Brown-Forman Corp (BF.A) 2025 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Hello, and welcome to Brown-Forman Corporation third quarter and year-to-date fiscal 2025 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) I would now like to turn the conference over to Sue Perram, Vice President, Director, Investor Relations. You may begin.

您好，歡迎參加 Brown-Forman 公司 2025 財年第三季和年初至今財報電話會議。（操作員指示）現在，我想將會議交給副總裁兼投資者關係總監 Sue Perram。你可以開始了。

Thank you, and good morning, everyone. I would like to thank each of you for joining us today for Brown-Forman's third quarter and year-to-date fiscal year 2025 earnings call. Joining me today are Lawson Whiting, President, and Chief Executive Officer; and Leanne Cunningham, Executive Vice President, and Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝大家，早安。我想感謝大家今天參加 Brown-Forman 2025 財年第三季和年初至今的財報電話會議。今天與我一起出席的還有總裁兼執行長 Lawson Whiting；以及執行副總裁兼財務長 Leanne Cunningham。

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.

今天上午的電話會議包含基於我們目前預期的前瞻性陳述。許多風險和不確定性可能導致實際結果與這些聲明中預期或預測的結果有重大差異。

Many of the factors that will determine future results are beyond the company's ability to control or predict. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, and except as required by law, the company undertakes no obligation to update any of these statements, whether due to new information, future events or otherwise.

許多決定未來結果的因素超出了公司的控製或預測能力。您不應過度依賴任何前瞻性陳述，除非法律要求，否則本公司不承擔更新任何這些陳述的義務，無論是由於新資訊、未來事件或其他原因。

This morning, we issued a press release containing our results for the third quarter and nine months ended January 31, 2025, in addition to posting presentation materials that Lawson and Leanne will walk through momentarily.

今天早上，我們發布了一份新聞稿，其中包含截至 2025 年 1 月 31 日的第三季度和九個月的業績，此外還發布了 Lawson 和 Leanne 稍後將講解的演示材料。

Both the release and the presentation can be found on our website under the section titled Investors, Events and Presentations. In the press release, we have listed a number of the risk factors you should consider in conjunction with our forward-looking statements. Other significant risk factors are described in our Form 10-K and Form 10-Q reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

此新聞稿和簡報均可在我們網站的「投資者、活動和簡報」部分找到。在新聞稿中，我們列出了您在閱讀我們的前瞻性陳述時應該考慮的一些風險因素。我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的 10-K 表和 10-Q 表報告中描述了其他重大風險因素。

During this call, we will be discussing certain non-GAAP financial measures. These measures, a reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures and the reasons management believes they provide useful information to investors regarding the company's financial condition and results of operations are contained in the press release and investor presentation.

在本次電話會議中，我們將討論某些非公認會計準則財務指標。這些指標、與最直接可比較的 GAAP 財務指標的調節以及管理層認為它們為投資者提供有關公司財務狀況和經營成果的有用資訊的原因都包含在新聞稿和投資者介紹中。

With that, I would like to turn the call over to Lawson.

說到這裡，我想把電話轉給勞森。

Thank you, Sue, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today as we share our third quarter and year-to-date results for fiscal 2025. When we shared our first half fiscal 2025 results in December, I ended my prepared remarks with these words. We're still operating in a highly dynamic environment with many uncertainties, even so with all we know today, we continue to expect our second half to be stronger than the first.

謝謝你，蘇，大家早安。感謝您今天加入我們，與我們分享 2025 財年第三季和年初至今的業績。當我們在 12 月分享 2025 財年上半年業績時，我用這些話結束了我準備好的演講。我們仍然在高度動態且充滿不確定性的環境中運營，即便如此，根據我們今天所了解的所有信息，我們仍然預計下半年的表現將比上半年更加強勁。

I'm proud to say that we executed our plan and delivered sequentially stronger top and bottom-line results as we entered the second half of the year. January was the fifth consecutive month of positive three-month rolling organic net sales trends. This trend returns our year-to-date fiscal 2025 results to growth, bringing organic net sales in line with organic operating income ahead of our full year expectations.

我很自豪地說，我們執行了我們的計劃，並在進入下半年時取得了連續更強勁的營收和淨利潤業績。一月份是連續第五個月呈現正面的有機淨銷售趨勢。這一趨勢使我們 2025 財年年初至今的業績恢復成長，有機淨銷售額與有機營業收入保持一致，超出了我們的全年預期。

The operating environment continues to be incredibly dynamic, and many uncertainties remain, particularly on the topic of tariffs. Taking everything into consideration as we know it today and based on our year-to-date performance, we're again reaffirming our full year organic net sales and organic operating income outlook for fiscal 2025.

經營環境仍然極具活力，仍有許多不確定因素，特別是在關稅問題上。考慮到我們今天所了解的所有因素，並根據我們今年迄今為止的業績，我們再次重申 2025 財年全年有機淨銷售額和有機營業收入前景。

Now let me provide a bit of perspective on our year-to-date fiscal 2025 results. I'll start with the performance of our brands, and then Leanne will share more about our geographic performance, other financial highlights and our 2025 outlook. Our reported net sales decreased 4% in the nine months of fiscal 2025, while organic net sales grew 2% after adjusting for the divestitures of Finlandia and Sonoma-Cutrer in the prior fiscal year.

現在，讓我對我們 2025 財年迄今為止的業績提供一些看法。我將從我們品牌的表現開始，然後 Leanne 將更多地分享我們的地理表現、其他財務亮點以及我們對 2025 年的展望。我們報告的淨銷售額在 2025 財年的九個月中下降了 4%，而在調整上一財年 Finlandia 和 Sonoma-Cutrer 的資產剝離後，有機淨銷售額增長了 2%。

The negative effect of foreign exchange and the business model change for Jack Daniel's Country Cocktails. From a brand perspective, Woodford Reserve and Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey were the two largest drivers of organic net sales growth in the year-to-date period.

外匯的負面影響和傑克丹尼鄉村雞尾酒的商業模式改變。從品牌角度來看，伍德福德珍藏 (Woodford Reserve) 和傑克丹尼田納西威士忌 (Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey) 是年初至今有機淨銷售額增長的兩大推動力。

Based on takeaway results of the top 20 total distilled spirits brands in the United States from the past 13 weeks, Woodford Reserve as one of only four brands that are currently growing. Specifically, Woodford Reserve continued to accelerate with organic net sales growth of 10%, driven by higher volumes as well as positive price mix.

根據過去 13 週對美國前 20 大蒸餾酒品牌的調查結果，Woodford Reserve 是目前僅有的四個正在成長的品牌之一。具體而言，Woodford Reserve 繼續加速發展，有機淨銷售額增長 10%，這得益於銷量增加以及積極的價格組合。

Results were once again led by the growth of Woodford Reserve [to still are] select the number one super-premium American whiskey globally, which would reserve Double Oak continued to deliver double-digit growth. If you look at the same top 20 brands from six months ago, Woodford Reserve was one of only two brands in growth. So we are seeing some green shoots in the US spirit’s market.

業績再次由 Woodford Reserve 的成長引領，[至今仍是] 全球排名第一的超高檔美國威士忌，這將使 Double Oak 繼續實現兩位數的成長。如果查看六個月前的 20 個品牌，Woodford Reserve 是僅有的兩個實現成長的品牌之一。我們看到美國烈酒市場出現了一些復甦的跡象。

In addition, within US whiskey, the super-premium and above price tiers are the only growth contributors, largely driven by innovation. We believe that our strategic approach to innovation with our craft and luxury expressions, for instance, adapting barrel finishes and grain recipes position us to capitalize on growth opportunities in this category.

此外，在美國威士忌中，超高端及以上價格層級是唯一的成長貢獻者，這主要得益於創新。我們相信，我們在工藝和奢華表達方面採取的創新策略方針，例如改進桶裝飾面和穀物配方，使我們能夠利用這一類別的成長機會。

Our latest introductions which launched in early February, include Woodford Reserve batch proof, a limited edition offering and Woodford Reserve Double Oaked, both products have a suggested retail price above $100.

我們最新推出的產品於 2 月初推出，包括限量版 Woodford Reserve batch proof 和 Woodford Reserve Double Oaked，這兩款產品的建議零售價均超過 100 美元。

Similar to Woodford Reserve Double Oak, Woodford Reserve Double, Double Oak was once a limited edition offering, consumer demand for the product was consistently strong. And in keeping with our consumer strategy, we have made this expression a permanent member of the Woodford Reserve family of brands. Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey built on its momentum in the first half of fiscal 2025 and once again accelerated sequentially.

與 Woodford Reserve Double Oak 類似，Woodford Reserve Double, Double Oak 曾經是限量版產品，消費者對該產品的需求一直很強勁。為了遵循我們的消費者策略，我們將這種表達形式作為 Woodford Reserve 品牌家族的永久成員。傑克丹尼田納西威士忌 (Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whisky) 在 2025 財年上半年延續了強勁勢頭，並再次實現連續加速。

I'm very pleased to say that organic net sales for Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey increased 2% for the year-to-date period. We're continuing to focus on both short-term acceleration and long-term brand building to engage a new generation of legal drinking age consumers while remaining intently focused on retaining our core consumers.

我很高興地說，傑克丹尼田納西威士忌的有機淨銷售額今年迄今成長了 2%。我們將繼續專注於短期加速和長期品牌建設，以吸引新一代合法飲酒年齡的消費者，同時專注於留住我們的核心消費者。

As we have shared previously, we're engaging with consumers through our McLaren Formula One sponsorship, music sponsorships, new media campaigns and an evolved on-premise strategy to drive acceleration. In the on premises, for example, we're increasing investment in all major markets and have dedicated resources to create a team of brand ambassadors called the Jack Pack in key markets across the US. The Formula 1 2025 season kicks off in Australia in a few weeks and then heads to China at the end of March.

正如我們之前所分享的，我們正在透過麥克拉倫一級方程式贊助、音樂贊助、新媒體活動以及不斷發展的內部部署策略與消費者互動，以推動加速發展。例如，在現場，我們正在增加對所有主要市場的投資，並投入專門資源在美國各主要市場創建一個名為 Jack Pack 的品牌大使團隊。2025 年一級方程式賽車賽季將於幾週後在澳洲拉開序幕，並於 3 月底前往中國。

This season, we will further evolve our approach to our Maclaren sponsorship by refining the Jack's garage experience designed to enhance the brand's cultural relevance through a fusion of racing, music and influencers in key markets around the world. Music has been an important part of Jack Daniel's relevance and pop culture.

本賽季，我們將進一步改進對麥克拉倫的贊助方式，改進傑克車庫的體驗，旨在透過融合全球主要市場的賽車、音樂和影響者來提升品牌的文化相關性。音樂一直是傑克丹尼 (Jack Daniel) 的現實意義和流行文化的重要組成部分。

The brand's connection to music began all the way back in 1892, when Jack Daniel formed the Silver Cornut band to engage with people in Lynchburgs Townsquare. Through the decades, many musicians such as Frank Sinatra to most recently Shibozi have been friends of Jack, and we will continue to focus on building authentic connections like these with each of our consumers.

該品牌與音樂的聯繫始於 1892 年，當時傑克·丹尼 (Jack Daniel) 組建了 Silver Cornut 樂隊，與林奇堡鎮廣場的人們互動。幾十年來，許多音樂家，例如弗蘭克·辛納屈 (Frank Sinatra) 到最近的 Shibozi，都是傑克的朋友，我們將繼續致力於與每一位消費者建立這樣的真實聯繫。

We'll also continue to connect with consumers through music during the busy spring and summer concert and music festival season which provides ideal venues for consumers to trial and to enjoy the Jack & Coke RTD. RTDs remain a leading growth category within total distilled spirits, driven by consumer trends that favor convenience and flavor with the Jack & Coke RTD continuing to gain global attention.

我們還將在繁忙的春夏音樂會和音樂節季節繼續透過音樂與消費者建立聯繫，這為消費者品嚐和享受 Jack & Coke RTD 提供了理想的場所。即飲酒仍然是蒸餾酒中領先的成長類別，這得益於消費者青睞便利性和風味的趨勢，其中 Jack & Coke 即飲酒繼續受到全球關注。

In the United Kingdom, Jack & Coke recently received the 2025 Product of the Year Award in the premixed spirit category. This award is based on consumer votes and is considered the UK's biggest accolade for product innovation.

在英國，傑克可樂 (Jack & Coke) 最近獲得了預調酒類 2025 年度產品獎。該獎項基於消費者投票，被認為是英國產品創新的最大榮譽。

Innovation, particularly flavors and formats, is important in the RTD category. The Jack & Coke Cherry limited time offering in the US performed well and now is available in the United Kingdom. For those of you in the US, you should begin to see a variety pack on shelf in the upcoming weeks featuring Jack & Coke, Jack & Coke Cherry and Jack & Coke vanilla and time for the seasonally stronger spring and summer months.

創新，特別是口味和形式，對於 RTD 類別來說非常重要。傑克可樂櫻桃口味 (Jack & Coke Cherry) 在美國限時發售，表現良好，目前已在英國上市。對於美國用戶來說，在接下來的幾週內，隨著季節的到來和春季和夏季的到來，您應該會開始在貨架上看到多種口味的包裝，其中包括傑克可樂、傑克可樂櫻桃味和傑克可樂香草味。

Also within our RTD portfolio, New Mix continued its impressive growth with a double-digit organic net sales increase in 12 of the past 13 quarters. The brand is well positioned and continues to gain market share in Mexico.

此外，在我們的 RTD 產品組合中，New Mix 繼續保持令人矚目的成長勢頭，在過去 13 個季度中，有 12 個季度的有機淨銷售額都實現了兩位數的成長。該品牌定位明確，在墨西哥的市佔率持續成長。

In addition, New Mix will launch a new flavor, new mix (technical difficulty) in the spring. This launch reflects the culinary richness of Mexico and positions us to capitalize on the growing consumer demand for bolder and more refreshing flavors. It's important to balance tradition and innovation as we adapt to changing consumer trends in the country while maintaining our commitment to quality and authenticity.

此外，New Mix將在春季推出新口味、新混合物（技術難度）。此次發布體現了墨西哥烹飪的豐富性，使我們能夠滿足消費者對更濃鬱、更清爽口味日益增長的需求。當我們適應國家不斷變化的消費趨勢的同時保持對品質和真實性的承諾時，平衡傳統和創新非常重要。

We believe our innovation opportunities will generate interest and attention not only for our portfolio of RTDs, but for our portfolio of full-strength brands as well. There are a few other brands that I know are of interest to many of you.

我們相信，我們的創新機會不僅會引發人們對我們的 RTD 產品組合的興趣和關注，而且還會引發人們對我們全強度品牌組合的興趣和關注。我知道還有其他一些品牌也受到很多人的關注。

The two newest brands in our portfolio, Diplomatico and Genmar are performing well. Diplomatico delivered very strong double-digit organic net sales growth, led by France and Czechia along with the travel retail channel in Germany. Organic net sales for Gin Mare increased double digits, driven by Germany, Spain, and the travel retail channel.

我們投資組合中的兩個最新品牌 Diplomatico 和 Genmar 表現良好。Diplomatico 實現了非常強勁的兩位數有機淨銷售額成長，其中以法國、捷克和德國旅遊零售通路的增幅最大。在德國、西班牙和旅遊零售通路的推動下，Gin Mare 的有機淨銷售額實現了兩位數成長。

In fiscal 2023, when we acquired Diplomatico and Gin Mare, the brands had a strong European presence that both aligned with our route-to-consumer investments and provided opportunities for growth in the United States. We continue to ensure both Diplomatico and Gin Mare have the focus and dedicated resources to drive their growth by placing the brands in our emerging brands portfolio in both Europe and the United States.

2023 財年，當我們收購 Diplomatico 和 Gin Mare 時，這些品牌在歐洲擁有強大的影響力，這不僅符合我們的消費者導向投資，也為美國的成長提供了機會。我們將繼續確保 Diplomatico 和 Gin Mare 能夠集中精力並投入專門資源來推動其成長，方法是將這兩個品牌納入我們位於歐洲和美國的新興品牌組合中。

While our tequila brands, Jimador and Herradura, improved sequentially, they continue to face challenges in the US and in Mexico, their two largest markets. The environment for the tequila category in the US remains competitive with an increasing number of brands, while Mexico's economy has faced a challenging macro environment. Tequila Herradura is a 155-year-old brand, and we have been celebrating its heritage as the world's first Reposado across consumer communications as well as highlighting its craftsmanship heritage and authenticity.

雖然我們的龍舌蘭酒品牌 Jimador 和 Herradura 取得了連續成長，但它們在其兩個最大市場美國和墨西哥仍然面臨挑戰。美國龍舌蘭酒產業的環境依然競爭激烈，品牌數量不斷增加，而墨西哥經濟則面臨嚴峻的宏觀環境。Tequila Herradura 是一個擁有 155 年歷史的品牌，我們一直透過消費者溝通來慶祝其作為世界上第一款 Reposado 的傳統，同時強調其工藝傳統和真實性。

The launch of Herradura Cristal in Mexico, which builds upon the region's Cristalino trend is off to a strong start. For El Jimador, the softness in the US and Mexico negatively impacted the performance of the brand globally. Even so, we remain optimistic about El Jimador's ability to introduce consumers to the mixability and versatility of 100% of (technical difficulty). We saw very strong double-digit organic net sales growth in Australia, Brazil and France and we continue to believe that El Herradura can grow the premium tequila category around the world.

Herradura Cristal 在墨西哥的推出延續了該地區的 Cristalino 潮流，取得了良好的開局。對 El Jimador 而言，美國和墨西哥的疲軟對該品牌的全球表現產生了負面影響。儘管如此，我們仍然對 El Jimador 向消費者介紹 100% 的混合性和多功能性的能力持樂觀態度（技術難度）。我們看到澳洲、巴西和法國的有機淨銷售額實現了非常強勁的兩位數成長，我們仍然相信 El Herradura 能夠在全球發展優質龍舌蘭酒類別。

Despite the performance of our tequila brands in the short term, we believe we have the right brands to capitalize on the growth in the tequila category globally over the long term. Before turning the call over to Liam, I want to take a moment to discuss the dynamic landscape of the beverage alcohol industry and how we are proactively adapting to an evolving operating environment with a focus on long-term growth.

儘管我們的龍舌蘭酒品牌在短期內表現不佳，但我們相信，我們擁有合適的品牌，能夠從長期來看利用全球龍舌蘭酒類別的成長。在將電話轉給利亞姆之前，我想花點時間討論酒精飲料行業的動態格局，以及我們如何積極適應不斷變化的營運環境並專注於長期成長。

First, our recent route-to-consumer evolution. We continue to be pleased with our route-to-consumer change in Japan and are on schedule to launch our own distribution in Italy on May 1, 2025. And while much of our RTC focus has been on markets outside of the United States, the route-to-market landscape in the US has evolved as well.

首先，我們最近的消費者路線演變。我們對日本消費者通路的改變感到非常滿意，並計劃於 2025 年 5 月 1 日在義大利推出我們自己的分銷管道。雖然我們的 RTC 重點主要放在美國以外的市場，但美國的市場通路格局也在改變。

As we announced last week, after thoughtful consideration, we have selected Ray's Beverage Group as our new distributor in California effective May 1, 2025. As you may recall, Ray has been our distribution partner for Jack & Coke in California since we launched the product in the US.

正如我們上週宣布的那樣，經過深思熟慮，我們已選擇 Ray’s Beverage Group 作為我們在加利福尼亞州的新經銷商，自 2025 年 5 月 1 日起生效。您可能還記得，自從我們在美國推出該產品以來，Ray 一直是 Jack & Coke 在加州的分銷合作夥伴。

Our decision to expand our relationship with Rays in California is a bold move that reinforces we are thoughtfully evaluating all aspects of our business in what continues to be a challenging external environment. This change will allow us to unlock new growth capabilities and leverage Array's exceptional operational excellence is demonstrated by their impressive growth in California for their existing beer and spirit suppliers.

我們決定擴大與加州 Rays 的關係，這是一個大膽的舉措，它鞏固了我們在持續充滿挑戰的外部環境中對業務各個方面的深思熟慮的評估。這項變更將使我們能夠釋放新的成長能力，並利用 Array 卓越的營運優勢，這在其在加州為現有啤酒和烈酒供應商實現的令人矚目的成長中得到了體現。

We believe Reyes Beverage Group will be a tremendous partner in accelerating our California business. It's also important to note that we continue to value the relationship we have built with the Republic National Distributing company with whom we work in 23 other states across the United States and appreciate their continued collaboration and focus on our shared success.

我們相信，雷耶斯飲料集團將成為我們加速加州業務的重要合作夥伴。值得注意的是，我們繼續重視與共和國家分銷公司建立的關係，我們與該公司在美國其他 23 個州有合作，我們感謝他們持續的合作並關注我們共同的成功。

We will continue to review our route to market across the US to ensure our brands are well positioned to win in the highly competitive marketplace. Another important strategic initiative I'd like to touch on are the recent changes we announced with regard to our workforce.

我們將繼續審查我們在美國市場的路線，以確保我們的品牌在競爭激烈的市場中佔據有利地位。我想談的另一項重要策略舉措是我們最近宣布的有關勞動力的變動。

In January, we announced a series of strategic initiatives designed to position the company for continued growth in the dynamic global spirits market including restructuring the executive leadership team, reducing our global workforce by approximately 12% and closing the Louisville-based Brown-Forman cooperage.

今年 1 月，我們宣布了一系列策略性舉措，旨在幫助公司在充滿活力的全球烈酒市場中繼續成長，包括重組高階主管團隊、減少約 12% 的全球員工人數以及關閉位於路易斯維爾的 Brown-Forman 製桶廠。

We also offered an early retirement benefit to qualifying US employees. This organizational evolution will simplify and streamline our organization, allowing us to become more agile and efficient as well as reinvest in the capabilities, technologies, brands, and people that will drive future growth.

我們也為符合資格的美國員工提供提前退休福利。這項組織變革將簡化和精簡我們的組織，使我們變得更加靈活和高效，並對推動未來成長的能力、技術、品牌和人才進行再投資。

The closure of the Cooperage in Louisville was a difficult decision as we've been producing our own barrels for almost 80 years. During this time, the Cooperage industry has evolved, and external suppliers are able to provide the same high-quality barrels at scale and at a competitive price. You may recall over the last few years that we have discussed the significant impact of wood costs on our gross margin.

關閉路易斯維爾製桶廠是一個艱難的決定，因為我們已經生產自己的酒桶近80年了。在此期間，製桶業得到了發展，外部供應商能夠大規模地以有競爭力的價格提供同樣高品質的桶。您可能還記得，過去幾年我們討論過木材成本對我們的毛利率的重大影響。

In response to that, we've taken strategic steps to optimize our wood supply chain, including the sale of our mills and our Cooperage in Alabama in fiscal 2024. The closure of our Louisville Cooper represents the final step in our wood supply chain strategy, which we believe will create efficiencies and allow us to further optimize our capital allocation.

為此，我們採取了戰略措施來優化我們的木材供應鏈，包括在 2024 財年出售我們位於阿拉巴馬州的工廠和製桶廠。路易斯維爾庫柏工廠的關閉代表著我們木材供應鏈策略的最後一步，我們相信這將提高效率並使我們能夠進一步優化資本配置。

While we expect to incur approximately $60 million to $70 million in aggregate charges for severance and related costs associated with the workforce reduction and Cooperage closing, collectively, these actions are projected to deliver approximately $70 million to $80 million in annualized savings.

雖然我們預計與裁員和關閉製桶廠相關的遣散費和相關費用總計將達到約 6,000 萬至 7,000 萬美元，但總體而言，這些行動預計將帶來約 7,000 萬至 8,000 萬美元的年度節約。

In addition, we expect to receive more than $30 million in proceeds in connection with the sale of the Cooperage assets. We expect to reinvest a portion of the savings to accelerate growth, and we'll provide more detail on our incremental investments in the near future.

此外，我們預計出售 Cooperage 資產將獲得超過 3,000 萬美元的收益。我們預計將部分儲蓄重新投資以加速成長，並將在不久的將來提供有關增量投資的更多詳細資訊。

I want to express my sincere gratitude to our employees, particularly those impacted by these changes for their dedication and contributions to Brown-Forman. We're a 155-year-old company because we've evolved and changed over the decades. We're confident that these strategic initiatives will ensure the company endures for generations to come.

我要向我們的員工表達最誠摯的感謝，特別是那些受到這些變化影響的員工，感謝他們對 Brown-Forman 的奉獻和貢獻。我們是一家擁有 155 年歷史的公司，幾十年來我們不斷發展和改變。我們相信，這些策略舉措將確保公司世世代代繁榮昌盛。

In summary, the year-to-date fiscal 2025 organic net sales and organic operating income are back to growth within the range of our full year outlook and at the top of our industry. While we are still operating in a highly dynamic environment, with many unknowns and uncertainties, based on our nine-month results and what we know today, we continue to believe that we're positioned to achieve our full year guidance, which we have reaffirmed.

總而言之，2025 財年迄今的有機淨銷售額和有機營業收入已恢復成長，處於我們全年預期範圍內，並處於行業領先地位。儘管我們仍在高度動態的環境中運營，存在許多未知數和不確定性，但根據我們前九個月的業績以及我們今天所掌握的情況，我們仍然相信，我們有能力實現我們已經重申的全年目標。

I believe the combination of our strong portfolio of brands, our broad geographic reach and our resilient team of people will enable us to achieve our long-term growth potential. With that, I'll turn the call over to Leanne and she'll provide more details on our year-to-date results.

我相信，我們強大的品牌組合、廣泛的地理覆蓋範圍和堅韌不拔的團隊將使我們能夠實現長期成長潛力。說完這些，我將把電話轉給 Leanne，她將提供有關我們今年迄今為止的業績的更多詳細資訊。

Thank you, Lawson, and good morning, everyone. As Lawson mentioned, I will provide additional details on our geographic performance, other financial highlights and our fiscal 2025 outlook. As we have shared with you previously, we anticipated a return to growth for organic net sales and organic operating income in fiscal 2025, driven by gains in international markets and the benefit of normalizing distributor inventory trends on a year-over-year basis.

謝謝你，勞森，大家早安。正如勞森所提到的，我將提供有關我們的地理表現、其他財務亮點和 2025 財年展望的更多詳細資訊。正如我們之前與您分享的那樣，我們預計 2025 財年的有機淨銷售額和有機營業收入將恢復增長，這得益於國際市場的增長以及分銷商庫存趨勢同比正常化的好處。

From a geographic perspective, we saw sequential organic net sales improvement with growth in each of our geographic clusters as we began the second half. This was in line with our expectations and resulted in a return to growth in the year-to-date period. Our emerging international markets continue to lead our growth and collectively delivered an 8% organic net sales increase in the year-to-date period.

從地理區域來看，進入下半年，我們看到各地理區域群的有機淨銷售額連續改善，實現成長。這符合我們的預期並導致年初至今恢復成長。我們的新興國際市場持續引領我們的成長，年初至今的有機淨銷售額整體成長了 8%。

This growth was led by strong double-digit growth in Turkey and Brazil, led by Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey. Our business in these markets continue to benefit from the growth of the premium whiskey category. Brazil is also benefiting from our geographic expansion strategy and the launch of an additional package size for Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey.

這一增長主要得益於土耳其和巴西強勁的兩位數增長，其中傑克丹尼田納西威士忌的銷量最高。我們在這些市場的業務持續受惠於高檔威士忌品類的成長。巴西也受益於我們的地理擴張策略和傑克丹尼田納西威士忌額外包裝尺寸的推出。

In Mexico, organic net sales were flat as the challenging economic environment is impacting discretionary spending and consumers are trading down. While our RTDs and Jack Daniel's are outperforming competitors and gaining market share, our tequilas continue to underperform.

在墨西哥，由於嚴峻的經濟環境影響了可自由支配的支出且消費者的消費水準下降，有機淨銷售額持平。雖然我們的即飲飲料和傑克丹尼 (Jack Daniel's) 的表現優於競爭對手並獲得了市場份額，但我們的龍舌蘭酒表現仍然不佳。

As Lawson mentioned, New Mexico delivered double-digit organic net sales growth, driven by a steady pricing and promotional strategy, along with increased distribution. In addition, Jack Daniel's RTDs, which include Jack & Coke outperformed the RTD category and fueled value growth.

正如勞森所提到的，在穩定的定價和促銷策略以及分銷增加的推動下，新墨西哥州實現了兩位數的有機淨銷售成長。此外，傑克丹尼 (Jack Daniel's) 的即飲飲料 (RTD)（包括傑克可樂 (Jack & Coke)）表現優於即飲飲料類別，並推動了價值成長。

While the current operating environment is difficult, we are committed to the development and growth of our portfolio of brands in Mexico. We are further leveraging our own distribution capabilities with William Grant & Sons and have begun distribution of Hendriks, Glenfiddich, Valdini and Monkey shoulder brands.

儘管目前的經營環境很困難，但我們仍致力於在墨西哥發展和壯大我們的品牌組合。我們正在進一步利用我們與 William Grant & Sons 的分銷能力，並已開始分銷 Hendriks、Glenfiddich、Valdini 和 Monkey Shoulder 品牌。

William Grant & Sons is a fifth-generation family-owned company, and we believe there are strong synergies between William Grant and Sons brand portfolio and our portfolio of brands. We believe this distribution agreement will provide us additional strength to achieve greater development of the combined portfolio, particularly in the on-trade and the super-premium segment.

William Grant & Sons 是一家第五代家族企業，我們相信 William Grant and Sons 品牌組合與我們的品牌組合之間存在著強大的協同作用。我們相信，這項分銷協議將為我們提供額外的力量，以實現合併投資組合的更大發展，特別是在同業和超高端領域。

This is yet another example of how we are identifying strategic growth opportunities and moving at pace to execute in a quickly evolving operating environment. Organic net sales in the travel retail channel improves sequentially with a decline of 2% in the first nine months of the fiscal year.

這是我們如何在快速變化的營運環境中識別策略成長機會並快速執行的另一個例子。旅遊零售通路的有機淨銷售額較上季成長，本財年前九個月下降了 2%。

Growth of Diplomatico and Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey were more than offset by the decline of our other super premium American whiskeys such as our exclusive global travel retail offerings Jack Daniel's bottled in Bond and Jack Daniel's American single malts, which compared against its launch in the prior year period and Jack Daniel's Single Barrel, which compared against a very strong double-digit growth in the year ago period.

Diplomatico 和 Jack Daniel's Tennessee 威士忌的成長被我們其他超優質美國威士忌的下滑所抵消，例如我們獨家全球旅行零售產品的 Jack Daniel's Bottled in Bond 和 Jack Daniel's American single malt 威士忌（與去年同期推出的相比有所下降）以及 Jack Daniel's Single Barrel（與去年同期非常強勁的兩位數增長相比）。

Our developed international markets collectively delivered an organic net sales decline of 1%. As we have shared, Japan continues to benefit from our route-to-consumer change to own distribution on April 1, 2024. In South Korea, while the premium whiskey category is still experiencing growth, Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey faced increased competitive activity and Jack Daniel's Tennessee Apple compared against its launch in the prior year period.

我們發達的國際市場整體有機淨銷售額下降了 1%。正如我們所分享的，日本將繼續受益於我們於 2024 年 4 月 1 日實現的從消費者到自主分銷的轉變。在韓國，雖然高檔威士忌類別仍在增長，但與去年同期相比，傑克丹尼田納西威士忌和傑克丹尼田納西蘋果面臨著更激烈的競爭。

The economic outlook in Germany has weakened, and consumer confidence has declined in the market. Between October and January, there was a significant deceleration in Spirit takeaway trends, including RTD in Germany, which negatively impacted Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey as well as the Jack Daniel's RTDs.

德國經濟前景減弱，市場消費者信心下降。10月至1月期間，烈酒外送趨勢明顯放緩，包括德國的即飲啤酒，這對傑克丹尼田納西威士忌以及傑克丹尼即飲啤酒產生了負面影響。

In the United States, which grew sequentially, organic net sales decreased 1%. Double-digit growth from Woodford Reserve, Old Forester and the Jack Daniel's RTDs, led by Jack & Coke were the largest growth contributors while Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey and Corbel California champagne were the main drivers of the overall decline, often highlighted the growth drivers of which we reserve and the Jack Daniel's RTDs in the US.

美國市場有機淨銷售額較上季成長，但下降 1%。以傑克可樂為首的伍德福德珍藏（Woodford Reserve）、老森林人和傑克丹尼（Old Forester）即飲威士忌實現了兩位數增長，是增長的最大貢獻者，而傑克丹尼田納西威士忌和科貝爾加州香檳則是整體下滑的主要推動力，我們經常強調的是我們珍藏的傑克丹尼（Jack Daniel's）即飲威士忌和美國的威士忌（Jack Daniel's）即飲但威士忌的動力。

Therefore, I'll focus my comments on Old Forester, Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey and Corbel as well as distributor inventory levels and the consumer environment. Old Forester again delivered double-digit organic net sales growth, led by strong performance of the super-premium expressions. The success of these products has created a halo for the Old Forester trademark, as Old Forester 86 proof, Brown-Forman's founding brand delivered high single-digit organic net sales growth.

因此，我將重點放在 Old Forester、Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey 和 Corbel 以及分銷商庫存水準和消費者環境。老森林人 (Old Forester) 再次實現兩位數的有機淨銷售額成長，這主要得益於超高階車型的強勁表現。這些產品的成功為 Old Forester 商標創造了光環，正如 Old Forester 86 所證明的那樣，Brown-Forman 的創始品牌實現了高個位數的有機淨銷售額增長。

For Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey, the brand accelerated sequentially from the first half of our fiscal year and delivered a positive three-month organic net sales trend. We have made purposeful efforts to highlight our whiskey-making craftsmanship and credentials through innovation and specialty launches. This gives both long time and new friends of Jack Daniel's, the opportunity to explore and discover within the Jack Daniel's family.

對於傑克丹尼田納西威士忌而言，該品牌的銷量從我們財年上半年開始連續加速，並實現了積極的三個月有機淨銷售額趨勢。我們透過創新和特色產品發布，做出了有目的的努力來凸顯我們的威士忌釀造工藝和資格。這為傑克丹尼 (Jack Daniel's) 的新老朋友提供了探索和發現傑克丹尼 (Jack Daniel's) 家族的機會。

Last week, we announced the latest release in the age series, Jack Daniel's 14-year-old Tennessee Whiskey. This marks the first time in more than 100 years that Jack Daniel's has offered an expression of this age. This product joins Jack Daniel's 10-year-old and 12-year-old Tennessee Whiskey, which honors the legacy of Jack Daniel's himself and replicates the lineup of age stated whiskeys available during his time.

上週，我們宣布推出該系列的最新產品——傑克丹尼 14 年田納西威士忌。這是傑克丹尼 (Jack Daniel's) 一百多年來首次推出此年份的威士忌。該產品與傑克丹尼 (Jack Daniel's) 10 年和 12 年田納西威士忌一起推出，旨在紀念傑克丹尼 (Jack Daniel's) 本人的傳奇，並複製他那個時代的陳年威士忌陣容。

With the majority of the sparkling category in a downturn, Corbel outperformed its price tier, thanks to promotional efforts, but the brand did decline for the nine months of the fiscal year. Turning to distributor inventory levels in the US, the environment remains unchanged with distributors continuing to target the low end of their normal range.

在大多數氣泡酒類別處於低迷狀態的情況下，由於促銷活動的支持，Corbel 的表現優於其價格等級，但該品牌在本財年的九個月中確實出現下滑。談到美國分銷商的庫存水平，環境保持不變，分銷商繼續以正常範圍的低端為目標。

As we shared last quarter, shipments increased for key brands such as Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey and Woodford Reserve in several states ahead of the important holiday selling season. This was done to ensure supply would meet consumer demand and to mitigate the risk of an out-of-stock situation at the retail level as some retailers are continuing to target the low end of their inventory range.

正如我們上個季度所分享的那樣，在重要的假期銷售季節到來之前，傑克丹尼田納西威士忌和伍德福德珍藏等主要品牌的出貨量在幾個州都有所增加。這樣做是為了確保供應能夠滿足消費者的需求，並減輕零售層面缺貨的風險，因為一些零售商繼續瞄準其庫存範圍的低端。

As typical during the holiday selling season, distributors largely sold through the seasonal inventory build and are expected to bring shipments and depletions largely in line for this fiscal year from a takeaway perspective.

與假日銷售季節的典型情況一樣，分銷商主要透過季節性庫存進行銷售，從外賣角度來看，預計本財年的出貨量和消耗量將基本保持一致。

Three-month rolling value trends for total distilled spirits are down approximately 1%, with recent volatility in the trends driven by year-over-year timing comparisons. The premiumization trend continues in the US whiskey and tequila categories with higher price tiers, particularly in the $40 and above tier growing in value and gaining share.

總蒸餾酒的三個月滾動價值趨勢下降了約 1％，近期趨勢的波動是由同比時間比較驅動的。美國威士忌和龍舌蘭酒的高端化趨勢仍在繼續，價格層級不斷提高，尤其是 40 美元及以上的產品價值不斷增長，份額也在擴大。

Moving on to the rest of the P&L. In the year-to-date fiscal 2025 are reported and organic gross profit decreased 6% and 1%, respectively. This resulted in 150 basis points of gross margin contraction to 59.4%. However, gross margin improved sequentially as expected. We continue to benefit from favorable price mix, the Jack Daniel's Country cocktail business model change and the positive impact from our portfolio evolution, which had been obscured by the transition services agreements related to Finlandia and Sonoma-Cutrer.

繼續討論損益表的其餘部分。截至目前，2025財年淨利和有機毛利潤分別下降6%和1%。這導致毛利率下降150個基點，至59.4%。不過，毛利率如預期般較上季改善。我們繼續受益於有利的價格組合、傑克丹尼鄉村雞尾酒商業模式的改變以及我們的產品組合演變帶來的積極影響，而這些影響此前被與芬蘭迪亞和索諾瑪-卡特勒相關的過渡服務協議所掩蓋。

These benefits were more than offset by higher costs and the negative impact of foreign exchange. As we have shared in prior quarters, we expect higher cost in the fiscal year due to the impact of inflation on our input cost and lower production volumes as we work to return our finished goods inventories to more normal levels.

但這些好處被更高的成本和外匯的負面影響所抵消。正如我們在前幾個季度所分享的那樣，由於我們努力將成品庫存恢復到更正常的水平，通貨膨脹對我們的投入成本和生產量的影響，我們預計本財年的成本將會上升。

Operating expenses in the nine months of fiscal 2025 were lower compared to the year ago period, largely due to a 6% decrease in organic advertising expense, which is related to the phasing of our brand building investments particularly for Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey and Jack Daniel's Tennessee Apple in the current fiscal year as well as comparison against the launch of Jack Daniel's and Coca-Cola RTD in the United States in the year ago period and a 4% decrease in organic SG&A investment led by lower compensation and benefit expenses.

2025 財年九個月的營運費用與去年同期相比有所下降，主要是由於有機廣告費用下降了 6%，這與我們在本財年分階段進行品牌建設投資有關，特別是對傑克丹尼田納西威士忌和傑克丹尼田納西蘋果的投資，以及與去年同期在美國推出的傑克丹尼和可口可樂費用 RTD 相比，有機銷售、一般和行政費用下降了 4%。

As Lawson mentioned in his comments, as a result of our recently announced strategic workforce initiatives, we expect to incur approximately $60 million to $70 million of expenses consisting primarily of approximately $27 million to $32 million in severance and other employee-related costs and approximately $33 million to $38 million in other restructuring costs, including costs related to the Cooperage facility closure.

正如勞森在其評論中提到的那樣，由於我們最近宣布的戰略勞動力計劃，我們預計將產生約 6000 萬至 7000 萬美元的支出，主要包括約 2700 萬至 3200 萬美元的遣散費和其他員工相關費用以及約 3300 萬至 3800 萬美元的其他工廠重組費用，包括與 Cooperage 工廠關閉相關的費用。

Through January 31, 2025, we have incurred $33 million in restructuring and other charges, which also includes $4 million in other charges associated with the early retirement benefit. We expect the initiatives to be substantially implemented in fiscal 2025 with the remainder expected to be completed by the end of fiscal 2026. In total, reported operating income decreased 13% and organic operating income grew 5% in the nine months of fiscal 2025.

截至 2025 年 1 月 31 日，我們已發生 3,300 萬美元的重組和其他費用，其中還包括 400 萬美元與提前退休福利相關的其他費用。我們預計這些措施將在 2025 財年基本實施，剩餘部分預計將在 2026 財年末完成。整體而言，2025財年的九個月報告的營業收入下降了13%，有機營業收入成長了5%。

In addition, as we have shared with you last quarter, it was announced that the Duckhorn Portfolio would be acquired with completion of the merger on December '24 -- 2024, we received cash of $350 million in exchange for our 21.4% ownership interest in Duckhorn and recognized a $78 million gain on the sale of our investment in Duckhorn.

此外，正如我們在上個季度與您分享的那樣，據宣布，Duckhorn 投資組合將於 2024 年至 2024 年 12 月完成合併後被收購，我們以在 Duckhorn 的 21.4% 的所有權權益獲得了 3.5 億美元現金，並在出售我們在 Duckhorn 的投資中獲得了 7800 萬美元的收益。

In summary, the above results collectively led to a 4% diluted earnings per share decreased to $1.53. Now let's turn to our fiscal 2025 outlook. The operating environment is increasingly volatile due to geopolitical uncertainties and the global macroeconomic conditions, particularly with regards to the tariff environment.

綜上所述，上述結果共同導致每股稀釋收益下降 4% 至 1.53 美元。現在讓我們來看看 2025 財年展望。由於地緣政治的不確定性和全球宏觀經濟狀況（尤其是關稅環境），經營環境變得越來越不穩定。

We continue to expect that the behavior of the consumer and the level of trade inventories will not change significantly during the remainder of this fiscal year. Based on our year-to-date fiscal 2025 results and the currently known factors, we anticipate a return to growth for organic net sales.

我們繼續預計，在本財年剩餘時間內，消費者行為和貿易庫存水準不會發生重大變化。根據我們 2025 財年迄今的業績和目前已知的因素，我們預計有機淨銷售額將恢復成長。

We continue to expect organic net sales growth in the 2% to 4% range guiding closer to the lower end of the range. We continue to believe this growth will be driven by our pricing strategy, along with the benefit from price mix through the evolution of our portfolio and our revenue growth management activities.

我們繼續預期有機淨銷售額成長率將在 2% 至 4% 之間，並更接近該範圍的低端。我們仍然相信，這一增長將由我們的定價策略以及透過我們的產品組合的演變和收入成長管理活動帶來的價格組合效益所推動。

Our emerging markets, innovation, and sequential improvement of our developed international markets with the breadth of our growth across numerous geographies. Easier comparisons in the second half of fiscal 2025 as we compare against the significant slowdown in total distilled spirits trends as well as trade inventory reductions and the benefit of the full year growth of Gin Mare and diplomatica which have had very strong results in the year-to-date period.

我們的新興市場、創新以及我們發達的國際市場的連續改善以及我們在眾多地區的成長廣度。與 2025 財年下半年相比，比較起來更容易，因為我們將與總蒸餾酒趨勢的顯著放緩以及貿易庫存的減少以及 Gin Mare 和 diplomaca 全年增長的好處進行比較，這兩款酒在年初至今的期間取得了非常強勁的業績。

The benefit of price mix will remain a tailwind for reported gross margin, but costs continue to be higher in fiscal 2025, leading to an expectation that full year reported gross margin will be consistent with the year-to-date fiscal 2025. As we have shared, we expected the benefit from lower Agave prices to be more than offset by the impact of inflation on our input costs and lower production volumes.

價格組合的優勢將繼續推動報告的毛利率，但 2025 財年的成本將繼續走高，因此預計全年報告的毛利率將與 2025 財年年初至今的毛利率保持一致。正如我們所分享的，我們預期龍舌蘭價格下跌的好處將被通貨膨脹對我們的投入成本和產量下降的影響所抵消。

Costs have remained higher than planned, particularly for our tequila brands. For these brands, we still expect to benefit from lower (technical difficulty) prices for the full year. Though based on their current performance, it will take longer than expected to work through our higher cost inventory.

成本一直高於計劃，特別是對於我們的龍舌蘭酒品牌而言。對於這些品牌，我們仍預期全年將受益於較低的（技術難度）價格。但根據他們目前的表現，處理我們高成本庫存需要比預期更長的時間。

Our outlook for organic operating expenses continues to reflect investment behind our brands with an acceleration in our advertising expense in the year-to-go period. We now expect a significant reduction in SG&A related to lower compensation-related expenses, coupled with our recently announced strategic workforce initiatives.

我們對有機營運費用的展望繼續反映出我們對品牌的投資以及今年廣告費用的加速成長。我們現在預計，由於薪酬相關費用降低，再加上我們最近宣布的策略性勞動力舉措，銷售、一般及行政開支將大幅減少。

Based on the above, we continue to forecast organic operating income growth in the range of 2% to 4%, guiding to the upper end of the range. The low and high end of our organic net sales and organic operating income ranges are based on numerous scenarios with the greatest influence from weaker or stronger consumer demand in key markets such as the United States, and changes in distributor inventory levels.

基於上述情況，我們繼續預測有機營業收入成長率將在 2% 至 4% 之間，並達到該範圍的上限。我們的有機淨銷售額和有機營業收入範圍的低端和高端基於多種情景，其中最大的影響來自美國等主要市場的消費者需求減弱或增強，以及分銷商庫存水平的變化。

We continue to expect our estimated capital expenditures outlook to be in the range of $180 million to $190 million and we are updating our effective tax rate outlook from a range of approximately 21% to 23% to approximately 20% to 22%.

我們繼續預期資本支出前景在 1.8 億美元至 1.9 億美元之間，並將有效稅率前景從約 21% 至 23% 更新至約 20% 至 22%。

In summary, during the nine months of fiscal 2025, we continue to deliver against our expectations. Our financial performance has sequentially improved with our organic net sales and organic operating income returning to growth in the year-to-date period. These results reflect the strength of our brand and the immense agility of our team members as we have been operating in a highly dynamic environment, which created unusual comparisons.

總而言之，在 2025 財年的九個月中，我們繼續實現預期目標。我們的財務表現持續改善，年初至今的有機淨銷售額和有機營業收入恢復成長。這些結果反映了我們品牌的實力和團隊成員的巨大靈活性，因為我們一直在高度動態的環境中運營，這產生了不同尋常的比較。

As we near the completion of another fiscal year and our 155-year history, we remain confident in our ability to strategically navigate a highly volatile operating environment to deliver on our near-term goals, while remaining focused on executing against our long-term strategy, which is to ensure that Brown-Forman will endure for decades and generations. This concludes our prepared remarks.

隨著我們即將結束新的財年和 155 年的歷史，我們仍然有信心，我們有能力在高度動盪的營運環境中策略性地導航，實現我們的近期目標，同時繼續專注於執行我們的長期策略，即確保 Brown-Forman 能夠持續數十年和幾代人的發展。我們的準備好的演講到此結束。

Please open the line for questions.

請開通熱線以接受提問。

(Operator Instructions) Lauren Lieberman, Barclays.

（操作員指示）巴克萊銀行的勞倫·利伯曼 (Lauren Lieberman)。

So we took a look back at a bunch of transcripts and conversations from the craft boom of the I guess, what would be like 2014 to 2018, '19 kind of period. And look back at a lot of the things that the company talked about, looked back at your business performance.

因此，我們回顧了 2014 年至 2018 年、2019 年這段時期手工藝熱潮中的一系列記錄和對話。回顧公司談論的很多事情，回顧一下你的業務表現。

And Jack Daniel's continued to grow nicely in the US despite sort of all of this activity in craft. And something we get a lot of questions about outside of the -- how much are people drinking or not, is the likelihood of there being a wave of smaller players hitting the market in the next year or two with all this excess whiskey that seems to be out there.

儘管手工釀造威士忌活動繁多，傑克丹尼 (Jack Daniel's) 在美國仍保持著良好的增長勢頭。我們收到了很多關於除了人們喝多少威士忌之外的問題，還有就是在未來一兩年內，隨著威士忌過剩，是否有可能出現一群規模較小的參與者進入市場。

So I just kind of wanted to maybe loss and take a step back and think about how you are or are not preparing for an environment where we come back to having a litany of small brands out there, lots of noise and activities, celebrities [during] their name on whiskey. And how you think about the relative health of the Jack Daniel's and Woodford Reserve brands, frankly, I guess, in (technical difficulty) today versus where you were back in kind of 2015 to 2017.

所以我只是想退一步思考一下，你是否準備好迎接這樣的環境：我們回到了擁有一大堆小品牌、大量噪音和活動、名人將他們的名字印在威士忌上的時代。坦白說，您如何看待傑克丹尼和伍德福德珍藏品牌目前的健康狀況與 2015 年至 2017 年相比如何（技術難度）。

It's a good question, Lauren. So I can't remember what I said last week (technical difficulty) 10 years ago, but I will take a stab at it. So look, you're right, there was that wave of smaller I don't love the word craft, but it's generally entrepreneurial-led brands that exploded in that time frame as some bulk suppliers really got much bigger in that business. When you go back before that time frame, like pre-2010, there really wasn't -- it was not easy. There was a huge barrier to entry in the American whiskey category because it was dominated by five or six companies, including us, and we weren't selling any of our extra whiskey.

這是個好問題，勞倫。所以我記不起 10 年前上週說過什麼（技術難度），但我會嘗試一下。所以你看，你是對的，確實有一波規模較小的品牌，我不喜歡「工藝」這個詞，但一般來說，在那個時間範圍內，隨著一些批量供應商在該業務中確實變得更大，企業家主導的品牌會蓬勃發展。當你回顧那個時段之前，例如2010年之前，那真的不是什麼——那並不容易。美國威士忌市場的進入門檻很高，因為包括我們在內的五、六家公司佔據了主導地位，而且我們不出售任何多餘的威士忌。

So that did change things. But fast forward to today in terms of industry supply, and I mean, the number I've been running with in terms of craft brands, their market share only got to 3% or 4%. It still seems to be in that range. And I have read that there's more closing that are opening right now by quite a bit.

所以這確實改變了事情。但就行業供應而言，快進到今天，我的意思是，就精釀品牌而言，他們的市場份額僅為 3% 或 4%。它似乎仍在那個範圍內。我還讀到過，目前關閉的店鋪比開放的店多很多。

And so I don't consider the industry supply issue to be a battle against the craft brands, it's more all the big players. And you know them all. It's all the ones, all the big -- all they're both public and private companies that would be in there. So now we also know or have been told that these are rational players. These are big, for the most part, big companies that have cut back on the supply.

因此，我認為產業供應問題並不是精釀品牌與精釀品牌之間的鬥爭，而是所有大公司之間的鬥爭。你也都知道。所有大型公司 — — 所有上市公司和私人公司 — — 都可進入。所以現在我們也知道或被告知這些都是理性的參與者。這些都是大公司，大多數都已經削減了供應。

I mean they're slowing down. They're either not opening some new plants that were scheduled to be opening, or they are slowing down and furloughing some people, all those kind of things. So the industry is doing what it naturally is supposed to do, which is to cut back on some of that supply and getting it back in line.

我的意思是他們正在放慢速度。他們要么不開設一些原定開設的新工廠，要么放慢生產速度，讓一些人休假，諸如此類的事情。因此，該行業正在做其自然應該做的事情，即減少部分供應並使其恢復正常。

And look, it doesn't take very long to get it back in line when everybody starts doing that. At even site, if we went back two years ago, if you remember, Lauren, I can even remember being at your conference, we were reaffirming our guidance at that time, and we missed it. But back then, we were more scared that we were going to be short, not long. So that situation is dynamic, it changed pretty quickly, and we'll see where we lay out.

你看，當每個人都開始這樣做時，很快就能回到正軌。甚至如果我們回到兩年前，如果你還記得的話，勞倫，我甚至還記得參加你的會議，當時我們正在重申我們的指導，但我們錯過了。但那時，我們更擔心的是我們會活得短暫，而不是長久。所以這種情況是動態的，它變化得相當快，我們將看到我們的佈局。

And then to your point on Jack Daniel's performance in health, what we would say is the trend as we've been in this fiscal year, they've definitely been improving as sequentially as we've gone through the year from down [6] in Q1 flat in the first half and now to organic growth of plus 2% in the year-to-date period.

然後關於您提到的傑克丹尼健康產品的表現，我們會說，就本財年而言，我們的趨勢是，隨著我們度過這一年，我們的產品肯定是逐季改善的，從上半年第一季度持平的下降 [6] 到現在，今年迄今實現了 2% 的有機增長。

We see our positive three-month rolling organic net sales trends. Some of this, yes, is driven by our Japan investment in our own distribution as well as markets like Turkey where the premium whiskey category continues to grow. And then in the US, and I'm sure we'll talk about this more just it continues to accelerate sequentially also in the US. And then if there's anything else you want to add also on brand health.

我們看到了連續三個月積極的有機淨銷售額趨勢。是的，其中部分原因是我們在日本對自己的分銷管道的投資，以及土耳其等高端威士忌類別持續成長的市場的投資。然後在美國，我相信我們會更多地談論這個問題，它在美國也繼續連續加速。然後如果您還有什麼想補充的關於品牌健康的內容。

Well, look, I mean, the Jack Daniel's brand -- I mean, look, it's been a very competitive few years, and it's been challenging. We have made a lot of changes to the Jack Daniel's, I'll call it, brand toolbox to really emphasize different things. And so we're focusing a lot heavier on music right now. So activation, say, global music festivals, we do a lot of that kind of thing.

嗯，看，我的意思是，傑克丹尼品牌——我的意思是，看，這幾年競爭非常激烈，充滿挑戰。我們對傑克丹尼（我稱之為品牌工具箱）做了很多改變，以真正強調不同的東西。因此我們現在更加關注音樂。因此，我們做了很多激活全球音樂節這樣的事情。

We have kind of a neat thing where we host songwriters several times a year down in Lynchburg, Tennessee and they stay on the property. And that has had something to do with or at least we think it has something to do with all the song mentioned that Jack Daniel's has exploded actually in the last couple of years.

我們有一個很棒的計劃，每年在田納西州林奇堡接待詞曲創作者幾次，讓他們住在酒店裡。而這與歌曲中提到的傑克丹尼 (Jack Daniel's) 在過去幾年裡的爆紅有一定關係，或者至少我們認為與歌曲中提到的傑克丹尼 (Jack Daniel's) 的爆紅有一定關係。

So that helps and gives you some confidence that we remain relevant with a big chunk of our audience. McLaren, we talked a little bit about this on the call. We're redefining the way we do Jack's Garage Experience, which is the music culture infusion of racing in there and that we bring it all together, and those have been, I think, pretty successful and we're taking -- we're doing new on-premises things. Lean also talked about that a bit. So there's a lot going on.

因此，這會有所幫助，並給你一些信心，讓我們與大部分觀眾保持相關性。麥克拉倫，我們在電話中討論過這個問題。我們正在重新定義傑克車庫體驗 (Jack's Garage Experience) 的方式，即將賽車與音樂文化融合在一起，並將所有元素整合在一起，我認為這些都非常成功，我們正在進行新的內部部署。Lean 也談了一些這一點。因此，有很多事情發生。

There's a lot changing. And look, the trends, particularly in the US, have not turned like we would have wanted by now, but we continue to get really nice growth out of our emerging markets, which is really pulling the company along and pulling the brand along right now.

有很多事情改變。而且，目前趨勢，特別是在美國，還沒有像我們所希望的那樣轉變，但我們繼續從新興市場獲得良好的成長，這確實推動了公司和品牌的發展。

Nadine Sarwat, Bernstein.

納丁·薩瓦特，伯恩斯坦。

And two questions from me. I think in your prepared remarks, you called out the competitive environment for tequila in the US at the moment. in light of some of the price movements we've seen from your competitors. Can you talk to your approach on pricing when it comes to your tequila portfolio in the US? And how do you think about that balance of volume versus price when it comes to driving sales growth.

我還有兩個問題。我想您在準備好的演講中提到了目前美國龍舌蘭酒的競爭環境。鑑於我們從您的競爭對手那裡看到的一些價格變動。您能談談您在美國龍舌蘭酒產品的定價方法嗎？在推動銷售成長方面，您如何看待銷售與價格的平衡？

And the second question, you called out US spirits market value growth, I think, minus one sort of bumping along in the same range versus the last time we spoke. Are you seeing any changes in consumer behavior under meet that headline number that's worth calling out, thinking about it by product, price point or channel, any additional consumer insights would be helpful?

第二個問題，您提到了美國烈酒市場價值的成長，我認為與我們上次談話相比，成長幅度在同一範圍內有所波動。在達到這個值得關注的數字時，您是否看到消費者行為發生了任何變化？從產品、價格點或管道來考慮，任何額外的消費者洞察都會有所幫助嗎？

Yes. I mean, look, in terms of -- if we're talking about the US here for a second. Look, the -- if we're using TDS in the US as the proxy for consumer health, it's pretty flattish, flattish to down.

是的。我的意思是，就——如果我們在這裡談論美國的話。你看，如果我們使用美國的 TDS 作為消費者健康狀況的指標，它是相當平穩的，平穩到下降。

Obviously, that's been disappointing. We would have wanted it to sort of bounce back and expected some growth a little bit faster than it's coming through. But that just hasn't happened. So I do think something that it is new at least or at least new to me, but that we have noticed recently is how much the small sizes are driving momentum and share in the US market.

顯然，這是令人失望的。我們希望它能夠反彈，並且預計成長速度會比現在稍快。但那根本沒有發生。因此我確實認為這至少是新的，或者至少對我來說是新的，但我們最近注意到小尺寸在美國市場上推動了多大的發展勢頭和份額。

And the reason I bring that up is I think that's a nod to what we still claim, and I know where your headed, Nadine, but that -- we still think that this is largely a cyclical versus a structural change. And the reason small sizes are doing well is more because of the cyclical inflation and it's a consumer that's pinched, and I'm sure we're going to talk more about that.

我之所以提起這一點，是因為我認為這是對我們仍然主張的認可，我知道你要說什麼，納丁，但是——我們仍然認為這在很大程度上是一個週期性的變化，而不是結構性的變化。小尺寸產品表現良好的原因更多是因為週期性通貨膨脹以及消費者的拮据，我相信我們會更多地談論這一點。

But I mean, the consumer headwind there of inflation and food inflation in particular, is still there. Pricing in tequila was the other one. Look, yes, as you said, Tequila has become more challenging in I'll say, in the last year that some of the big brands of a lot of them, including Herradura, El Jomidar into decline, and we're working very hard, obviously, to improve that.

但我的意思是，通膨、特別是食品通膨的消費阻力仍然存在。龍舌蘭酒的定價是另一個問題。是的，正如你所說，龍舌蘭酒的市場挑戰性越來越大，去年，包括 Herradura、El Jomidar 在內的許多大品牌都陷入了衰退，顯然，我們正在努力改善這種狀況。

On the pricing side of things, though, it wasn't let me make sure I say this right. Pricing is down -- okay, pricing in tequila in aggregate is down 1.7%. So some of the -- and it's the big brands that have gotten a little bit more aggressive. Now 1.7 isn't super aggressive. I actually -- we sort of had some concerns, it was going to be worse.

不過，就定價方面而言，我無法確保我說的正確。價格下降了——好的，龍舌蘭酒的價格總體下降了 1.7%。因此，一些大品牌已經變得更具攻擊性。現在 1.7 並不是超級激進。我實際上——我們有點擔心情況會變得更糟。

And if you look at TDF, pricing, not just tequila but pricing across US spirits, it's only down half a point. So I would argue rational heads seem to still be ahead of -- our competitors are still acting rather rationally. And while Tequila has gotten a little bit more challenging and a little bit more aggressive on price, it's just by a little bit.

如果你看看 TDF 的價格，不只是龍舌蘭酒的價格，而是美國烈酒的價格，它只下降了半個百分點。因此，我認為理性的頭腦似乎仍然領先於我們的競爭對手——我們的行動仍然相當理性。儘管龍舌蘭酒的定價變得更具挑戰性且更具競爭力，但只是一點點。

And I'll just add on a little bit as it relates to our pricing as it relates to tequila is still a bit ahead of TDS. That's all about moving Herradura into that faster-growing price segment of that $20 to $30 range. We have been working on that price, as you heard us say for some time. Soon, we're going to be relaunching the brand with a new premium package, new communications and with some new innovations around it to support that new price positioning and that faster growing price tier.

我只想補充一點與我們的定價有關的內容，因為龍舌蘭酒的定價仍然略高於 TDS。這一切都是為了讓 Herradura 進入 20 至 30 美元範圍內增長較快的價格區間。正如您一段時間以來聽到我們所說的那樣，我們一直在努力確定這個價格。很快，我們將重新推出品牌，推出新的高端套餐、新的溝通方式以及一些新的創新，以支持新的價格定位和更快增長的價格層級。

Peter Grom, UBS.

瑞銀的 Peter Grom。

So I guess I wanted to just get some perspective on distributor inventories just in the context of organic sales growth. Obviously, nice to see a return to growth here in the third quarter. But there still seems to be a nice tailwind driven by the distributor inventory changes. I think it was 300 basis points for the quarter and kind of year-to-date. Leanne, like how should we be thinking about this as we look ahead?

所以我想我只是想在有機銷售成長的背景下對經銷商庫存進行一些了解。顯然，很高興看到第三季恢復成長。但分銷商庫存變化似乎仍然帶來良好的順風勢頭。我認為本季和年初至今的漲幅是 300 個基點。Leanne，我們在展望未來時該如何思考這個問題？

Is this just kind of a return to normal and you really wouldn't anticipate any sort of unwind as we think about the fourth quarter for '26. I know you made some comments around the US that would maybe suggest some unwind there. So maybe you can elaborate on that. But -- and then just if you were to kind of look at the 6% organic sales growth and think about the core component or the way you guys used to report it at 3% this quarter, do you kind of anticipate this underlying growth to continue to improve as you look ahead?

這是否只是一種恢復正常？當我們考慮 26 年第四季時，您真的不會預料到會出現任何形式的放鬆。我知道你在美國發表了一些言論，也許會暗示那裡會放鬆一些限制。所以也許你可以詳細說明一下。但是——如果您看一下 6% 的有機銷售成長，並考慮核心部分或您本季報告的 3% 的成長方式，您是否預計這種潛在成長會在未來繼續改善？

Yes. So I'll start with your inventory question. And I think it's really important to go back and get grounded on where we ended fiscal '24. And if you will recall, we ended fiscal '24 with depletions six points ahead of shipments. So as you think about where we are this year, we continue to believe that in general distributors are continuing to target the low end of their normal range of inventory.

是的。因此，我將從您的庫存問題開始。我認為回顧並了解 2024 財年結束時的情況非常重要。如果你還記得的話，我們在 24 財年結束時的消耗量比出貨量高出 6 個百分點。因此，當您思考我們今年的狀況時，我們仍然相信，一般而言，分銷商仍將目標鎖定在正常庫存範圍的低端。

Retailers have adjusted their inventory over the period of time in response to consumer takeaway trends and the higher inflation rate. If you look at our Schedule B that's in our earnings release, for this time, you'll see that for year-to-date, our shipments are largely in line with our depletions. And actually, our depletions are just ever so slightly ahead of our shipments.

零售商隨著消費者外送趨勢和更高的通貨膨脹率，在一段時間內調整了庫存。如果您查看我們收益報告中的 B 表，您會發現，今年迄今為止，我們的出貨量與消耗量基本一致。事實上，我們的消耗量略高於我們的出貨量。

So specifically in the US, on the last call, we would have said just to ensure a robust holiday selling season, there were some core SKUs for Jack Daniel's, Woodford Reserve and Corbel that we needed to have at the distributor ahead of the holiday selling season. So with the just retailers carrying lower inventory levels, we didn't hit an out-of-stock situation. So the distributors have largely sold through that seasonal inventory build.

特別是在美國，在上次通話中，我們說過，為了確保假日銷售旺季，我們需要在假日銷售旺季到來之前將 Jack Daniel's、Woodford Reserve 和 Corbel 的一些核心 SKU 準備好送到分銷商處。因此，由於零售商的庫存水準較低，我們並沒有遭遇缺貨的情況。因此，分銷商基本上是透過季節性庫存來銷售的。

And what we expect is that when we get to the end of this fiscal year, the shipments and depletions are largely going to be in line. So we're not forecasting any significant changes in the trade inventory levels. And then your other piece was depletion-based results.

我們預計，到本財政年度結束時，出貨量和消耗量將大致保持一致。因此我們預測貿易庫存水準不會發生任何重大變化。然後你的另一部分是基於消耗的結果。

So I think where we are is you're going to continue to see -- we're going to continue to operate in a highly dynamic environment. We think the consumer behaviors are going to be stable. We're still going to get a full year benefit of Genmar and Diplomateco. Again, we have our growth in emerging markets. We would have also talked about this entire year that innovation was skewed to the back half of the year.

所以我認為，我們現在的處境是，你將繼續看到——我們將繼續在高度動態的環境中運作。我們認為消費者行為將會穩定。我們仍將獲得 Genmar 和 Diplomateco 的全年福利。我們再次在新興市場取得了成長。我們也會談論今年全年的情況，創新主要集中在下半年。

We've now launched our Woodford Double Oak, which the shipments have come through. We expect the depletions to follow, and it's been a successful launch to date as well as our Jack Daniel's 14-year-old product as well.

我們現在已經推出了 Woodford Double Oak，貨物已經到貨。我們預計銷售量會隨之下降，到目前為止，這款產品的推出還是很成功的，我們的傑克丹尼 14 年產品也是如此。

Filippo Falorni, Citi.

花旗銀行的 Filippo Falorni。

I wanted to follow up on Peter's question. Just the amount of shipments above depletion. I know there's an inventory impact in the period -- in the year ago period. But how are you thinking like adding into fiscal '26, do you see any risk that there might be like a negative impact or like you feel like you're going to exit the year with a more normalized basis? And then if I can ask a different question on just the thoughts on tariffs.

我想跟進彼得的問題。剛好是消耗量以上的出貨量。我知道去年同期存在庫存影響。但是，您如何看待在 26 財年中添加的內容，您是否看到可能存在負面影響的風險，或者您是否覺得您將以更正常化的基礎結束這一年？然後我可以問一個關於關稅想法的不同問題。

Obviously, there's a lot of hidden uncertainty on the topic, but particularly with the EU, the risk that the introduction of tariffs by the end of the demand, just any perspective on how you're managing the situation from an inventory standpoint? And any thoughts on pricing with response to the tariffs?

顯然，這個問題存在著許多隱藏的不確定性，特別是對於歐盟來說，在需求結束時引入關稅的風險，從庫存的角度來看，您是如何管理這種情況的？您對響應關稅的定價有何想法？

So I'll start with inventory, just to conclude then I'll turn it over to Lawson for tariffs. For FY26 of course, we'll be talking about that in our June call. But again, as we think about where our inventory levels are, they continue to be at the low end of their normal range. We expect that shipments and depletions largely are going to come back into line for this fiscal year. So depending on where the year ends, we'll guide more on '26 when we get to June. But right now, everything remains stable in the inventory arena.

因此，我將從庫存開始，最後我將把它交給 Lawson 來處理關稅問題。當然，對於 FY26，我們將在 6 月的電話會議上討論這個問題。但是，當我們考慮我們的庫存水準時，我們發現它們仍然處於正常範圍的低端。我們預計本財年的出貨量和消耗量將大致恢復正常。因此，根據年份的結束時間，到 6 月時，我們將對 26 年做出更多指導。但目前庫存領域一切維持穩定。

Tariffs. I didn't think we'd make it 15 minutes on this call without getting to tariffs first. But look, just to start out with a little bit. This conversation around tariffs. One, it's obviously bigger than Brown-Forman, and it's bigger than our industry and every day seems to unfold a different twist on the story.

關稅。我認為如果不先討論關稅問題，我們就無法在這次通話中堅持 15 分鐘。但你看，只是從一點點開始。這次討論圍繞關稅展開。首先，它顯然比 Brown-Forman 規模更大，也比我們的行業規模更大，而且似乎每天都會上演著不同的故事。

So there's not that much that we can really say. I can tell our competitors and everyone that we're working with is shooting to try to get reciprocal zero for zero tariffs. That is our key ask. Maybe that's obvious. But to try to keep this industry out of these trade wars.

所以我們實際上能說的並不多。我可以告訴我們的競爭對手和所有與我們合作的人都在努力爭取零對零關稅。這是我們的關鍵要求。這也許很明顯。但要努力使這個行業遠離貿易戰。

So we're going to continue to prepare. We -- unfortunately, we've done this before. We've learned a bit, and we're committed to really trying to do the best we can for both our consumers and our stakeholders. And we think we know how to do that. So you asked about the EU and sort of what's happening there and but the EU tariffs, I mean, it's a real possibility, obviously, I mean they automatically roll over on March 31.

因此我們將繼續準備。不幸的是，我們以前就這樣做過。我們學到了一些知識，並致力於為消費者和利害關係人盡最大努力。我們認為我們知道如何做到這一點。所以你問到歐盟以及那裡發生的事情，但是歐盟的關稅，我的意思是，這顯然是真正有可能的，我的意思是它們會在 3 月 31 日自動延期。

We don't know where this thing is going. We don't know any more than you all know the 25%, it could be zero, it could 25%, it could be 50%, and we actually don't know yet. But we do know that the EU is trying to engage with our administration, and they have not -- so far, they've not announced any retaliation. So that's where it's -- there's not a whole lot more we can say. This reciprocity issue though, I think, is very, very important, and we're going to continue to push that and our competitors are doing something similar.

我們不知道這東西要去哪裡。我們所知的並不比你們知道的 25% 多，它可能是零，可能是 25%，可能是 50%，而我們實際上還不知道。但我們確實知道，歐盟正試圖與我們的政府接觸，而他們迄今為止還沒有宣布採取任何報復措施。事情就是這樣——我們能說的不多了。不過，我認為這個互惠問題非常非常重要，我們將繼續推動這一點，我們的競爭對手也在做類似的事情。

And -- but if it doesn't happen that way, if it rolls out where they're coming after American whiskey again and we don't have a situation of reciprocity, then the market for spirits once again gets very distorted that is a big disadvantage for us. But we really believe that's not going to be the case, and we're going to try to continue to believe and hope that American whiskey is not involved in this big dispute.

但是，如果情況沒有這樣發展，如果他們再次對美國威士忌發動攻擊，而我們沒有達成互惠協議，那麼烈酒市場將再次變得扭曲，這對我們來說是一個很大的劣勢。但我們確實相信情況不會如此，我們也將努力繼續相信並希望美國威士忌不會捲入這場大爭端。

So on what we've done and preparing for this, I mean, it is -- and I said this on the last quarter's call too, it's a tough thing to talk about it. It's very competitively sensitive. And so we're not going to say very much, but know that we do have measures in place and we're obviously watching this thing about as closely as we simply can.

所以關於我們為此做了什麼和做了什麼準備，我的意思是——我在上個季度的電話會議上也說過，這是一件很難談論的事情。這對競爭非常敏感。因此我們不會說太多，但要知道我們確實已經採取了措施，而且我們顯然正在盡可能密切地關注此事。

And then the only thing that I'll add to that is, as you know, this is a highly volatile situation that we can't predict what's going to happen. So just from a financial perspective, as Lawson said, we've been executing on multiple risk mitigation plans for most of this fiscal year. And with the situation as fluid as it is, we can say that any impact on any type of tariff would be included in our F'25 guidance, and we just believe it's prudent to wait until June to share any other thoughts on the potential impact going forward.

我唯一要補充的是，如你所知，這是一個高度不穩定的情況，我們無法預測會發生什麼。因此，正如勞森所說，僅從財務角度來看，我們在本財年的大部分時間都在執行多項風險緩解計畫。由於情況瞬息萬變，我們可以說，任何類型的關稅的影響都將包含在我們的 F'25 指引中，我們只是認為，等到 6 月再分享對未來潛在影響的任何其他想法是明智的。

Andrea Teixeira, JPM.

安德里亞·特謝拉 (Andrea Teixeira)，JPM。

This is Drew on for Andrea. So just following up on that thread, Leanne, and Lawson the tariffs on Mexico and Canada. I think Canada is removing some products from the LCBO. So can you maybe quantify the impact that you're building in on the fourth quarter? And then separately, maybe you could shed some light on how holiday performed versus your expectations in the US?

這是德魯 (Drew) 為安德里亞 (Andrea) 表演的。因此，Leanne 和 Lawson，請繼續關注該主題，討論對墨西哥和加拿大的關稅。我認為加拿大正在從 LCBO 中撤下一些產品。那麼您能否量化您對第四季的影響？然後另外，您能否解釋一下美國的假期表現與您的預期如何？

Why don't I take the Canada piece, and you can talk about the holidays a little bit. So yes, so Canada and Mexico and the EU for that matter, all -- there are different situations there. So I wouldn't try to (technical difficulty) not mixing them up. But I mean, recognizing Canada particularly is different than the others. So -- they -- yes, yesterday, they removed basically American, not just beverage alcohol, but a lot of American-made products have come off the shelves in Canada, which is tough.

我來談談加拿大的問題，然後你可以聊一聊假期的事情。是的，加拿大、墨西哥和歐盟的情況都不同。所以我不會嘗試（技術困難）不要將它們混淆。但我的意思是，對加拿大的認識與對其他國家的認識有所不同。所以 — — 是的，昨天，他們基本上將美國產品下架，不僅僅是酒精飲料，而且許多美國製造的產品都已在加拿大下架，這很艱難。

I mean, that's worse than a tariff because it's literally taking your sales away completely removing these -- our products on the shelves, we -- that's a very disproportionate response to a 25% tariff. So frustrating, and we're going to continue to try to fight for getting, as I said, just a minute ago, these reciprocal zero for zero tariffs is the best thing for our industry as a whole.

我的意思是，這比關稅更糟糕，因為它實際上會剝奪你的銷售額，徹底將我們的產品從貨架上撤下，這是對 25% 關稅的非常不相稱的回應。太令人沮喪了，我們將繼續努力爭取，正如我剛才所說，這些互惠的零對零關稅對我們整個產業來說是最好的。

And we're going to see how that all plays out. Canada is not a massive company for Brown Farm, and it's around 1% of our sales. So we can withstand. And it's disappointing that some of our consumers are going to be able to get our bottles of Jack Daniel's up there because it's a big brand in Canada and popular, but we will see how this this plays out and the rumors continue to float around Canada every day.

我們將拭目以待這一切將如何發展。對 Brown Farm 來說，加拿大並不是一家大公司，它只占我們銷售額的 1% 左右。所以我們可以承受。令人失望的是，我們的一些消費者將能夠在那裡買到我們的傑克丹尼威士忌，因為它在加拿大是一個大品牌，很受歡迎，但我們將拭目以待這件事將如何發展，謠言每天都在加拿大流傳。

So Mexico, we're going to have to see what happens with Mexico. They haven't announced anything either as specific of what is going to happen there. And I think we'll have to see when that actually comes out into the public.

所以墨西哥，我們必須看看墨西哥會發生什麼事。他們還沒有宣布那裡將發生什麼具體事情。我認為，我們必須等到該消息真正公諸於世時才能知道。

Yes. So then to your other part of your question, I would say, in general, the holiday selling season at the enterprise level was as we expected. Not a lot of change in consumer behavior, though, the consumer does continue to be more mindful of their spending. Many shoppers are prioritizing deals and promotion because they continue to be stretched.

是的。那麼關於你問題的另一部分，我想說，整體而言，企業層面的假期銷售季符合我們的預期。雖然消費者行為沒有太大變化，但消費者確實繼續更加註意自己的支出。由於資金緊張，許多購物者優先考慮優惠和促銷。

And this year, kind of what was different for us, and we've already talked about that is last year during kind of the end of the holiday selling season. That's when distributors began to move from the midpoint of their normal range down to the low end of their normal inventory range.

今年對我們來說有所不同，我們已經討論過，去年是在假日銷售季節的末期。此時，分銷商的庫存開始從正常範圍的中點降至正常庫存範圍的低端。

But all in all, we continue to see. It was a bit more of a promotional operating environment during the holiday season. We personally, we increased our price competitive, but we didn't as any of our suppliers. And I would say the percentage of the volume sold on promotion for us was at the midpoint of our competitive set. So again, as our theme is our results continue to be in line with our expectation in the holiday season kind of unfolded as we expected.

但總而言之，我們仍在繼續觀察。在節日期間，這更像是一種促銷營運環境。就我們個人而言，我們提高了價格競爭力，但我們沒有像任何供應商那樣提高價格。我想說的是，我們透過促銷銷售的量佔比處於競爭對手的中間水準。因此，正如我們的主題一樣，我們的業績繼續符合我們對假期的預期，正如我們預期的那樣。

One thing I think it's worth going through again. We've done this now I know the last few quarters is this whole argument of debate, I guess, on structural versus cyclical changes in our industry. And I do want to remind everyone, one of the points, I guess, that that somehow, I think is getting lost a little bit. If you back up in time -- let’s, actually go back up 20 years.

我認為有一件事值得再經歷一次。我們現在已經這樣做了，我知道過去幾季的爭論主要是關於我們行業的結構性變化與週期性變化。我確實想提醒大家，我想，其中一點，我認為不知何故，已經有點被忽視了。如果回顧過去——實際上，回溯到 20 年前。

A quick summary, US spirits market ran between four and a five for literally decades and that was based on some premium is helping. We had spirits taking share from wine and beer, you have population growth, you had all these things, and it made in for a multi-decade run of really, really healthy growth.

簡單總結一下，幾十年來，美國烈酒市場一直徘徊在 4 到 5 之間，這是基於一些溢價的幫助。烈酒佔據了葡萄酒和啤酒的份額，人口也在增長，所有這些因素都促成了數十年來真正健康的增長。

COVID come, shut up and then we went from kind of summer fall of 2020 for three years straight, the spirits market really globally was on fire and had really, really strong growth rates to the point everybody will remember, we couldn't supply at all because the demand was so high.

新冠疫情來了，我們閉嘴吧，然後從 2020 年夏秋開始連續三年，全球烈酒市場真的火爆起來，增長率非常非常強勁，以至於每個人都會記得，我們​​根本無法供應，因為需求太高了。

Fast forward to what has happened over the last 18 months in the summer of '23 beginning of the fall of '23, I remember standing on Labor Day weekend, proclaiming that the US market was growing between 5% and 6%, still look healthy, everything felt great.

快進到 18 個月前發生的事情，從 23 年夏天到 23 年初，我記得在勞動節週末，我宣布美國市場成長了 5% 到 6%，看起來仍然很健康，一切都感覺很棒。

From September '23 to December, literally four months, the market went from plus six to zero, and then it ran at a minus 2% for all of 2024. I say all that because I don't believe the big structural things that people talk about all the time, GLP-1s, cannabis in Gen Z, that does not take six or eight points off the US spirits market in a period of five months. I just don't believe that. And there's just no way that it could have that dramatic effect.

從 23 年 9 月到 12 月，也就是短短四個月的時間，市場從上漲 6% 跌至下跌 0%，然後在 2024 年全年下跌 2%。我之所以這麼說，是因為我不相信人們一直在談論的那些重大結構性因素，例如 GLP-1、Z 世代的大麻，這些因素不會在五個月內導緻美國烈酒市場下滑 6 到 8 個百分點。我就是不相信。而且它根本不可能產生如此顯著的效果。

And I truly believe that it's still inflation that is inflation, and we talked about these some of it in our prepared remarks. But just a consumer whose pocket is lighter right now, and they're struggling through it. So I'm not trying to be naive that GLP-1s and cannabis are not a long-term headwind. I do think they're out there. I just don't think they are the driving factors of what is affecting the spirits market today.

我堅信通貨膨脹就是通貨膨脹，我們在準備好的發言中已經談到了其中的一些問題。但現在消費者的錢包變輕了，他們正在苦苦掙扎。因此，我並不是天真地認為 GLP-1 和大麻不會成為長期的阻力。我確實認為他們就在那裡。我只是不認為這些是影響當今烈酒市場的驅動因素。

Gen Z is a little bit different in terms of headwinds. It's -- that's obviously the younger consumer who doesn't have -- they're getting their first jobs out of college maybe or whatever it might be. They just don't have the money in their pockets to be able to do things.

在逆風方面，Z 世代略有不同。這顯然是那些年輕的消費者，他們可能剛從大學畢業，剛找到第一份工作，或其他什麼原因。他們只是口袋裡沒有足夠的錢來做事。

So I would -- I think some of the popular press is sort of overreading into Gen Z and what they are doing. I think that the Gen Z will come back. And in fact, some of our internal studies, this would be something new. I don't think we've said. Some of our own internal work when you get to sort of in that 35 and up age group, we're actually seeing per capita going up in the United States, which I don't think a lot of people have said much around that.

所以我認為有些大眾媒體對 Z 世代及其所做的事情有過度解讀。我認為 Z 世代將會回歸。事實上，我們的一些內部研究發現，這是一個新事物。我想我們還沒說過。透過我們自己的一些內部工作，我們發現，當涉及到 35 歲及以上的年齡層時，美國的人均收入確實在上升，但我認為，很多人對此並沒有多加談論。

So look, Spirit is going to continue to take share from beer and one I do. I don't really see a reason why that would change. I talked about premiumization tough right now there's not a lot of premiumization happening, but even in the medium to longer term, we feel pretty good about that. And you've got a population boom of people turning LDA turning 21, at least for the US and that -- those numbers are improving.

所以你看，Spirit 將繼續搶佔啤酒的市場份額，我也這麼做了。我實在不明白為什麼這種情況會改變。我談到了高端化，雖然現在高端化的情況並不多，但即使從中長期來看，我們對此也感覺相當良好。至少在美國，年滿 21 歲的 LDA 人口數量正在激增，而且這些數字正在改善。

So there is a balance of both headwinds and tailwinds that we're dealing.

因此，我們要平衡逆風和順風。

Eric Serotta, Morgan Stanley.

摩根士丹利的埃里克·塞羅塔。

A couple of cleanup questions. First, in terms of California and the distributor transition there. Are you expecting anything unusual or visible in fourth quarter results from RNDC. I guess, selling down inventories, (technical difficulty) building inventories? Or do they just sort of wash out or net out to something not material in the quarter.

幾個清理問題。首先，就加州和那裡的經銷商轉型而言。您是否預期 RNDC 第四季的業績會出現任何不尋常或明顯的變化？我猜，賣掉庫存，（技術難度）建立庫存？或者他們只是以某種方式沖銷或淨扣除本季不重要的一些事項。

Then in terms of your finished goods inventories, I believe you spoke coming out of last fiscal year starting this fiscal year that your finished goods were on the high side and need to be throttling back production a little bit. Just wondering, is that done? Are your finished bids inventories now in place that you'd like?

然後就您的成品庫存而言，我相信您說過，從上個財年開始，到本財年開始，您的成品庫存就偏高，需要稍微減少生產。只是想知道，完成了嗎？您想要的已完成投標庫存現在是否已經到位了？

And then lastly, emerging markets, you are putting up some pretty nice org sales growth there. Just wondering how much of that is coming from pricing versus volume. Are you seeing some pretty big inflationary pricing in markets like Turkey or is a lot of this growth coming from volumes.

最後，在新興市場，你們的組織銷售額在那裡實現了相當不錯的成長。只是想知道其中有多少是由價格還是數量決定的。您是否看到土耳其等市場出現了相當大的通膨價格，或者這種增長很大一部分來自於數量。

Okay. Great. Well, I'll start with California. We have all of our teams through R&DC, Brown-Forman and Ray all working to have a seamless transition again. We believe that as we go through kind of the rest of this fiscal year that we will see a seamless transition. And not a negative impact as we go through this transition.

好的。偉大的。好吧，我先從加州開始。我們所有的團隊都透過 R&DC、Brown-Forman 和 Ray 共同努力，確保再次實現無縫過渡。我們相信，隨著本財政年度剩餘時間的推進，我們將看到無縫過渡。當我們經歷這轉變時，不會產生負面影響。

Again, we have been with Rays, and we've expanded our relationship with them. we continue to be a huge partner with R&DC across the other 23 states. So we're all working together to ensure that seamless transition. From a brown form and finished goods question perspective, we have been working over this fiscal year, as we've talked about with lower production to adjust our finished goods, raw material inventories back down to more historic levels.

再說一次，我們一直與 Rays 合作，並且擴大了與他們的關係。我們將繼續與其他 23 個州的 R&DC 保持重要的合作關係。因此，我們正在共同努力，確保順利過渡。從棕色形式和成品問題的角度來看，我們在本財政年度致力於降低產量，以調整我們的成品，原材料庫存回到歷史水平。

We've made significant progress in that. I would like to believe we definitely have more to go. You'll see that impact somewhat muted because of our continued execution against our tariff mitigation strategies. So that will become more visible over time.

我們在這方面取得了重大進展。我願意相信我們肯定還有更多的路要走。由於我們繼續執行關稅減免策略，你會發現這種影響有所減弱。隨著時間的推移，這一點將變得更加明顯。

And then in emerging markets, it's dependent on the market because Brazil we have geographic expansion. For Türkiye, again, you talked about with the inflationary market there, we are taking pricing, but then it continues to be a market where the premium whiskey category continues to grow. So we have a mix, and it's just on a country-by-country basis.

然後在新興市場，它依賴市場，因為巴西我們有地理擴張。對於土耳其，您再次談到了那裡的通貨膨脹市場，我們正在定價，但它仍然是一個高檔威士忌類別持續成長的市場。因此，我們有一個混合方案，並且只是根據各個國家的情況而定。

But I think probably one thing I will add to that is we have said over time and that came out of our Investor Day that Brown-Forman's opportunity in emerging markets was an opportunity that I think we heard from a lot of you all that was said was underappreciated. And this is a moment where we're seeing that growth come through in those markets.

但我想我可能要補充的一點是，我們曾經說過，在我們的投資者日上，Brown-Forman 在新興市場的機會是一個我認為我們從很多人那裡聽到的、被低估的機會。此時此刻，我們看到這些市場正在成長。

Bonnie Herzog, Goldman Sachs.

高盛的邦妮·赫爾佐格 (Bonnie Herzog)。

All right. Actually I was hoping for a little bit more color on your marketing and advertising spend in the quarter, which was scaled back a little bit. And so I just -- and I think about that in the context of the lift you saw in your margins and certainly EPS and near term, but just maybe help us understand the strategy behind your spend levels moving forward, especially in the context of brand building and driving the recovery that you kind of are highlighting?

好的。實際上，我希望您能更詳細地了解本季的行銷和廣告支出，但該季度的支出有所減少。所以我只是 — — 我從您在利潤率和每股收益以及短期內看到的提升的角度來思考這個問題，但也許這有助於我們了解您未來支出水平背後的策略，特別是在品牌建設和推動您所強調的復甦的背景下？

Okay. I can let last lesson talk about brand building. I'll just talk at the highest level, where we've always said our brand spend is generally in line with our top line growth. The key there is we always say that it assumes no impact from a change in distributor inventories or otherwise, that kind of more in line with our depletion-based top line growth because we are continuing to invest, particularly in Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey, and we're focused on maintaining and growing their share of voice for that long-term brand equity and (technical difficulty)

好的。我可以讓上節課談論品牌建立。我只想從最高層面談談，我們一直說我們的品牌支出通常與我們的營收成長一致。關鍵在於，我們總是說，它假設分銷商庫存變化或其他因素不會產生影響，這更符合我們基於消耗的營收成長，因為我們將繼續投資，特別是對傑克·丹尼田納西威士忌的投資，我們專注於維護和增加他們的長期品牌資產份額。（技術難度）

Yes. I mean, as Leanne said, we tend to have a brand expense move with our underlying sales growth. That doesn't -- that -- I mean, that's not particularly strong right now across much of the industry. But I think importantly, we're going to continue to invest strongly behind the brand. As you know, we had a pretty big reorg around here -- almost two months ago.

是的。我的意思是，正如 Leanne 所說，我們的品牌費用往往會隨著基礎銷售額的成長而成長。這並不意味著 — — 我的意思是，目前整個行業的情況並不是特別強勁。但我認為重要的是，我們將繼續大力投資該品牌。如你所知，大約兩個月前我們進行了相當大的重組。

Some of that investment will go against incremental brand expense, brand investment, advertising, all that kind of stuff. We are working through that right now. We've -- it's really not a factor in fiscal '25, and we're going to see what it looks like for fiscal '26. I think we'll probably talk about that more on our next conference call, but there will be incremental investments coming to support the brand growth. .

其中一些投資將與增量品牌費用、品牌投資、廣告等所有方面相抵觸。我們現在正在努力解決這個問題。我們已經知道這實際上不是 25 財年的一個因素，我們將看看 26 財年的情況如何。我想我們可能會在下次電話會議上進一步討論這個問題，但將會有增量投資來支持品牌成長。。

Ladies and gentlemen, due to the interest of time, I would now like to turn the call back over to Sue for closing remarks.

女士們、先生們，由於時間關係，我現在想將發言權交還給蘇，請她作結束語。

Well, thank you. And thank you, Lawson, and Leanne, and thank you to everyone for joining us today for Brown-Forman's third quarter and year-to-date fiscal year 2025 earnings call. If you have any additional questions, please contact us. We look forward to participating in the UBS Global Consumer and Retail Conference in New York next week and hope to see many of you.

好吧，謝謝你。謝謝勞森 (Lawson) 和莉安 (Leanne)，也謝謝大家今天參加 Brown-Forman 2025 財年第三季和年初至今的收益電話會議。如果您還有其他問題，請與我們聯絡。我們期待下週參加紐約的瑞銀全球消費者和零售會議，並希望見到大家。

For those of you unable to attend, our fireside chat will be made available as a webcast accessible via the Brown-Forman corporate website under the section titled Investors, Events and Presentations. With that, this concludes today's call.

對於無法參加的各位，我們的爐邊談話將以網路直播的形式提供，可透過 Brown-Forman 公司網站的「投資者、活動和演示」欄位存取。今天的電話會議到此結束。

Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。