How to buy Boston Beer Company shares (SAM)

By:

James Knight

James is the Editor of Education for Invezz, where he covers topics from across the financial world, from the stock market, to cryptocurrency, to macroeconomic markets.... read more.

Updated: Jul 6, 2023

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Learn everything you need to know about the Boston Beer Company in this beginner’s guide. Get a brief history of how it’s reached the top of the brewing game and take a look at what the future might hold.

Compare the best Boston Beer Company trading platforms

To start on the stock market straight away, use one of the platforms below. You can head straight there by using the links in the table, or go to our reviews section to learn more about each one in detail. Otherwise, keep reading to learn more about the Boston Beer Company.

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How to buy Boston Beer Company stock, a step-by-step guide

The process of getting shares in Boston Beer Company isn’t massively complicated, so don’t worry even if you’re new to stock investing. These are the steps to follow in order to complete your investment:

1. Choose a broker. You will need to use an online brokerage platform. There are many different options to choose from, each with their own unique benefits and drawbacks. The comparison table above can help you select the right broker for you, and you can head to our comprehensive broker reviews if you’re still unsure.
2. Create an account. Once you’ve selected your broker, simply go to their website and create an account. The steps required for this will vary from platform to platform, but generally you can expect to have to provide your name, email address, phone number, and some form of photo identification.
3. Deposit funds. Log into your broker account and select the option to deposit funds. Depending on your broker you’ll have a variety of payment options available; most brokers accept bank transfers and debit card payments, but not all accept e-wallets such as PayPal. Select your preferred payment method and deposit the amount of money you wish to invest in Boston Beer Company shares.
4. Place an order for SAM stock. Search for Boston Beer Company’s ticker symbol (SAM) and see the current price at which the stock is trading. If you’re happy with the price, enter the amount of shares you wish to own and place your order.
5. Execute your order. Once you have placed your order, your broker will automatically execute it for you and your Boston Beer Company shares will be listed in your account. Congratulations, you’ve just bought shares in Boston Beer Company.

What is Boston Beer Company? And should I invest?

It’s a brewery company based in Boston, Massachusetts that’s most famous for producing Samuel Adams lager. Formed in 1984, the Boston Beer Company released Sam Adams soon after and it remains its flagship product as the company has grown to become the fourth largest brewery in the United States.

Since its foundation, Boston Beer has led a resurgence in American beer, and craft beer in particular. It’s also proven to be flexible and quick to adapt to changing customer tastes, most notably with a recent move into hard seltzer, a low-calorie alcoholic drink. That’s helped it to grow significantly over the past decade and become an interesting investment prospect.

You might want to put your money into Boston Beer because it’s a quality, blue-chip stock as far as alcohol companies go. Its stock is quite expensive but you can be fairly sure that it’s going to keep producing solid returns for many years, and it’s also shown the ability to act as a more defensive investment, continuing to grow even during tough economic times.

How has the company performed in recent years?

It was going along steadily until March 2020, when the onset of the pandemic sent its stock price soaring. While the coronavirus was a disaster for the hospitality industry as a whole, Boston Beer was able to make up for it by targeting home drinkers – of which there were many – and saw its stock almost triple over the next 12 months.

A big part of that success is down to the fact it’s targeted the younger generation, who traditionally drink less but drink better than their elders. Through Truly, its hard seltzer brand, it already owns a 30% market share of that part of the industry and it’s doubled in shipment volume in each of the last couple of years.

Truly, along with its cider brand, Angry Orchard, and a range of hard iced tea products are a testament to how well Boston Beer has adapted in recent years. It missed the boat on the rise of IPAs a decade ago and paid the price, with its stock price falling consistently between 2013 and 2017. Since then, it’s been at the forefront of each new trend.

Is it a good time to buy Boston Beer Company shares now?

There has rarely been a bad time over the last few years. That doesn’t mean it’s a guaranteed success for the future but you can be confident that the company’s finances are good and it has an established market share. A lot depends on whether it can continue to stay ahead of the trend in terms of the drinks it offers.

A challenge is that the company needs to develop its infrastructure in order to deal with the new demand. That means investing in improved supply chains to reverse a multi-year trend of falling margins. That costs money, while other major drinks brands, like Budweiser, are muscling in on hard seltzer and would likely force prices down as well.

Ultimately, Boston Beer is a good company with a diverse product range. It’s consistently shown the ability to think outside the box and earn first mover advantage with new offerings. Alcohol is a fickle industry, though, and if you invest you should keep tabs on the latest news and look for any sign of a change in customer tastes.

Buying, selling and trading Boston Beer Company shares for beginners

What to do before buying shares

You should always take the time to research a stock fully before investing your money, especially if you haven’t bought shares before. The more knowledge you have, the better your chances of making a wise investment. 

With that in mind, here’s a checklist to run through before you start.

1. Research the company. You should always examine the fundamentals of a company first. What is Boston Beer Company? How did the company get its start? How did it grow? Is Boston Beer Company’s revenue and profit growth picking up? Is the company innovating? The more you know about Boston Beer Company, the better positioned you’ll be to make smart investment decisions.
2. Make sure you understand the basics of stock investing. Before getting involved in the stock market, make sure you have an understanding of how it works. This will ensure that you have more clearly defined goals and have thought through how you will achieve them.
3. Decide between share dealing and CFD trading. Choose the type of investment strategy you want to pursue, and make sure you have carried out the necessary fundamental or technical analysis for share dealing and CFD trading respectively.
4. Set the size of your budget. The golden rule of investing is never to risk more than you can afford to lose. Not every investment you make will result in a profit, so it is important to set a budget that not only allows good potential for capital growth, but also protects against overly damaging losses.
5. Find the right broker. Individual brokers each have their own pros and cons. Some will have low fees but have a user interface you struggle to understand, whereas others may be a bit more expensive but come with a range of features that you want to take advantage of. Our broker reviews can help you find the right platform for you.
6. Examine broader market conditions. No stock exists in a vacuum, and it’s always important to analyse the general trends of the stock market as a whole before investing. If a bear market is setting in and stock prices are falling, it’s best to wait it out and invest your money later when the stock is cheaper. If, however, the market is looking bullish, you’ll want to make your investment quickly to get the maximum benefit from rising stock prices. Follow the latest news to keep on top of movements in the financial markets.

What is the difference between buying, selling, and trading shares?

If you’re new to stock investing, then it’s important to understand the basics of how to buy, sell, and trade Boston Beer Company shares. Here’s a quick run-through of what’s involved in each.

Buying Boston Beer Company

This process involves finding a broker and placing an order for Boston Beer Company stock, as outlined in the steps further up this page. Ideally you want to time your investment when the stock’s price is low so that you can profit by selling the shares after they increase in value.

Selling Boston Beer Company

When you sell any Boston Beer Company shares you have bought, you’ll want to do so at a higher price than the one at which you bought to earn a profit. 

When you sell is up to you. You might decide to hold for a long period of time, hoping to benefit from the company growing steadily throughout. Or, if you see that Boston Beer Company’s stock is already up a lot compared to the price you bought it and you’ve noticed that the stock market is starting to fall, it might make sense to sell and take your profits to invest elsewhere. Equally, if the stock has fallen since you bought it and looks set to fall further, it might be a good idea to cut your losses by selling your shares.

Trading Boston Beer Company

Trading is the same process, it’s just done over shorter periods of time with the aim to make small profits on a regular basis. This means that you can make money faster and spend your profits in your day-to-day life – however, on the other side it means you can lose money faster as well. For inexperienced investors, we generally recommend making investments for at least 6 months to a year instead of making trades in quick succession.

You can trade Boston Beer Company shares through buying and selling shares, or by trading with CFDs. These allow investors to speculate on stock prices and trade with leverage in pursuit of bigger gains. CFDs trading is explained further in the next section, but it is worth noting that beginners should avoid trading with leverage. It comes with large risks and is best left to experienced investors.

Share dealing vs CFD trading

When it comes to investing in any stock, the two options you have are share dealing and trading. Which one of these methods to opt for largely depends on your investment timeline, with investors thinking long term tending to go for share dealing, and those looking for short term gains pursuing a more aggressive trading strategy.

Here’s a quick summary of the two approaches, and the pros and cons of each.

Share dealing 

Share dealing refers to the practice of buying and holding shares in a particular company over the long term. When investing like this, you’re seeking to profit either from dividend payments or an increase in the stock’s price over time.

When investing your money this way, it is important to do thorough fundamental analysis of the company in which you are investing. You want to put your money in a stock you believe will trend upwards over time, even if there is some market volatility along the way, rather than get distracted by shorter term peaks and troughs.

Pros

• Can build wealth over time to achieve financial goals
• Don’t need to be very reactive to short-term market movements
• Some stocks will give you an income through regular dividend payments

Cons

• Takes a long time to realise any profits
• Your capital is tied up in stocks and cannot be used for other investments

CFD Trading 

If your aim is to generate profits in the short term, then you might be better off trading shares than holding them in your portfolio. Stock trades like this are executed using CFDs (contracts for difference), which allow investors to trade against the value of a stock without having to take ownership of it. When CFD trading, investors are looking to buy and sell stocks fast to profit from short-term fluctuations in value.

One aspect of CFD trading that many investors find attractive is that they allow you to trade with leverage. This means you can place large trades while only putting up a fraction of the value yourself – for instance, if a platform offered leverage of 1:10, you could put £10 into SAM shares and be able to trade £100 worth. This can maximise profits if the market moves in your favour, but be careful as it can also lead to heavy losses.

When trading using CFDs, it is key to be skilled at technical analysis and reading stock price charts. As you’re trading stocks quickly and frequently, the fundamental strength of the company in which you’re investing isn’t as important as being able to predict how its stock price will rise and fall minute-by-minute.

Pros

• Can generate fast profits if you read the market right 
• Some platforms allow you to trade with leverage
• Prevents your capital being tied up so you can take advantage of investment opportunities

Cons

• Trading with leverage is risky and can lead to big losses
• Doesn’t necessarily generate growth over the long term

Consider which approach suits you best and craft an investment strategy that works for you. If you need more information, then simply take our course on how to trade stocks.

How to choose a broker

With the wide variety of online brokers available these days, it can be hard to figure out which is the best service to go with. Our comparison table and in-depth reviews can help you cut through the noise, but by and large these are the aspects you should be considering when selecting a broker:

• Range of stocks available. The most important thing is that you can actually use the broker to find the shares you’re looking for. Some brokers offer more stocks than others, and many will allow you to trade other assets, such as forex and commodities.
• Fees and commissions. You want to keep as large a chunk of your profits as you can, so it’s important to make sure your broker doesn’t charge high fees that can eat into your profits.
• Regulation. You should only use regulated brokers. Unregulated brokers can be risky and offer little to no protection if the business were to fail while you had funds in your account.
• Payment methods available. You might want to fund your trading account using a specific payment method, such as PayPal. Not all brokers accept every payment method, but using our comparisons you can search only the brokers that support the option you’re looking for.
• Reputation. One of the strongest indicators of a broker’s reliability is the reputation it has with the customers who have used it. Brokers are online businesses, and as such many user experiences can be found online. You can check these out in addition to our reviews to make sure you choose the right platform.
• Customer service. As you’re going to be investing your money using the platform, you want to check that the broker offers good customer service in case you have a query or something goes wrong.