Brown Forman CORP: management transactions · United States · SEC (Form 4)

About Brown Forman CORP

Brown-Forman Corporation is a United States-based spirits company listed on the NYSE, with both its Class A and Class B shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, the company has been building beverage alcohol brands for more than 155 years and positions itself around premiumization, brand heritage, and disciplined global distribution. Brown-Forman’s founding legacy is deeply tied to Louisville and to a long-standing corporate promise: “Nothing Better in the Market.” For investors, the business should be viewed as a large-cap global consumer staples franchise focused primarily on premium spirits rather than a broad beverage conglomerate. The company’s core activities include distilling, bottling, importing, exporting, marketing, and selling beverage alcohol products across spirits, ready-to-drink cocktails, and a smaller wine presence. Its portfolio is anchored by some of the most recognizable names in the industry, including Jack Daniel’s and the Jack Daniel’s family of brands, Woodford Reserve, Old Forester, el Jimador, Herradura, The Glendronach, Glenglassaugh, Benriach, Diplomático Rum, Gin Mare, Chambord, and Slane. This brand mix gives Brown-Forman exposure to whiskey, tequila, gin, rum, liqueurs, and emerging premium segments, with whiskey remaining the company’s defining category. Competitive positioning is built on brand equity, pricing power, long product heritage, and international reach. Brown-Forman is widely regarded as one of the leading global spirits companies, especially in American whiskey, where Jack Daniel’s is a category-defining asset. Its business model benefits from a premium portfolio, a strong route-to-market network, and a consumer base that often proves relatively resilient compared with more discretionary industries. At the same time, the company operates in a tightly regulated sector, and U.S. distribution is structurally shaped by the country’s alcohol-control framework, which requires sales through distributors or state-controlled systems in certain jurisdictions. Geographically, Brown-Forman is global, with meaningful exposure to the United States, Europe, Latin America, and other international markets. Management has highlighted emerging markets as an important source of growth, while also navigating softer demand in the U.S. and pricing pressure in some categories. Recent developments have been mixed. In 2025, Brown-Forman announced a restructuring plan to reduce about 12% of its global workforce as it sought to lower costs in a weaker alcohol-demand environment. The company has also faced tariff-related uncertainty and trade-policy headwinds, which can affect margins and access to markets. Even so, the company continues to emphasize the strength of its whiskey portfolio and the long-term appeal of premium spirits. For French-speaking investors, Brown-Forman remains a high-quality U.S. NYSE-listed consumer staples name, but one that is cyclical within its category and sensitive to regulatory, tariff, and demand trends in global alcohol markets.