In another setback, the maker of LaCroix sparkling water saw shares plummet after releasing a bleak earnings report Thursday—but the CEO's odd language is getting as much attention, CNBC reports. "We are truly sorry for these results stated above," National Beverage CEO Nick Caporella writes in the quarterly report. "Negligence nor mismanagement nor woeful acts of God were not the reasons—much of this was the result of injustice!" A National Beverage rep tells MarketWatch he was referring to an October lawsuit accusing the company of mislabeling its product, not accusations of him groping fellow pilots while flying the company jet. Either way, profits had fallen 39.6% in the three months ending Jan. 26 and shares plunged by up to 24% Friday.
"Managing a brand is not so different from caring for someone who becomes handicapped," Caporella goes on. "Brands do not see or hear, so they are at the mercy of their owners or care providers who must preserve the dignity and special character that the brand exemplifies." People with disabilities are objecting to his choice of words ("My disabled ass won't be drinking anymore @lacroixwater. Ever," reads one tweet) while the company rep says Caporella only meant "it just requires a lot of tender, loving care." This isn't Caporella's first verbal rodeo—"Look at our track record over the past twenty years—no mental degradation has occurred!" he wrote in a 2014 report—but this one is getting its share of attention. At Slate, Shannon Palus asks whether the brand has become "a spoiled, ranting puppy." (More earnings reports stories.)
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