Jack Daniel’s parent says profits down 14% for quarter. $59M in losses this year
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- Brown-Forman reported quarterly profits down 14% as global sales fell.
- Canada’s boycott and weaker U.S. demand drove declines in key markets.
- Company reaffirmed guidance but warned of FY2026 volatility and restructuring.
The trade war hangover continues: The parent of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, one of the biggest American whiskey brands in the world, reported Thursday sales and profits continued to fall.
Much of the decline was due to Canada’s continued boycott of American spirits in the wake of President Trump’s trade war, but sales in the U.S. also fell, a sign of further economic uncertainty.
Kentucky-based Brown-Forman reported sales for the second quarter, which ended Oct. 31, fell 5% compared with the same period last year; for the first half of the fiscal year, sales were down 4% overall.
Profits per share fell 14%, down $34 million, for the quarter and 13%, down $59 million, for the first half of the year.
The company previously announced a $400 million share repurchase plan.
Lawson Whiting, Brown-Forman’s president and chief executive officer said in the news release announcing the results: “Our second quarter results reflect a continuation of the themes we saw in the first quarter, and the first half of the year unfolded largely as we expected. While the operating environment continues to be challenging, our team remains resilient and focused on executing our plans. Based on this performance and our visibility into the remainder of the year, we are pleased to reaffirm our fiscal year guidance.”
Fiscal 2026 outlook is expected to remain challenging, the company said, “with low visibility due to macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility as we face headwinds from consumer uncertainty,” among other factors. Organic net sales and organic operating income are expected to continue to decline for the full year, the company said.
There were bright spots, but they were not enough to dispel the overall economic gloom: The launch of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Blackberry and higher net sales of premium bourbon Woodford Reserve were not enough to offset lower sales of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey and Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey.
Sales in the U.S. for the first half of the year were down 9%, and net sales in developed international markets were down 4%, “driven by the absence of American-made beverage alcohol from retail shelves in most of the Canadian provinces and lower volumes of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey in Germany and the United Kingdom.”
The company also said it incurred $16 million in costs related to a restructuring announced in January when Brown-Forman closed its Louisville cooperage and laid off 650 workers, 12% of its global workforce.
Kentucky’s bourbon industry has struggled over the last year, as Trump’s tariffs and resulting trade war affected overseas sales and drinking in the U.S. has hit the lowest levels in decades. Those who are continuing to imbibe are frequently trading down to smaller, less expensive sizes in stores, according to industry data.
Whiting pointed to a shift in consumer spending: “We are seeing some weakening for the first time in terms of ‘trade down’ ... when you look at $100 and above, or $50 to $100, those price points have weakened considerably from where they were ... six months or a year ago,” he said. “Consumers are pinched, they are trading down just a little bit, but we do think that’s a temporary thing.”
Instead, consumers appear to be reaching for ready-to-drink cocktails: Sales in that category are up, Brown-Forman said.
The company said a global slowdown in spirits sales also has meant a major drop in the sale of used bourbon barrels to Scotch and Irish whiskey producers, among others. That’s a significant part of Brown-Forman’s business, and those sales are down 60% as well, company leaders said.
This story was originally published December 4, 2025 at 9:17 AM.
