: Jack Daniel’s parent Brown-Forman’s stock sinks after surprise drop in profit, sales missed forecasats

Shares of Brown-Forman Corp. BF.B sank 4.4% toward a seven-week low in premarket trading Wednesday, after the spirits company, and parent of Jack Daniel’s brand whiskey, reported fiscal first-quarter profit that surprisingly fell and sales that came up a bit shy, but maintained its full-year outlook. “As anticipated, our first quarter growth was impacted by the difficult shipment comparison from fiscal 2023, when we rebuilt inventory impacted by prior glass supply challenges,” said Chief Executive Lawson Whiting. Net income for the quarter to July 31 fell to $231 million, or 48 cents a share, from $249 million, or 52 cents a share, while the FactSet consensus was for earnings per share to rise to 53 cents. Sales grew 3.1% to $1.038 billion to miss the FactSet consensus of $1.053 billion. Whiskey sales fell 1%, while tequila sales jumped 15% and the ready-to-drink category continued to grow, with New Mix sales surging 52%. For fiscal 2024, the company still expects organic net sales growth in the 5%-to-7% range. The stock has rallied 12.2% over the past three months through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 SPX has gained 7.0%.

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