Berenberg Updates Diageo Forecasts After FY26 Results, Capital Markets Day; Buy Maintained

07:48 AM EDT, 08/10/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Berenberg updated its forecasts for Diageo (DGE.L) following the alcoholic beverage group's fiscal 2026 results and capital markets day, during which its financial targets for the next fiscal year and over the medium term were unveiled. "Following all the restructurings implemented over the past six months, Diageo is now more agile and competitive as an organisation, and that management's message - particularly that of CEO Sir Dave Lewis - was that there is no need for a margin reset and that the plan is to turnaround the business organically," analysts wrote in a note published Monday. "Guidance for FY27 is for an incremental improvement on FY26. Diageo is looking for organic net sales growth of flat (versus consensus pre-FY26 results at 1.3%) and organic operating profit growth of a low- to mid-single-digit percentage (versus consensus at +0.3%). The building blocks are the North America spirits market down 3% yoy with market share improvement for Diageo, while Europe, Latin America and Africa remain the core drivers of growth." With this in mind, the research firm lowered its sales and EPS estimates for fiscal 2027 by 1.8% and 0.6%, respectively, while those for fiscal 2028 were also reduced. The EBIT projections for both years, on the other hand, were upwardly adjusted. The buy recommendation on the stock was reiterated, with an unchanged price target of 22.23 pounds sterling.