Brown-Forman (BFb.N) Fiscal 1Q‘27 Earnings Preview

Research evidence excerpt

Brown-Forman (BFb.N) Fiscal 1Q‘27 Earnings Preview

Brown-Forman (BFb.N)

03 August 2026 Citi Research

BFB F1Q’27 Earnings Preview

We continue to see a challenging FY’27 setup for BFB, which will be cycling

overshipment benefits (especially in F1Q) and strong JD Blackberry and New Mix

performance, with margin pressure from cost and mix, and risk of broader industry

price adjustments. We do note BFB began cycling the US/Canada trade dispute in

March/April, which we estimate was a ~0.6pt drag to total BFB OSG in FY’26. With

category trends still challenged, at least partly due to structural issues in our minds

(younger consumers drinking less, GLP-1 impacts), we worry medium-term trends

will remain slow.

BFB has noted it expects ~100–150bps of incremental GM headwinds in each

FY’27 and FY’28 (~40bps from price/mix + ~90bps from higher costs, including

whiskey barrels), which is what the company would have faced in FY’26 ex-A&D

benefits (absence of Korbel + Finlandia/Sonoma TSAs). While mgmt is working to

offset these incremental pressures through RGM/strategic pricing actions and cost

savings, the timing and magnitude remain unclear.

The M&A news flow reemerged on July 26 when BFB issued a statement

announcing that the company had received an unsolicited proposal from privately

owned Sazerac, the #2 player in US spirits by volume, to acquire BFB (our note

here), and a WSJ article on 7/26 indicated Sazerac may be willing to come back with

another offer. After taking into consideration the view of long-term shareholders

(through Wolf Pen Branch, a collection of Brown family members representing the

majority of BFB's Class A shares), BFB's board decided that Sazerac's proposal is

“not actionable.” The news follows a WSJ report on May 12 noting that BFB