Becle profits slide 12.8% as Jose Cuervo owner hit by weaker US Tequila sales
Fourth-quarter earnings at Becle, parent of Jose Cuervo, have missed forecasts as North American demand falters and tax pressures continue to increase. The Mexican drinks giant also faces mounting uncertainty over US trade policy and slowing Tequila imports.
Becle, the parent company of Jose Cuervo, saw its fourth quarter net profit fall by 12.8% compared to the same period in 2024.
The Mexican group, which is controlled by the Beckmann family, blamed the downturn on lower sales, higher taxes and the strength of the peso.
Net profit in the three months to Christmas fell to 1.35 billion Mexican pesos (US$75 million), on sales 14.1% lower at 11.08 billion pesos, with volumes in North America, the main market for Tequila, substantially lower.
Analysts had predicted a net profit of 1.60 billion pesos from revenues of 12.25 billion pesos.
The company said a higher income tax burden and lower sales had hit its operating leverage despite improvements in both gross margins and operating margins.
Shares down 30%
In common with most other big drinks groups, Becle’s shares have fallen by some 30% in the past 12 months.
Although the world’s largest Tequila producer, Becle’s business is heavily tilted toward its Mexican home market, plus the US and Canada.
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Typically, more than half its sales come from North America and a further 25% from Mexico.
US Tequila market contracts sharply
In 2025, there was a further downturn in spirits sold in the US as consumers tightened their spending and moved down to smaller sizes and avoided premium brands, especially labels such as Diageo’s Casamigos, which saw its sales halve in the year.
The latest figures from the U.S. Distilled Spirits Council put Tequila imports at $2.83 billion in the first nine months of 2025, down 26% from the same period in 2024. All spirits imports fell by 17%, making tequila one of the hardest hit categories.
In addition, Becle was also hit by the backwash of Canada’s effective boycott of US products in the wake of Donald Trump’s tariff policy.
In the U.S. imported $2.83 billion-worth of tequila, down 26% from the same period a year earlier, according to the U.S. Distilled Spirits Council, as spirits imports fell 17% across the board.
Tequila imports to the US were protected from Trump’s penal tariffs on Mexico because they were already covered by the tripartite trade pact between Mexico, the US and Canada.
The present uncertainty over the US president’s next actions on tariffs leaves the tequila industry enveloped in uncertainty about its largest market, especially as the three-way trade pact expires in July.
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