Earnings Preview: Constellation Brands(2)

The company still expects to earn $1.60 to $1.70 a share this fiscal year, which ends in February.

Second-quarter profit and sales figures beat Wall Street's expectations. Helped by lower restructuring charges, it earned $99.7 million even as sales slipped 8 percent to $876.8 million partly because of the sale of its value spirits business.

ANALYST TAKE: Constellation Brands' U.S. wine business will likely come under pressure in the next three to six months because of tepid consumer demand and an escalation in discounts, particularly of wines priced above $5 a bottle, Goldman Sachs analyst Lindsey Drucker Mann said in a client note in December.

STOCK PERFORMANCE: Constellation Brands' shares rose 16 percent in the quarter.

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