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Brown-Forman's Q4 Earnings on the Deck: Is a Beat Likely in the Cards?

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Key Takeaways

  • BF.B's Q4 fiscal 2025 results are likely to reflect macroeconomic pressures.
  • Soft performance in the Travel Retail channel is likely to weigh on quarterly results.
  • Tough external conditions are expected to impact Brown-Forman's near-term performance.

Brown-Forman Corporation (BF.B - Free Report) is slated to release fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 results on June 5. The alcoholic beverage bigwig’s revenues are expected to increase. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal fourth-quarter revenues is pegged at $969.2 billion, indicating a rise of 0.5% from the year-ago quarter.

The consensus mark for earnings is pegged at 36 cents per share, indicating a decrease of 35.7% from the year-ago period’s number. Earnings estimates for the fiscal fourth quarter have been unchanged in the past 30 days. (See the Zacks Earnings Calendar to stay ahead of market-making news.)

In the last reported quarter, the company’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 21.3%. In the trailing four quarters, BF.B delivered an earnings surprise of 12.9%, on average.

Key Factors Likely to Affect BF.B’s Q4 Results

Brown-Forman has been benefiting from its premiumization strategy and strong brand investments. BF.B is advancing its pricing strategy, global expansion and revenue-growth management initiatives. The company has been gaining traction from portfolio evolution, Jack Daniel's Country cocktail business model change and strong price mix.

BF.B has been making actions to optimize its wood supply-chain strategy and improve operating costs. Gains in the international markets and the normalizing distributor inventory trends on a year-over-year basis will further aid. Such factors, coupled with gains across its premium and super-premium brands, diverse portfolio and extensive geographic reach, are likely to have reflected in the company’s top-line performance in the quarter under review.

However, Brown-Forman has been grappling with a volatile operating landscape, owing to geopolitical uncertainties and global macroeconomic conditions. The company has been witnessing lower volumes across brands and regions. Soft industry trends led by the absence of the Finlandia brand and adverse impacts of foreign exchange remain concerning.

Additionally, the company’s tequila portfolio has been sluggish for a while. Reduced volumes of Jack Daniel’s other super-premium expressions, Woodford Reserve and the Finlandia divestiture have been weighing on BF.B’s Travel Retail channel’s performance. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the Travel Retail channel’s revenues in the impending quarter indicates a decline of 23% from the preceding quarter. Persistence of these weaknesses, along with global macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties, are likely to get reflected in the company’s quarterly performance.

What the Zacks Model Unveils

Our proven model conclusively predicts an earnings beat for Brown-Forman this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. You can uncover the best stocks before they are reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Brown-Forman Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

Brown-Forman Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

Brown-Forman Corporation price-eps-surprise | Brown-Forman Corporation Quote

Brown-Forman has an Earnings ESP of +4.86% and a Zacks Rank of 2 at present.

BF.B’s Valuation Picture

From a valuation perspective, Brown-Forman’s shares trade at a premium relative to the industry benchmarks. It has a forward 12-month price-to-earnings ratio of 18.01X, which is higher than the Textile - Apparel industry’s average of 16.44X. The stock has a median of 22.15X.
 
The recent market movements show that BF.B’s shares have gained 1.5% in the past three months compared with the industry's 8.6% growth.

More Stocks With the Favorable Combinations

Here are a few more companies, which according to our model, have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat:

Constellation Brands (STZ - Free Report) currently has an Earnings ESP of +0.48% and a Zacks Rank of 3.  You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The company is likely to register a decline in its top and bottom lines when it reports first-quarter fiscal 2026 numbers. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for STZ’s quarterly revenues is pegged at $2.6 billion, which indicates 2.9% drop from the prior-year quarter. 

The consensus estimate for Constellation Brands’ quarterly earnings per share is pegged at $3.45, indicating a 3.4% decrease from the year-ago period. STZ has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 5.2%, on average.

Simply Good Foods (SMPL - Free Report) currently has an Earnings ESP of +0.02% and a Zacks Rank of 3. The company is likely to register growth in its top line when it reports third-quarter fiscal 2025 numbers. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Simply Good Foods’ quarterly revenues is pegged at $379.8 million, which indicates an increase of 13.5% from the prior-year quarter.

The consensus estimate for Simply Good Foods’ quarterly earnings per share is pegged at 50 cents, flat year over year. SMPL has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 8.2%, on average.

Sysco (SYY - Free Report) currently has an Earnings ESP of +0.22% and a Zacks Rank of 3. The company is likely to register an increase in the top and bottom lines when it reports fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 numbers. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for quarterly earnings per share is pegged at $1.40, up 0.7% from the year-ago period. SYY has a trailing four-quarter negative earnings surprise of 2.4%, on average.

The consensus estimate for Sysco’s quarterly revenues is pegged at $20.98 billion, which implies an increase of 2.1% from the prior-year quarter.

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