Sifting through countless of stocks in the Beverages industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Brown-Forman Corporation or Diageo plc because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Brown-Forman Corporation and Diageo plc compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Brown-Forman Corporation and Diageo plc

Brown-Forman Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, distills, bottles, imports, exports, markets, and sells a variety of alcohol beverages. It provides spirits, wines, whiskey spirits, whiskey-based flavored liqueurs, ready-to-drink cocktails, ready-to-pour products, vodkas, tequilas, gin, brandy, rum, bourbons, and liqueurs. The company offers its products primarily under the Jack Daniel's, Woodford Reserve, Old Forester, Gentleman Jack, Herradura, el Jimador, Fords Gin, The Glendronach, Benriach, Glenglassaugh, and Slane brands. It is also involved in the sale of used barrels, and bulk whiskey and wine; and provision of contract bottling services. The company serves retail customers and consumers through distributors and state governments; and retailers, wholesalers, and provincial governments directly. It operates in the United States, Germany, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Mexico, Poland, Brazil, Türkiye, and internationally. Brown-Forman Corporation was founded in 1870 and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.

Diageo plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production, marketing, and distribution of alcoholic beverages in North America, Europe, the Asia Pacific, Latin America and Caribbean, and Africa. It offers beer, scotch, gin, vodka, rum, liqueur, raki, wine, Irish and Canadian whisky, US and Indian whisky, Chinese whisky, cachaça, tequila, brandy, and Chinese white spirit beverages. The company also provides ready-to-drink and non-alcoholic beverages. Its principal brands include Johnnie Walker, Don Julio, Guinness, Crown Royal, Smirnoff, Baileys, Captain Morgan, Casamigos, Shui Jing Fang, and McDowell's. The company was formerly known as Guinness plc and changed its name to Diageo plc in February 1998. The company was incorporated in 1886 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

Latest Beverages and Brown-Forman Corporation, Diageo plc Stock News

As of May 29, 2026, Brown-Forman Corporation had a $12.0 billion market capitalization, compared to the Beverages median of $8.5 million. Brown-Forman Corporation’s stock is down 3.2% in 2026, down 3.7% in the previous five trading days and down 24.04% in the past year.

Currently, Brown-Forman Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 15.0. Brown-Forman Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $3.9 billion with a 20.6% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 2.0%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $1.747 per share for the current fiscal year. Brown-Forman Corporation currently has a 3.6% dividend yield.

As of May 29, 2026, Diageo plc had a $45.9 billion market cap, putting it in the 93rd percentile of all stocks. Diageo plc’s stock is down 7.4% in 2026, down 7.2% in the previous five trading days and down 23.71% in the past year.

Currently, Diageo plc’s price-earnings ratio is 76.2. Diageo plc’s trailing 12-month revenue is $19.8 billion with a 12.2% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was -4.0%. There are no analysts providing consensus earnings estimates for the current fiscal year. Diageo plc currently has a 1.9% dividend yield.

How We Compare Brown-Forman Corporation and Diageo plc Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Brown-Forman Corporation and Diageo plc’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Brown-Forman Corporation and Diageo plc Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
Brown-Forman Corporation	BF.B	C
Diageo plc	DEO	F

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Brown-Forman Corporation has a Value Score of 46, which is Average. Diageo plc has a Value Score of 12, which is Ultra Expensive.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Brown-Forman Corporation or Diageo plc has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Brown-Forman Corporation or Diageo plc is the better investment when it comes to value.

Brown-Forman Corporation and Diageo plc Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Brown-Forman Corporation	BF.B	C
Diageo plc	DEO	B

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Brown-Forman Corporation has a Growth Score of 56, which is Average. Diageo plc has a Growth Score of 77, which is Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: Diageo plc

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, Diageo plc has a more attractive growth grade than Brown-Forman Corporation. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, Diageo plc could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Brown-Forman Corporation and Diageo plc’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Brown-Forman Corporation	BF.B	A
Diageo plc	DEO	B

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Brown-Forman Corporation has a Quality Score of 86, which is Very Strong. Diageo plc has a Quality Score of 62, which is Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: Brown-Forman Corporation

As you can clearly see from the Quality Grade breakdown above, Brown-Forman Corporation has a better overall quality grade than Diageo plc. For investors who are looking for companies with higher quality than others in the same industry, Brown-Forman Corporation could be a good stock to add to their portfolios. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other Brown-Forman Corporation and Diageo plc Grades

In addition to Value, Quality and Growth, A+ Investor also provides grades for Momentum and Estimate Revisions.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

Earnings estimate revisions scores take into account the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, surprises beget further surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Brown-Forman Corporation and Diageo plc pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Brown-Forman Corporation or Diageo plc Stock?

Overall, Brown-Forman Corporation stock has a Value Score of 46, Growth Score of 56 and Quality Score of 86.

Diageo plc stock has a Value Score of 12, Growth Score of 77 and Quality Score of 62.

Comparing Brown-Forman Corporation and Diageo plc’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.