Latest news with #BrownForman
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Stock Movers: ON Semi, Norwegian Cruise, Brown-Forman
On this edition of Stock Movers: - ON Semi (ON) rallied Tuesday as members on its management team spoke at the Bank of America 2025 Global Technology Conference. At the conference, CEO Hassane El-Khoury discussed that non-AI chips - which ON focuses on - could be heading toward a rebound. It was the best performing stock in the S&P 500. - Norwegian Cruise (NCLH) shares were among the best performing stocks of the week. Investors sent the stock higher as the company's booking trends seem to be improving. - Brown-Forman (BF/B) shares plummeted the most since 2008 after it reported results that trailed expectations while projecting a sales decline for the current fiscal year. The owner of Jack Daniel's brand also sees organic net sales, which strip out items such as currency fluctuations, declining in a low-single digit range for the fiscal year that runs through April 2026. Brown-Forman is anticipating a challenging operating environment this year, 'with low visibility due to macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility as we face headwinds from consumer uncertainty,' the company said in the earnings statement. The firm also cited potential impact from tariffs not yet in place.
Associated Press
3 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Jack Daniel's maker Brown-Forman sees sales fall as Trump trade conflicts weigh on spirits producers
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Brown-Forman Corp. reported weaker sales Thursday as the maker of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey confronts challenging market conditions amid global trade conflicts and pinched consumer spending. The Louisville, Kentucky-based spirits giant said its full-year net sales of nearly $4 billion were down 5% from a year ago, and fell 7% in in the fourth quarter. Net income was down 15% for the full fiscal year and plunged 45% in the fourth quarter ending April 30, the company said. The quarterly drop came as Brown-Forman and other U.S. spirits producers who rely heavily on foreign sales felt the reverberations from President Donald Trump's sweeping tariff plans and consumer anxiety about the economy. Brown-Forman also offered a sobering assessment for the coming year. Having steered the company through an 'extremely challenging and uncertain operating environment' in the past year, Brown-Forman CEO Lawson Whiting predicted another challenging year ahead. 'Fiscal 2025 was a year unlike any other that I've seen in the past three decades,' he said during a conference call with industry market analysts. Whiting pointed to industry figures showing that many consumers are purchasing smaller sizes of spirits. He called it unusual and said it reflects a consumer 'who's pinched and just goes to the store with a $10 bill instead of $20 and then they get the smaller size.' 'The consumer and their wallet just doesn't have as much money in it,' he said. 'They're spending money on things like vacations and lodging, and other things like that. But then when it trickles down and they go to the grocery store, I think in some cases, spirits have fallen out of the basket a little bit.' In its outlook for the next year, the company said the challenges include continued consumer uncertainty and the 'potential impact from currently unknown tariffs.' 'We know it's highly volatile,' Leanne Cunningham, the company's CFO, said while fielding a question about tariffs during the conference call. 'None of us can predict what's going on.' The company believes the market volatility will 'create sustained levels of consumer uncertainty, which we believe will lead to another year of below historical total distilled spirits trends,' she said. Trump has often announced changes and pauses to his sweeping tariff plans on his social media platform. Trump hiked nearly all of his tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to a punishing 50% on Wednesday in a move that's set to hammer businesses from automakers to home builders, and likely push up prices for consumers even further. Brown-Forman executives said Thursday that American spirits brands mostly remain off store shelves in Canada. Trump has angered Canadians with his trade war and calls to make Canada the 51st state. Spirits makers in Kentucky have expressed fears of becoming 'collateral damage' by getting caught up in trade conflicts. 'The uncertainty of the tariffs continues to weigh down distilleries large and small,' Chris Swonger, president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, said in a statement Thursday. 'We are urging the Trump administration to help get the spirits sector back to fair and reciprocal trade with zero-for-zero tariffs with our major trading partners.' Meanwhile, Brown-Forman's full-year results showed that net sales for its whiskey products were flat. Growth from Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey and its Woodford Reserve brand was offset by the negative effect of foreign exchange and declines in other super-premium Jack Daniel's products, it said. The company will launch a new product, Jack Daniel's Tennessee Blackberry, this summer. 'BlackBerry is a globally recognized, well-established flavor trend, and naturally complements the flavor of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey,' Whiting said. In January, Brown-Forman announced it was reducing its global workforce by about 12% and closing its hometown barrel-making plant in Louisville. Whiting reaffirmed Thursday that those actions are expected to produce about $70 million to $80 million in annualized cost savings.
Wall Street Journal
3 days ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Heard on the Street Recap: The Breakup
What Happened in Markets Today Tesla stock fell as Musk and Trump feuded. A war of words between Elon Musk and President Trump escalated over the course of the day Thursday. Trump threatened on social media to cut off federal funding for Musk's businesses, which include Tesla and SpaceX. 'The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts,' he wrote. Tesla ended the day down 14%. Liquor-maker Brown-Forman plummeted. The maker of Jack Daniels and Woodford Reserve said it expects organic sales to decline this fiscal year as demand slows amid shifting tariffs and uncertainty about the economy. 'It's the consumer,' said Chief Executive Lawson Whiting. 'Their wallet just doesn't have as much money in it.' Brown-Forman shares fell 18%.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Brown-Forman's gloomy forecasts send shares of Jack Daniel's maker tumbling
June 5 (Reuters) - Brown-Forman (BFb.N), opens new tab 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 plunging about 15%. 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. The U.S. has doubled the tariffs on steel and aluminium imports to 50%, posing a risk for the company that also makes canned ready-to-drink products. The liquor maker had said in March Canadian provinces taking American liquor off store shelves was "worse than a tariff", but noted that it can withstand the impact as Canada accounted for only 1% of its total sales. Brown-Forman, however, benefited from the European Union dropping its planned retaliatory tariff on American whiskey. 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 results were indicative of pressure on consumers and their stretched discretionary budgets rather than a decline in premium American spirits, Consumer Edge analyst Connor Rattigan said. Brown-Forman'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. Its earnings per share of 31 cents also missed the estimate of 34 cents.
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Jack Daniels-Owner Plummets Most Since 2008 on Disappointing Earnings
Brown-Forman Corp., owner of the Jack Daniels brand, fell the most in more than 15 years after reporting results that trailed expectations while projecting a sales decline for the current fiscal year. Sales in its fourth quarter sank about 7% to $894 million. Analysts on average estimated $968.4 million.
