Brown-Forman (BF.B)

Consumer Staples · $14.3B market cap · SEC CIK 0000014693

Next reports on Dec 3, 2026, with analysts expecting $0.47 in earnings per share.

52-week range $22.61 to $31.92. 3% below its 52-week high and 36% above its low.

The case for BF.B

• Generated $893M of free cash flow in FY2026, 18% of revenue.
• Return on equity of 18%.
• Gross margin of 61% absorbs cost shocks.
• Moves less than the market (beta −0.19).
• Current assets cover the near-term bills 3.3 times over.
• Pays a modest 1.5% dividend.

The case against

• Expensive for its growth: 19.9× earnings, where 0% a year of growth plus a 1.5% dividend would justify about 10×.
• Revenue was flat on the year (−0.8%).
• Earnings per share fell 13.1%.
• Long-term debt of $2.1B against $308M of cash.

What the score is made of

Each factor is half a curve over reported figures and half a rank among the other Consumer Staples companies (momentum is judged against fixed thresholds only), and the five are blended by weight. The score is where that blend places it in the S&P 500. It describes the last filing and the current price. It is not a forecast.

• Each factor except momentum is half fixed thresholds, half rank among the 36 Consumer Staples companies.

The financials

The financials, five years deep

Pulled from Brown-Forman's XBRL filings on SEC EDGAR. Italic rows are worked out from the others.

What Brown-Forman says it does

Overview Brown-Forman Corporation (the “Company,” “Brown-Forman,” “we,” “us,” or “our” below) was incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware in 1933, successor to a business founded in 1870 as a partnership and later incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1901. We primarily manufacture, distill, bottle, import, export, market, and sell a wide variety of beverage alcohol products under recognized brands. We employ approximately 4,900 people (excluding individuals who work on a part-time or temporary basis) on six continents, including approximately 1,900 people in the United States (approximately 7% of whom are represented by a union) and 700 people in Louisville, Kentucky, USA, home of our world headquarters. According to International Wine & Spirit Research (IWSR), we are the largest American-owned premium-plus spirits company. We are a “controlled company” under New York Stock Exchange rules because…

Risk factors BF.B lists in its 10-K

• Our business performance depends substantially on the continued health of the Jack Daniel’s family of brands
• Changes to our route-to-consumer models and consolidation among beverage alcohol producers, distributors, wholesalers, suppliers, and retailers could hinder the marketing, sale, or distribution of our products
• We are subject to risks from changes to the trade policies, tariffs, and import and export regulations of the United States and foreign governments
• Changes in consumer preferences and purchases, any decline in the social acceptability of our products, or governmental adoption of policies disadvantageous to beverage alcohol could negatively affect our business results
• Production facility disruption could adversely affect our business
• The inherent uncertainty in supply/demand forecasting could adversely affect our business, particularly with respect to our aged products
• Higher costs or unavailability of water, raw materials, product ingredients, or labor could adversely affect our financial results
• Unfavorable economic conditions could negatively affect our operations and results
• We might not succeed in our strategies for investments, acquisitions, dispositions, and other strategic transactions
• Negative publicity or our inability or failure to recognize, respond to, and effectively manage the increased impact of social media could affect our business performance
• Product recalls or other product liability claims could materially and adversely affect our sales
• Our failure to attract or retain key talent could adversely affect our business
• Our business faces various risks related to health epidemics and pandemics that could materially and adversely affect our business, our operations, our cash flows, and our financial results
• Our global business is subject to commercial, political, and financial risks
• A failure to comply with anti-corruption laws, trade sanctions and restrictions, or similar laws or regulations may have a material adverse effect on our business and financial results
• Fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates relative to the U.S. dollar could have a material adverse effect on our financial results
• A downgrade or potential downgrade of our credit ratings could adversely impact our borrowing costs and access to credit and capital markets, which could negatively affect our financial condition
• National and local governments may adopt regulations or undertake investigations that could limit our business activities or increase our costs
• Tax increases and changes in tax rules could adversely affect our financial results
• Our ability to market and sell our products depends heavily on societal attitudes toward drinking and governmental policies that both flow from and affect those attitudes
• Significant additional labeling, warning requirements, or limitations on the availability of our products could inhibit sales of affected products
• Counterfeiting or inadequate protection of our intellectual property rights could adversely affect our business prospects
• Litigation and legal disputes could expose our business to financial and reputational risk
• The Brown family has the ability to control the outcome of matters submitted for stockholder approval

Filings

Other Consumer Staples companies