Brown-Forman advertising spend, FY2026

Brown-Forman (BF-B) reported $462M of advertising expense for the fiscal year ended Apr 30, 2026. That is 9.1% of revenue of $5.1B. Down 4.5% from FY2025.

Ad spend, FY2026
$462M
year ended Apr 30, 2026
Change vs prior year
-4.5%
vs FY2025
Share of revenue
9.1%
of $5.1B revenue
Rank by ad spend
#134
of 336 companies

Key facts

  • Ad spend is 1.1x its FY2016 level ($417M).
  • The highest year on file is FY2024 at $529M; FY2026 is 13% below it.
  • Largest increase +15.5% in FY2023; largest cut -10.8% in FY2017.
  • Ad spend has fallen 2 years in a row.
  • Ad spend is 9.1% of revenue, up from 8.8% in FY2021.
  • Brown-Forman spends more on advertising than 60% of the 336 US-listed companies tracked. Its ad-to-revenue ratio is 1.8x the median of 5.2%.

Ad spend by fiscal year

$0 $200M $400M $600M FY2009 (ended 2009-04-30): $383M FY2010 (ended 2010-04-30): $350M FY2011 (ended 2011-04-30): $366M 2011 FY2012 (ended 2012-04-30): $395M FY2013 (ended 2013-04-30): $408M FY2014 (ended 2014-04-30): $436M 2014 FY2015 (ended 2015-04-30): $437M FY2016 (ended 2016-04-30): $417M FY2017 (ended 2017-04-30): $372M 2017 FY2018 (ended 2018-04-30): $405M FY2019 (ended 2019-04-30): $396M FY2020 (ended 2020-04-30): $383M 2020 FY2021 (ended 2021-04-30): $399M FY2022 (ended 2022-04-30): $438M FY2023 (ended 2023-04-30): $506M 2023 FY2024 (ended 2024-04-30): $529M FY2025 (ended 2025-04-30): $484M FY2026 (ended 2026-04-30): $462M 2026 $462M

Ad spend as % of revenue

0% 3% 5% 8% 10% FY2009 (ended 2009-04-30): n/a FY2010 (ended 2010-04-30): n/a FY2011 (ended 2011-04-30): n/a 2011 FY2012 (ended 2012-04-30): n/a FY2013 (ended 2013-04-30): n/a FY2014 (ended 2014-04-30): n/a 2014 FY2015 (ended 2015-04-30): n/a FY2016 (ended 2016-04-30): n/a FY2017 (ended 2017-04-30): 9.6% 2017 FY2018 (ended 2018-04-30): 9.6% FY2019 (ended 2019-04-30): 9.3% FY2020 (ended 2020-04-30): 8.9% 2020 FY2021 (ended 2021-04-30): 8.8% FY2022 (ended 2022-04-30): 8.6% FY2023 (ended 2023-04-30): 9.4% 2023 FY2024 (ended 2024-04-30): 9.9% FY2025 (ended 2025-04-30): 9.6% FY2026 (ended 2026-04-30): 9.1% 2026 9.1%

History

Download CSV
Fiscal year Period end Ad spend YoY Revenue Ad / revenue Tag Filing
FY2026 Apr 30, 2026 $462M -4.5% $5.1B 9.1% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Jun 12, 2026
FY2025 Apr 30, 2025 $484M -8.5% $5.1B 9.6% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Jun 12, 2026
FY2024 Apr 30, 2024 $529M +4.5% $5.3B 9.9% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Jun 12, 2026
FY2023 Apr 30, 2023 $506M +15.5% $5.4B 9.4% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Jun 13, 2025
FY2022 Apr 30, 2022 $438M +9.8% $5.1B 8.6% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Jun 14, 2024
FY2021 Apr 30, 2021 $399M +4.2% $4.5B 8.8% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Jun 16, 2023
FY2020 Apr 30, 2020 $383M -3.3% $4.3B 8.9% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Jun 17, 2022
FY2019 Apr 30, 2019 $396M -2.2% $4.3B 9.3% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Jun 21, 2021
FY2018 Apr 30, 2018 $405M +8.9% $4.2B 9.6% AdvertisingExpense 10-K/A Jun 22, 2020
FY2017 Apr 30, 2017 $372M -10.8% $3.9B 9.6% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Jun 13, 2019
FY2016 Apr 30, 2016 $417M -4.6% n/a n/a AdvertisingExpense 10-K Jun 13, 2018
FY2015 Apr 30, 2015 $437M +0.2% n/a n/a AdvertisingExpense 10-K Jun 15, 2017
FY2014 Apr 30, 2014 $436M +6.9% n/a n/a AdvertisingExpense 10-K Jun 16, 2016
FY2013 Apr 30, 2013 $408M +3.3% n/a n/a AdvertisingExpense 10-K Jun 18, 2015
FY2012 Apr 30, 2012 $395M +7.9% n/a n/a AdvertisingExpense 10-K Jun 20, 2014
FY2011 Apr 30, 2011 $366M +4.6% n/a n/a AdvertisingExpense 10-K Jun 27, 2013
FY2010 Apr 30, 2010 $350M -8.6% n/a n/a AdvertisingExpense 10-K Jun 27, 2012
FY2009 Apr 30, 2009 $383M n/a n/a n/a AdvertisingExpense 10-K Jun 27, 2011

What the figure is

Advertising costs as disclosed in the annual report (XBRL tag AdvertisingExpense).

Compared with similar spenders

The 6 companies closest to Brown-Forman in latest-year ad spend.

Rank Company Ad spend Ad / revenue YoY Fiscal year
130 NerdWallet $486M 58.1% +31.4% FY2025
131 Maplebear (Instacart) $485M 13.0% +6.1% FY2025
132 Block (Square, Cash App) $478M 2.0% +41.5% FY2025
133 Cimpress $468M 12.5% +4.8% FY2026
134 Brown-Forman $462M 9.1% -4.5% FY2026
135 Levi Strauss $437M 7.0% +1.6% FY2025
136 FedEx $436M 0.5% +2.6% FY2026

Full ranking of 336 companies · Biggest cuts #52

Questions

How much does Brown-Forman spend on advertising?

Brown-Forman spent $462M on advertising in fiscal 2026, the year ended Apr 30, 2026, according to its 10-K filed Jun 12, 2026.

What percentage of revenue does Brown-Forman spend on advertising?

9.1% of revenue in fiscal 2026 ($462M of $5.1B). The median across the 336 companies tracked is 5.2%.

Is Brown-Forman spending more on advertising?

No. Ad spend fell 4.5% in fiscal 2026 from fiscal 2025. It has fallen 2 years in a row.

How does Brown-Forman rank by advertising spend?

#134 of 336 US-listed companies with $100M or more in ad spend, ranked on each company's latest fiscal year.

What does Brown-Forman's advertising figure include?

Advertising costs as disclosed in the annual report (XBRL tag AdvertisingExpense).

Source

Filing
10-K for FY2026, filed Jun 12, 2026
Accession number
0000014693-26-000024
Company
BROWN FORMAN CORP, CIK 14693, SIC 2080 (Beverages)
Data
SEC EDGAR XBRL company facts, retrieved Nov 4, 2026. Methodology.
Cite
Brown-Forman advertising spend, FY2009-FY2026. Aleksei Trudov, io.trudov.com, from SEC EDGAR XBRL company facts (latest: 10-K filed Jun 12, 2026), retrieved Nov 4, 2026. https://io.trudov.com/company/brown-forman/advertising-spend/
Download
CSV, all years · CSV, all 336 companies