our writing on this topic since calling the bull market in 2009, and starting this site, highlights the exceptional consistency of the perspective that we have offered.

Price Reveals Fundamentals, Fundamentals Reveal Price

According to Charles H. Dow, co-founder of the Wall Street Journal and creator of the indexes that bear his name:

"The one sure thing in speculation is that values determine prices in the long run. Manipulation is effective temporarily, but the investor establishes price in the end.  The object of all speculation is to foresee coming changes in values. Whoever knows that the value of a stock has run ahead of price and is likely to be sustained can buy that stock with confidence that as its value is recognized by investors, the price will rise (Dow, Charles H. Review and Outlook.  Wall Street Journal. February 25, 1902.)."

With this in mind, we will venture into the indication that are provided by the activity of the price for Anheuser-Busch InBev.

Downside Speed Resistance Lines

Below are the Downside Speed Resistance Lines (SRL) for Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) covering the period from July 2009 to November 2019.

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The downside targets based on the data from 2009 to the present are:

  • $94.20 (conservative)
  • $69.34 (mid-range)
  • $44.48 (extreme)

We can see that BUD has managed to decline through the conservative and mid-range targets. All that remains is the extreme downside target of between $44.48 and $47.70.  The lack of historical precedent does not allow for the richer analysis of the price that we’d normally like to do.  Such analysis makes for what we believe would be better interpretation of the price activity.

Three Steps Rule

In addition to Gould’s Speed Resistance Lines, there is the theory of the Three Steps Rule.  According to Gould:

Our Three Step Rule (not to be confused with our Three Step and Stumble Rule, Which refers only to monetary conditions) has been helpful over the years in our attempt to project stock market moves and to anticipate stock market tops and bottoms.

Our Three Step Rule says: In any stock market move, up or down, large or small or in between, expect three steps but be prepared for a fourth.

It applies to large moves as well as small moves.

Three steps up in an advancing market and three steps down in a declining market usually exhaust the bullish potential accumulated at the bottoms and the bearish potential accumulated at tops- but sometimes there is a fourth step (Edson Gould Reports. Edson Gould’s 1975 Forecast. November, 1974. page 8. ).

We have included, in the chart above, the Three Steps (red circles).  In this case, the third “step” cannot occur unless it is at some point below the second “step.”

Upside Speed Resistance Lines

Below are the Upside Speed Resistance Lines (SRL) for Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) covering the period from September 2016 to November 2019.

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The upside targets based on the data from 2016 to the present are:

  • $99.44
  • $111.00
  • $122.22

As with downside prospects there must be upside resistance.  From the all-time low set in late 2018, BUD has managed to climb as high as $101.58.  However, not achieving the $111.00 upside resistance and then falling below the $99.44 upside resistance level suggests, at minimum, a re-test of the $65.43 level.

Speed Resistance Lines are based on the work of Edson Gould who was famous for precisely calling market tops and bottoms and widely quoted in Barron’s throughout the 1970’s.  How powerful are the indications provided by Gould’s SRL?

Among the many posting we have on the topic, our April 26, 2012 on the downside risk for Chesapeake Energy (CHK) titled “A Warning for Chesapeake Shareholders” suggested that although the stock was trading at $18.10, CHK could potentially decline as low $0.67 as a normal reaction to the prior peak.  On November 12, 2019, CHK had a closing price of $0.67.

Anheuser-Busch Dividend Payout and Altimeter

In the previous post dated November 13, 2019, we reviewed the year-over-year change in the annual dividend and contrasted that against the payout ratio for Anheuser-Busch (BUD).  In this posting, we’re going to review the payout ratio for BUD since 1982 and contrast that to Edson Gould’s Altimeter.

The dividend payout ratio for BUD is a reflection of the amount of the annual dividend paid relative to the annual earnings.  A payout ratio above 100% means the company is paying more in dividends than what is being earned.  Alternatively, a dividend payout ratio at less than 50% generally means that the company is in a position to keep the dividend or potentially increase, based on business prospects.

Below is a charting of the dividend payout ratio as derived from Value Line Investment Survey and Barron’s from 1982 to 2019.

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The period from the end of 2007 to the end of 2009 is when BUD was in transition to becoming part of InBev (previous symbol INB.Belgium).

Below is the charting of the Altimeter as outlined in the work of Edson Gould which is a relative comparison between the dividend and price and does a fantastic job of indicating when a stock is undervalued or overvalued.

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Oddly enough, the beginning of the chart from 1982 to 1985 is very similar to the period from 2010 to 2018.  In both cases, the Altimeter swings from a vast level overvaluation to more modest levels.  However, as seen in the dividend payout ratio in the first chart, the significant difference is that BUD never exceeded the payout ratio of 50% from 1982 to 2007.  Meanwhile, in the period from 2010 to the present, several years have been spent with the payout ratios exceeding 100%.

What is most important to look at in the Altimeter is the horizontal red line.  That line indicates a tendency (1982-2007) for BUD be undervalued and bought without reservation.  It should be noted that within the established historical range, InBev acquired BUD at the most expensive price relative to that period.

Unfortunately, since the acquisition by InBev, BUD needs at least a full economic cycle before investors can determine the range of valuations on a fundamental basis.  The InBev era does not sufficiently equate to the period prior to 2007.  So far, the analysis by Sean Walters in Barron’s, at the time of the acquisition, seemed accurate when he said:

“Yes, there is a positive correlation between brewers' size and profitability. But its limits might be tested by an InBev-Anheuser tie-up (Walters, Sean. Is a Bigger InBev Better?.Barron's. June 16, 2008. M7.).”

Our next review on BUD will look at what the price tells us regarding the short and medium-term prospects for the stock.

Anheuser-Busch Dividend Analysis

Now that Craft Brewing Alliance (BREW) has been acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) as noted in our November 12, 2019 posting, we turn our attention to Anheuser-Busch InBev.

There is no better place to start analysis on BUD than with the dividend.  However, the history of Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) has changed dramatically since 2008.  Prior to November 2008, BUD was the leading domestic (U.S.) producer of beer.  However, the acquisition of Anheuser-Busch in November 2008 by InBev has created the world’s largest brewing company.

The best way to do a dividend analysis on BUD is to take the history of data after November 2008 to the present (approximately 10 years) and compare it to the last 10 years of data before it became a global giant (1997-2007).  The reason for this type of comparison is to contrast the largest producer in the U.S. against the largest producer globally.

The data that we have selected is from Value Line Investment Survey covering the period of 1982 to 2019.  To compare different periods in BUD’s dividend policy, we have used year-over-year data of the percentage change in the annual dividend.

In addition, we have added the payout ratio for BUD.  In the case of the period after the InBev acquisition (2011-2018) we have giving the dividend payout ratio for each year while the period prior to the InBev acquisition (2000-2007) we have provided only the highest payout ratio.

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In the period after the acquisition of Anheuser-Busch by InBev from 2011 to 2018, the year-over-year increase in the dividend has been in a declining trend topping out at 145% in 2013 at a payout ratio of 62.99% to a decline of –74.75% in 2018 with a payout ratio of 152.07%.

This is contrasted with the period from 2000 to 2007  when the payout ratio never exceeded 47.17% and never saw a year of declining dividend payments.

There are two important features about the charting of the fundamental data above.  First, the declining trend into negative territory suggests that whatever the current dividend is, it isn’t sustainable, even after the current decline of –74.75%.  Second, a declining trend dominated by payout ratios exceeding 100% compounds the prospects of an adverse dividend policy (barring accounting creativity).

The situation that InBev finds itself is common of companies that are at or near monopoly in their respective industry.  This is a point where InBev is suffering the “deadweight loss” of being a behemoth.  This should result in a considerable reduction in the dividend and/or the spin-off of less profitable units. 

In future postings, we will examine the prospects of Anheuser-Busch InBev based on the year-over-year dividend rate from 1982 to 2007.  This is the most sustainable scenario that an investor could expect from a company in this industry at half the current size.