STZ vs BUD Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Constellation Brands and AB InBev both compete in the global beer industry, but Constellation is a more concentrated, U.S.-focused premium beer story reshaping its portfolio, while AB InBev is a global brewing giant with a broad multi-segment portfolio and a larger balance sheet to manage.
Constellation Brands offers a focused bet on premium imported beer growth in the U.S. market, while AB InBev offers global scale and diversification across beer segments and geographies. Consider whether you prefer Constellation's concentrated premium beer growth or AB InBev's global scale and emerging market exposure.
STZ holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. BUD has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+37.81% vs -12.50%), though STZ has the better forward P/E setup (10.55x vs 16.15x for BUD). On fundamentals, BUD is growing revenue faster (11.00%), while STZ maintains the higher operating margin (35.93%) — a classic growth-versus-profitability split. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for STZ (+30.71%) than for BUD (+20.76%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- Want concentrated exposure to premium imported beer brand growth in the U.S. market
- Believe the ongoing wine and spirits divestitures will sharpen the portfolio and improve returns
- Value strong brand equity and consistent volume growth relative to the broader beer category
- Are comfortable with brand concentration risk in a relatively narrow beer portfolio
- Want exposure to the world's largest brewer with unmatched global scale
- Believe emerging market volume growth will offset mature market softness over time
- Value a diversified brand portfolio spanning premium, mainstream, and value segments
- Are comfortable with continued balance sheet deleveraging as an ongoing priority
| Metric | STZ | BUD |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 27.5 | 27.7 |
| AI ranki | #2389 | #2376 |
| Latest closei | $128.18 | $80.35 |
| 1M returni | -1.88% | -5.67% |
| 6M returni | -12.98% | +10.63% |
| 1Y returni | -12.50% | +37.81% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | STZ | BUD |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $8.79K (-12.1%) started 2025-09-04 | $13.98K (+39.8%) started 2025-09-04 |
| 5Y ago | $6.89K (-31.1%) started 2021-09-07 | $15.55K (+55.5%) started 2021-09-07 |
| 10Y ago | $9.98K (-0.2%) started 2016-09-06 | $9.55K (-4.5%) started 2016-09-06 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | STZ | BUD |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $22.32B | $158.22B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 12.46 | 17.32 |
| Forward P/Ei | 10.55 | 16.15 |
| Price/Salesi | 3.00 | 2.53 |
| EV/Revenuei | 3.65 | 16.31 |
| Analyst targeti | $170.83 | $97.03 |
| Target upsidei | +30.71% | +20.76% |
| Metric | STZ | BUD |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | -3.30% | 11.00% |
| Earnings growthi | 30.70% | 124.90% |
| EPS growthi | +30.70% | +124.90% |
| FCF margini | +24.41% | +17.08% |
| Operating margini | 35.93% | 27.34% |
| Profit margini | 20.14% | 14.90% |
| ROIC proxyi | 23.69% | 11.39% |
| Return on equityi | 23.69% | 11.39% |
| Dividend yieldi | 3.13% | 1.67% |
| Betai | 0.40 | 0.78 |
| Debt/equityi | 123.20 | 71.88 |
| Current ratioi | 0.91 | 0.66 |
| Quick ratioi | 0.25 | 0.46 |
Over the past year, STZ and BUD have moved weakly in the same direction (correlation of 0.32), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | STZ | BUD |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | -12.13% | +37.81% |
| CAGRi | -12.15% | +37.84% | |
| Volatilityi | 29.94% | 23.23% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.43 | 1.30 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.61 | 2.02 | |
| Max drawdowni | 23.10% | 16.64% | |
| Current drawdowni | 23.10% | 7.09% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 10.26% | 4.00% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 12.11% | 5.69% | |
| Max daily dropi | 8.04% | 3.58% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 10.68% | 9.02% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | -35.06% | +44.90% |
| CAGRi | -8.28% | +7.71% | |
| Volatilityi | 25.19% | 24.93% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.40 | 0.24 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.52 | 0.35 | |
| Max drawdowni | 51.94% | 33.13% | |
| Current drawdowni | 51.74% | 7.09% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 18.77% | 10.89% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 25.20% | 13.19% | |
| Max daily dropi | 17.09% | 13.33% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 18.31% | 18.66% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | -12.76% | -23.35% |
| CAGRi | -1.36% | -2.63% | |
| Volatilityi | 27.22% | 27.64% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.08 | -0.12 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.11 | -0.17 | |
| Max drawdowni | 53.53% | 70.51% | |
| Current drawdowni | 51.74% | 26.51% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 14.97% | 37.67% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 20.52% | 40.61% | |
| Max daily dropi | 17.09% | 16.01% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 28.09% | 28.50% |
| Category | STZ | BUD |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Constellation Brands, Inc. | Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV |
| Sector | Consumer Defensive | Consumer Staples |
| Industry | Beverages - Brewers | Beverages - Brewers |
| Core business | A beverage alcohol company best known for importing and marketing premium Mexican beer brands in the United States, alongside a smaller wine and spirits portfolio that it has been actively reshaping. | The world's largest brewer, with a global portfolio of beer brands spanning premium, mainstream, and value segments sold across developed and emerging markets worldwide. |
| Investor focus | Premium beer brand volume and pricing growth, progress on wine and spirits portfolio divestitures, and margin trends as the business becomes more beer-concentrated. | Global volume trends across developed and emerging markets, premiumization mix shift, and progress on deleveraging its balance sheet. |
- Portfolio of premium imported Mexican beer brands has captured a growing share of U.S. beer consumption
- Focused beer strategy benefits from strong brand equity and consistent volume growth relative to the broader beer category
- Ongoing divestiture of lower-growth wine and spirits assets is sharpening the portfolio around its highest-return beer business
- Unmatched global scale in brewing supports cost advantages and broad distribution reach
- Diversified brand portfolio spans premium, mainstream, and value segments across many geographies
- Meaningful emerging market exposure provides structural volume growth potential beyond mature beer markets
- Beer business carries concentration risk given its reliance on a relatively narrow set of imported brands
- Wine and spirits divestitures can create near-term revenue and earnings volatility during the transition
- Faces competition from other premium and craft beer brands competing for the same consumer segment
- Elevated debt levels from past acquisitions require continued deleveraging progress
- Volume growth in mature developed markets remains challenged by shifting consumer beverage preferences
- Currency translation from its large international footprint can affect reported results
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