Brown-Forman stocks plummet as whiskey maker warns of tariff uncertainty

Shares of Jack Daniel’s-maker Brown-Forman plunged greater than 18% on Thursday after the corporate reported quarterly income that got here in beneath analyst estimates, weighed down by means of the have an effect on of price lists and susceptible discretionary spending on alcohol.

“While our results did not meet our long-term growth aspirations, we made important progress in an exceptionally challenging macroeconomic environment,” CEO Lawson Whiting stated within the corporate’s income unencumber.

Here’s how the corporate carried out for its fiscal fourth quarter of 2025, when put next with Wall Street expectancies, in line with LSEG:

• Earnings according to percentage: 31 cents vs. 34 cents estimated
• Revenue: $894 million vs. $967.4 million estimated

For the fiscal fourth quarter, Brown-Forman reported gross sales of $894 million, down 7% from the similar quarter a 12 months prior. Net source of revenue of $146 million, or 31 cents according to percentage, was once down 45% from $266 million, or 56 cents according to percentage, a 12 months previous.

While internet gross sales for Brown-Forman’s whiskey merchandise — Jack Daniel’s and Woodford Reserve — have been flat for fiscal 12 months 2025 when put next with the prior 12 months, the corporate’s tequila and ready-to-drink portfolios declined 14% and 6%, respectively.

For fiscal 12 months 2026, the corporate expects declines within the single-digit vary in each natural internet gross sales and natural running source of revenue.

“We anticipate the operating environment for fiscal 2026 will be challenging, with low visibility due to macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility as we face headwinds from consumer uncertainty, the potential impact from currently unknown tariffs, and lower non-branded sales of used barrels,” the corporate stated.

While Brown-Forman says it is not able to measure attainable tariff have an effect on, analysts at Bernstein estimate {that a} 50% tariff on U.S. whiskey offered within the EU would lead to a 10% hit to Brown-Forman’s income prior to pastime and taxes, or EBIT.

Bernstein additionally famous that during a recessionary atmosphere, distillers most often underperform brewers, which makes Brown-Forman extra prone than beverage friends like Constellation Brands, Molson Coors and Anheuser-Busch.

In contemporary months, Canadian liquor shops started taking out Jack Daniel’s merchandise and different U.S. merchandise in accordance with President Donald Trump’s price lists. In March, Brown-Forman’s Whiting known as the removals “worse than a tariff.”

And the Trump management this week additionally doubled the price lists on metal and aluminum imports to 50%, impacting Brown-Forman’s and the wider sector’s canned ready-to-drink merchandise.