Brown-Forman Corporation

brown-forman.com

What Do They Do?

Makes and sells spirits and ready-to-drink cocktails to distributors, wholesalers, and retailers.

How Do They Make Money?

It sells beverage-alcohol products mostly to distributors, wholesalers, or retailers; sales occur when products ship or arrive, and customer payment terms generally range from 30 to 90 days.

revenue

Segment	Share	How money arrives
Whiskey Sold outright	74% FY2023: 69%	Sold outright
Ready-to-Drink Sold outright	14% FY2023: 12%	Sold outright
Tequila Sold outright	6.4% FY2023: 7.6%	Sold outright
Rest of portfolio Sold outright	5.1% FY2023: 9.4%	Sold outright
Non-branded and bulk	0.8% FY2023: 2.1%

Who Are Their Customers?

In the United States, Brown-Forman sells to distributors or state governments, which then sell to retailers and consumers. Elsewhere, it sells directly to retailers or wholesalers in owned-distribution markets and some travel retail, uses distribution partners in many other markets, and sells to provincial governments in Canada.

Customers above 10% of revenue, FY2026

of revenue from one customer

FY2024: 24% from two customers

Do Revenues Turn Into Profits?

Yes. It kept 18 cents of every revenue dollar as net income in FY2026 and turned 23 cents into free cash flow.

Operating income, FY2026

25% of revenue

▼ −10% vs FY2025 ($1.1B, 28%)

Net income, FY2026

18% of revenue

▼ −18% vs FY2025 ($869M, 22%)

Free cash flow, FY2026

23% of revenue

▲ +107% vs FY2025 ($431M, 11%)

How Are They Changing?

Since the FY2026 annual report

Latest quarter: Q1 FY2027, the three months to Jul 31, 2026

Revenue: ▼ −1%; vs $924M in Q1 FY2026
Net income: ▲ +4%; vs $170M in Q1 FY2026

Whiskey share of revenue vs 71.3% in Q1 FY2026

Jul 13, 2026 CEO Lawson Whiting announced plans to retire He will retire after a successor is appointed; the board has begun a search.

Flat. Revenue was $3.9B in FY2026, about the same as the $3.9B of FY2022.

Wine and vodka exits The older report lists Finlandia vodkas and Sonoma-Cutrer wines among its brands; the latest report says the Finlandia and Sonoma-Cutrer businesses were divested.

Korbel distribution ended The older report lists Korbel Champagne and brandy; the latest report says its sales, marketing, and distribution relationship ended.

Revenue over time

Whiskey Ready-to-Drink Tequila Rest of portfolio Non-branded and bulk Wine Vodka

$5B$2.5B$0

FY2022 FY2023 FY2024 FY2025 FY2026

Who Do They Compete With?

Competes with Bacardi, Becle, Davide Campari-Milano, Diageo, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, Pernod Ricard, Rémy Cointreau, and Suntory Global Spirits

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