Jack Daniel's maker Brown-Forman forecasts annual revenue, profit drop on tariff woes

Reuters

Thu, Jun 5, 2025, 5:59 AM 1 min read

(Reuters) - Brown-Forman forecast a decline in annual revenue and profit on Thursday, as the Jack Daniel's maker navigates soft consumer spending amid tariff-related uncertainties, sending its shares down about 14% in premarket trading.

Worries of a possible recession and product price increases brought on by international trade wars have dented consumer sentiment in the U.S. and pushed people to cut back on discretionary products such as high-end alcohol.

"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," the company said in a statement.

The owner of Old Forester and Woodford Reserve brands expects both organic net sales and organic operating income for fiscal 2026 to decline in the low single-digit range.

It reported an increase of 1% and 3% in organic net sales and organic operating income, respectively, during fiscal 2025.

The company's sales during the quarter ended April 30 fell 7% to $894 million, compared with analysts' average estimate of $967.4 million, according to data compiled by LSEG.

It earned 31 cents per share during the quarter, missing the estimate of 34 cents.

(Reporting by Neil J Kanatt in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)