Particle.news

Diageo Cuts Outlook Again, Halves Dividend as New CEO Launches Reset

New CEO Dave Lewis seeks to shore up the balance sheet by trimming payouts ahead of a summer strategy update.

Overview

  • The company now guides for 2026 organic net sales down 2% to 3% and organic operating profit flat to up low single digits.
  • The interim dividend was reduced to 20 cents per share with a stated minimum dividend of 50 cents per year.
  • First-half results showed reported net sales of about $10.5 billion, down 4%, and operating profit of roughly $3.1 billion, down 1.2%.
  • Weakness in the United States and China drove the downgrade, with U.S. sales down 9.3% and tequila brands such as Don Julio falling more than 23%, while Europe and Latin America grew.
  • Management is accelerating cost savings with about half targeted this fiscal year, maintains an estimated $200 million annual tariff headwind, and faced a sharp market sell-off that erased over £5 billion in value.