2026-08-28
Pernod Ricard said Thursday that sales fell in its latest fiscal year as weaker demand in the United States and China offset growth in other markets, prompting the French drinks group to lower its medium-term expectations and prepare for another difficult year.
The company reported net sales of €9.4 billion, or about $10.9 billion, for the fiscal year ended in June, down 3.9% on an organic basis. Profit from recurring operations fell 5.2% to €2.4 billion, or about $2.8 billion. Pernod Ricard said that if the United States and China were excluded, organic sales would have risen 0.5%.
The results matter well beyond one company’s balance sheet because Pernod Ricard is one of the largest spirits producers in the world and a major supplier in the American market. A weaker outlook from a company of that size can shape decisions on marketing, inventory, distribution and pricing across the broader beverage business, especially at a time when many producers are already dealing with cautious consumers and slower sales.
According to Impact Databank, Pernod Ricard is the third-largest spirits marketer in the world by volume, at 125 million cases, and the sixth-largest in the United States, where it sells 15.3 million cases a year. The company said the American market accounted for 17% of its global sales in the last fiscal year.
That market was one of the clearest drags on performance. Pernod Ricard said sales in the United States fell 14% for the year. It said underlying sell-out was down 7%, with the decline made worse by inventory adjustments. In practical terms, that means softer demand at retail and on-premise outlets was compounded by efforts in the supply chain to reduce stocks.
The company said conditions in the United States remain subdued, with consumer confidence still weak. It said it plans to respond faster to market changes by focusing on consumer recruitment, brand activation, revenue growth management, innovation, ready-to-drink products, smaller package formats, on-premise activity and cultural partnerships.
The company also pointed to signs of uneven performance inside its American portfolio. It said Jameson and Kahlúa are outperforming their competitive sets, while Malibu and Skrewball have shown improvement, helped by smaller formats and by Malibu Pink, a line extension. Even so, volume trends in broad retail data remained negative for several of Pernod Ricard’s biggest labels.
In control states through July, the company’s portfolio was down 4.2% by volume overall. In NielsenIQ channels through Aug. 15, Malibu, Kahlúa, Beefeater and Redbreast held up better than the rest of the company’s key brands, while Jameson and Absolut, two of its largest labels, were down 6.2% and 8.6%, respectively, by volume.
The company’s brand data showed how broad the pressure has been in the United States. Jameson, its biggest American label, sold 3.673 million 9-liter cases in 2025 and was down 6.2% in year-to-date off-premise volume. Absolut, with 2.577 million cases, was down 8.6%. Malibu, at 2.027 million cases, was down 1.6%, and Kahlúa, at 933,000 cases, was down 3.8%. The Glenlivet was down 5.9%, Beefeater 3.9%, and Martell 11.2%, while Redbreast was nearly flat at down 0.4%.
Outside the United States, the picture was firmer for some of Pernod Ricard’s core brands. The company said Jameson sales rose 9% during the fiscal year excluding the U.S. market, while Absolut was up 2% outside the country. Those gains helped soften the effect of weaker American demand but did not fully offset the pressure from the United States and China.
Pernod Ricard said it now expects global sales to be flat in the coming year, reflecting what it described as likely continued difficult conditions in both countries. The company said it would keep advertising and promotion spending at 16% of net sales and maintain a €700 million, or about $815 million, budget for strategic investments.
At the same time, management is leaning on cost controls. Pernod Ricard said its efficiency program is expected to deliver €1 billion, or about $1.16 billion, in savings through fiscal 2028. Like other large drinks companies, it is trying to balance brand investment with tighter expense management as shoppers pull back, trade down or buy less often.
The revised outlook also affected the company’s medium-term guidance. Pernod Ricard said it now expects sales growth over the next three years to come in at the lower end of its previously stated 3% to 6% range, and it pointed directly to weakness in the U.S. market as a reason for that change.
For the beverage industry, that shift may carry broader implications. If a major spirits supplier continues to direct spending toward smaller formats, ready-to-drink products and tighter revenue management, competitors and distributors may feel pressure to make similar moves. A prolonged slowdown in the United States could also influence how much producers spend behind their brands, how much inventory wholesalers carry and how aggressively companies try to raise prices in a market that has shown less tolerance for it.