Brown-Forman reaffirms fiscal 2027 outlook after Q1 results

Brown-Forman (NYSE: BF ) reported first-quarter financial results on Wednesday. The transcript from the company's first-quarter earnings call has been provided below. This transcript is brought to you APIs. For real-time access to our entire catalog, please visit for a consultation. View the webcast at Summary Brown-Forman Corporation reported that their first quarter fiscal 2027 performance was largely as expected, driven by innovation in their RTD portfolio and products like Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Blackberry. Organic net sales for Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey were flat, serving as a stable foundation amid challenging market conditions, particularly in developed markets. The RTD portfolio, including New Mix and El Jimador Spritz, showed strong growth, contributing significantly to U.S. performance with expansion into more markets planned. The company faced declines in used barrel sales and parts of the tequila portfolio, with Herradura and El Jimador experiencing challenges, though El Jimador showed signs of improvement. Emerging international markets saw 9% growth, driven by Mexico and the UAE, while developed markets like Europe faced softer demand. Gross margin improved by 40 basis points to 60.2%, attributed to lower costs and favorable portfolio changes. The company reaffirmed its fiscal 2027 guidance, anticipating flat organic net sales and a 3-5% decline in organic operating income, with expectations of a more favorable outcome within that range. CEO Lawson Whiting announced his upcoming retirement, with a search for his successor underway, while emphasizing the continued strategic focus on innovation and geographic expansion. Full Transcript OPERATOR Good day and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Brown-Forman Corporation first quarter fiscal year 2027 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question and answer session. To ask a question during this session, you will need to press star 11 on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, please press star 11 again. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Sue Parham, Vice President, Director, Investor Relations. Ma'am, please go ahead. Sue Parham, Vice President, Investor Relations Thank you and good morning everyone. I would like to thank each of you for joining us today for Brown-Forman's first quarter fiscal year 2027 earnings call. Joining me today are Lawson Whiting, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Jim Peters, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. This morning's conference call contains forward-looking statements based on our current expectations. Numerous risks and uncertainties may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated or projected in these statements. Many of the factors t