Ask Matt: Will SodaStream beer be a bash?

Q: Will SodaStream beer be a bash?

A: SodaStream (SODA) made big profits on carbonated water drinks, but the stock has gone flat as investors awaited the next innovation. Investors are hoping beer could untap the company’s next period of growth.

The Israel-based maker of home drink carbonation systems saw its shares jump more than 5% to roughly $20 Tuesday after announcing plans to sell a home beer brewing system called Beer Bar. The product is being launched in European nations well-known for their taste for brew including Germany and Switzerland. The company plans to bring the product to other nations later this year and in 2017. The new product taps consumers’ craving for more flavorful, unique and tailored beers and away from mass-produced beers perceived as being corporate and homogenized. SodaStream could use something new to get the stock working again. Shares are down about 5% over the past 12 months as investors think the company’s growth has lost its fizz. Adjusted earnings per share is expected to fall nearly 10% to 92 cents in the current fiscal year, says S&P Global Market Intelligence. That would be the third consecutive year of adjusted profit declines. Perhaps beer and a new market can get growth back.

Paste BN markets reporter Matt Krantz answers a different reader question every weekday. To submit a question, e-mail Matt at mkrantz@usatoday.com or on Twitter @mattkrantz.