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"Could we finally be seeing a bottom happening in the alcohol industry?" So posed CNBC Mad Money host Jim Cramer in teaser for segment on STZ results and read-thru for broader alc bev biz last night. He's "been looking" for a signal that we've hit "a potential bottom." And now he feels like he's "seeing signs that the turn may already be upon us." That's why he thinks STZ stock improved after "a really lackluster quarter," as he described it, "betting the buyers are right" and that "the broader industry's on the mend." Just as "disappointed" in STZ's full-yr forecast as most industry analysts, a clear "low ball" in his view, Cramer also called the co's results "last week's most stunning better-than-feared quarter." A big part of the beat was "low expectations," he explained, but there are "green shoots" on volume. And he suspects "they know they can beat" their guidance for fiscal 2027, setting new ceo Nick Fink up to "inevitably be the hero." His bullishness about Nick's capabilities echoed brief commentary from about a month ago, when Jim popped into Squawk on the Street to sing the new ceo's praises.Familiar Pressures or President Trump? Last mo, Jim liked STZ stock's price, which he again described as "very cheap" last night. STZ stock is currently trading at $163.50, down slightly for the day but up 18.5% YTD. A couple yrs ago, the "tide turned against all things booze" and it's seemed like the "whole alcohol industry's under siege" since then, Jim said, listing pressures like weight loss drugs, "legal cannabis" and a "younger generation that's more committed to health and wellness." This morning, Business Insider took those same well-worn paths. Yet the piece downplays generational shifts and health concerns to argue that "people are drinking less because of the ongoing affordability crisis." And it lays "mounting uncertainty" squarely at the feet of the Trump Admin. The president "is the one holding the knife," the outlet claimed after citing IWSR's Marten Lodewijks describing the industry's "death by a thousand cuts."Affordability, Immigration, Tourism, War This argument isn't totally unheard of, tho Business Insider takes it further. "We are seeing the pressure on affordability escalate," Bernstein's Nadine Sarwat told the outlet. And like Jim Cramer, the paper echoes Constellation-specific pressures in the form of immigration policy, noting that the co points to a potential inflection point there. Tourism from abroad was soft last yr too, Brewers Assn prexy/ceo Bart Watson explained, citing especially soft visitation from Canada to brewers in Vermont, for instance, and to hot spots like Florida and California. And we may not be out of the woods. "A fair amount of aluminum goes through the Strait of Hormuz, and it is very energy-intensive," Bart said, pointing out how the war in Iran could only exacerbate one of the biggest existing cost pressures on small brewers: cans.Which Tables are Turning? Those pressures feel particularly fresh, with few signs of near-term alleviation. And a new all-time low in consumer sentiment index from the Univ of Mich certainly points anywhere but up. Still, Cramer's talk of "stabilization" and call of a "bottom" come alongside better retail trends and a cautious optimism across the industry. Could beer once again be a leading indicator of a coming shift?

Cramer Calls a "Bottom" on US Alcohol's Downturn as Business Insider Points Finger at the Presiden

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