Earned & PaidMolson Coors
Molson Coors spent $1.10B on advertising and marketing in fiscal 2025, up 0.0% on the year before and -8% since 2019. That's 8.4% of revenue, less than in 2019: the business outgrew its marketing.
Marketing spend by year
Bars: advertising and marketing expense, $B (10-K). Line: spend as a share of revenue.
What they told investors
“These examples show how we're leaning into and learning from targeted efforts that drive incremental results outside of national media spend.”Rahul Goyal · 2026 Q2 · transcript
“Importantly, we do not believe this is a brand health issue.”Rahul Goyal · 2026 Q1 · transcript
“And then typically, we spend most of our marketing dollars in the summer selling season.”Tracey Joubert · 2026 Q1 · transcript
“Given our deep capabilities and return oriented strategy, our growth outlook does not require us to make step changes in our marketing investments.”Tracey Joubert · 2024 Q4 · transcript
“Amid the highly competitive environment, we took a value over volume approach, which weighed on volume performance during the year.”Gavin Hattersley · 2024 Q4 · transcript
“Taking this increased stake allows us to lead the entirety of the brand's marketing, retail and direct-to-consumer sales development as we drive brand awareness and distribution, leveraging the strength of our network.”Gavin Hattersley · 2024 Q4 · transcript
What the 10-K says about marketing
- cutting spend “MG&A expenses decreased 2.7% for the year ended December 31, 2025, compared to prior year, primarily due to lower short-term incentive compensation expense of approximately $70 million and lower marketing investment, partially offset by approximately $30 million of integration…” 10-K, Feb 18, 2026
- cutting spend “nse, net and costs incurred related to our global modernization ERP system implementation project, partially offset by favorable mix, increased net pricing, cost savings initiatives, lower MG&A expenses driven by lower short-term incentive compensation expense of approximately…” 10-K, Feb 18, 2026
Say vs do
Molson Coors's management has talked about its marketing budget, but in ways annual filings can't check: one quarter, one brand or channel, or the mix.
What they said
“But importantly, we continue to support our brands globally, with higher levels of marketing investments for both the quarter and the year as compared to the respective periods in 2022.”
Tracey Joubert on the 2024 Q4 earnings call, Apr 22, 2026 · transcript
Can't tell from annual filings It's about several years, not one we can check.
“MG&A expenses decreased 2.7% for the year ended December 31, 2025, compared to prior year, primarily due to lower short-term incentive compensation expense of approximately $70 million and lower marketing investment, partially offset by approximately $30 million of integration…”
The FY2025 10-K, Feb 18, 2026 · 10-K
Can't tell from annual filings The filed figure is rounded and didn't move ($1.1b both years).
“nse, net and costs incurred related to our global modernization ERP system implementation project, partially offset by favorable mix, increased net pricing, cost savings initiatives, lower MG&A expenses driven by lower short-term incentive compensation expense of approximately…”
The FY2025 10-K, Feb 18, 2026 · 10-K
Can't tell from annual filings The 10-k passage doesn't say which year it describes.
What they did
| Year | Marketing spend | Change | Share of revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $1.10B | 0.0% | 8.4% |
| FY2024 | $1.10B | 0.0% | 8.0% |
| FY2023 | $1.10B | +10.0% | 7.9% |
| FY2022 | $1.00B | -9.1% | 7.8% |
| FY2021 | $1.10B | +22.2% | 8.8% |
| FY2020 | $900M | -25.0% | 7.7% |
Against its peers. Compared with the 2 other Alcohol advertisers we track (Constellation Brands, Brown-Forman): since 2019 its marketing spend went -8% (peer median +20%); its share of revenue moved -0.8 pts (median +0.3); last year 0.0% (median -5.7%).
In interviews, its leaders made 63 statements about marketing: 3 argued for investing in brand and 0 for cutting.
How we check: a statement gets a verdict only when it's clearly about the size of the whole company's marketing budget over a full fiscal year; we compare it with the advertising and marketing expense in that year's 10-K. Statements about one quarter, one brand or channel, or the mix between brand and performance can't be checked against annual filings.
What they say about media
The marketing channels it talks about using for itself on earnings calls and in its 10-Ks and 10-Qs, since 2019; counts are statements, not spending.
- Creative campaigns “This work takes time, and we are pursuing new campaigns, partnerships and ways to deploy our media investments with an occasion-based approach.” Rahul Goyal on the earnings call · Aug 13, 2026 · source
- Sponsorships & athletes “In EMEA and APAC, Ozujsko maintained its leading position in Croatia following its sponsorship of the Croatian Men's National Team in the World Cup.” Rahul Goyal on the earnings call · Aug 13, 2026 · source
- Experiential & events “So in those host cities, in the on-premise, it was a great opportunity to showcase our brands, bring consumers into the category and really have a great occasion to get our brands performing.” Rahul Goyal on the earnings call · Aug 13, 2026 · source
- AI in marketing “We deployed an AI-generated social media campaign that generated buzz and resonated with the consumer seeking flavor at an enticing price point.” Rahul Goyal on the earnings call · Aug 13, 2026 · source
- Influencers & creators “And we've got a powerful spokesperson who's not just a social media influencer, but actually somebody who has a decent stake in the business with us.” Gavin Hattersley on the earnings call · Apr 22, 2026 · source