No-Moat Molson Coors’ Investments in Core Brands and Premiumization Should Benefit Profitability

Molson Coors has long been a mainstay of the global beer industry, with North American staples like Coors and Miller and leading European brands such as Carling. However, in our opinion, these trademarks that were once strengths are now largely declining in relevance and volume. Moreover, while they are starting to see improvements, the firm's legacy brands have proved difficult to parlay into higher-end categories with more propitious growth prospects, as innovation efforts in this regard have seen mixed success. With the firm's dominance largely in secularly challenged segments of the malt category, we do not believe this positioning reaps advantages sufficient for a moat.