Bad news, good news for Anheuser-Busch

Brewing giant Anheuser-Busch (NYSE: BUD) said today that 2007 earnings per share will exceed long-term growth projections of 7% to 10%, but not before second-quarter results miss estimates.

While second-quarter earnings-per-share growth is expected to fall shy of this projected range, profit gains are expected to ramp up during the second half of the year. In the current quarter, analysts expect earnings of 90 cents per share, a nine-cent (11%) improvement over year-ago results. For the full year, the Street is targeting per-share results of $2.82 per share, another 11% gain.

The company, which has a theme-park enterprise under its corporate umbrella as well as brand names Budweiser, Michelob, and others, didn't give any specific numbers or reasons why second-quarter earnings have struggled. Anheuser-Busch officials did note, however, that sales to retailers have rebounded in May on the heels of a disappointing April.

It's a good thing the future looks bright for Anheuser-Busch, as this second-quarter setback is the second bit of bad news for the company in the past few weeks. In late April, the St. Louis-based suds firm missed earnings estimates and reported a slight dip in market share.

Investors seem to be focused on the future today, as the shares have made modest gains. And at least the company is still winning in the battle of the "light" beers ...

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.