Molson Coors Brewing (NYSE: TAP) reported Q3 EPS of $1.62, $0.60 better than the analyst estimate of $1.02. Revenue for the quarter came in at $2.75 billion versus the consensus estimate of $2.65 billion.

"We are very pleased with our performance in the third quarter, as we beat top and bottom-line expectations and made tangible progress on our revitalization plan. We had bold plans for our business at the beginning of 2020: to build on the strength of our iconic core brands, aggressively grow our above premium portfolio, expand beyond the beer aisle, invest in our capabilities and support our people and our communities."

Gavin continued, "The challenges throughout the year presented a lot of new obstacles, for us and every other business around the world. But we met each challenge head on and we never lost sight of our goals or the path we set out on early in the year. Now we are showing what's possible when we execute that plan and it’s our strategy that will allow us to reach further as we drive toward top-line growth."

2020 Outlook

On March 27, 2020, we withdrew, in its entirety, our financial outlook for 2020 and beyond that we previously provided on February 12, 2020. We currently remain unable to provide an updated detailed financial outlook given the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. However, note the following related to the deferral of certain tax payments, as well as new U.S. federal income tax regulations.

As discussed above, the working capital within our U.S. GAAP cash from operations and underlying free cash flow for the nine months ended September 30, 2020, benefited from the deferral of over $200 million in tax payments from various government-sponsored payment deferral programs initiated in response to the coronavirus pandemic, of which we currently anticipate approximately half to be paid in the fourth quarter of 2020 with the remaining amounts to be paid beyond this fiscal year.

In the second quarter of 2020, the U.S. Department of Treasury enacted final hybrid regulations which impact tax positions we took in 2018 and 2019 and have resulted in additional income tax expense of approximately $135 million recognized during the second quarter of 2020. The impact of the finalized regulations could result in cash tax outflows up to this amount in 2021. We continue to analyze the potential cash impacts of the final regulations to minimize any cash outflows.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Molson Coors Brewing (TAP) click here.