Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections NA
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Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections NA
| | | | | | | | | | | PART III | | | | | | | | | | Item 10. | | | Directors, Executive Officers, and Corporate Governance | | | 109 | | | | Item 11. | | | Executive Compensation | | | 109 | | | | Item 12. | | | Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters | | | 109 | | | | Item 13. | | | Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence | | | 110 | | | | Item 14. | | | Principal Accountant Fees and Services | | | 110 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | PART IV | | | | | | | | | | Item 15. | | | Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules | | | 111 | | | | Item 16. | | | Form 10-K Summary | | | 111 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | INDEX TO EXHIBITS | | | | | | 112 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | SIGNATURES | | | | | | 118 | | |
Market positions and industry data discussed in this Form 10-K are as of calendar 2025 and have been obtained or derived from industry and government publications and our estimates. The industry and government publications include: Beer Marketers Insights; Beverage Information Group; Impact Databank Review and Forecast; International Wine and Spirits Research (IWSR); Circana™; Beer Institute; and National Alcohol Beverage Control Association. We have not independently verified the data from the industry and government publications. Unless otherwise noted, all references to market positions are based on U.S. dollar sales.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Form 10-K contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in, or implied by, such forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this Form 10-K are forward-looking statements, including without limitation:
*•*The statements under Item 1. “Business” and MD&A regarding:
*◦*our mission and business strategy, including our strategic vision, growth plans, digital acceleration initiatives, and focus on maintaining a strong balance sheet;
*◦*our focus on upholding our leadership position in the U.S. beer market, growing our high-end imported beer brands through maintenance of leading margins, enhancing our results of operations and operating cash flow, and exploring new avenues for growth, including increasing distribution for key brands and optimizing growth through differentiated brand positioning, price pack architecture, and market prioritization;
*◦*our repositioned wine and spirits portfolio that we believe is positioned for long-term growth, focus on operational efficiencies and tactical measures, and commitment to improving margins, increasing distribution for key brands, and optimizing growth, as well as expanding our supply channels to maximize our total addressable market opportunity;
*◦*our beer modular capacity addition activities, including anticipated scope, capacity, costs, capital expenditures, and timeframes for completion, and associated opportunities;
*◦*our innovation, marketing, sales, production, and distribution plans, activities, and strategies, access to and availability of resources and production materials, impacts of government regulations, environmental sustainability, CSR, and human capital strategies, commitments, and aspirations;
*◦*our enterprise-wide cybersecurity program, including our ability to prevent, identify, respond to, or mitigate the impacts of cyber threats or incidents;
*◦*the condition and working order of our facilities, and the expected commencement of production at the Veracruz Brewery;
*◦*our long-term financial model, target comparable net leverage and target dividend payout ratios, future operations, financial condition and position, net sales, expenses, hedging programs, cost savings, restructuring, and efficiency initiatives, capital expenditures, effective tax rates and anticipated tax liabilities, expected volume, inventory, supply and demand levels, balance, and trends, access to capital markets, liquidity and capital resources, including our ability to consistently generate robust cash flow and raise or repay debt, and prospects, plans, and objectives of management;
*◦*the dynamic and evolving consumer environment and trends, socioeconomic factors, including subdued spend, depressed sentiment, value-seeking behaviors, and reductions in discretionary income, elevated unemployment, changing prices, inflation, other unfavorable global and regional economic conditions, demographic trends in the U.S., global supply chain disruptions and constraints, geopolitical events and tensions, wars, and military conflicts, including the conflict in the Middle East, and our responses thereto;
*◦*developments in international trade relations, including changes to trade and tariff policies and regulations, and alterations of the global trade environment;
*◦*expected or potential actions of third parties, including possible changes to laws, rules, and regulations;
*◦*the potential impact of severe weather events or other weather conditions;
*◦*the manner, timing, and duration of the share repurchase program and source of funds for share repurchases;
*◦*the amount and timing of future dividends; and
*◦*the statements regarding the impacts of recent accounting pronouncements.
*•*The statements regarding the future reclassification of net gains from AOCI.
| Constellation Brands, Inc. FY 2026 Form 10-K | #WORTHREACHINGFOR I i |
When used in this Form 10-K, the words “anticipate,” “expect,” “intend,” “will,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this Form 10-K. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. In addition to the risks and uncertainties of ordinary business operations and conditions in the general economy and markets in which we compete, our forward-looking statements contained in this Form 10-K are also subject to the risk, uncertainty, and possible variance from our current expectations regarding:
*•*potential declines in the consumption of products we sell and our dependence on sales of our beer brands;
*•*our President and Chief Executive Officer transition;
*•*impacts of our acquisition, divestiture, investment, and NPD strategies and activities;
*•*dependence upon our trademarks and proprietary rights, including the failure to protect our intellectual property rights;
*•*potential damage to our reputation;
*•*competition in our industry and for talent;
*•*economic and other uncertainties associated with our international operations, including tariffs;
*•*supply of quality water, agricultural and other raw materials, certain raw and packaging materials purchased under supply contracts, supply chain disruptions and other factors, and limited groups of certain suppliers;
*•*reliance on complex information systems and third‐party global networks as well as risks associated with cybersecurity and AI;
*•*dependence on limited facilities for production of our beer brands and impacts from our Brewery Projects;
*•*operational disruptions or catastrophic loss to our breweries, wineries, other facilities, or distribution systems;
*•*severe weather, natural and man-made disasters, climate change, environmental sustainability and CSR-related regulatory compliance and failure to meet environmental sustainability and CSR commitments and aspirations;
*•*the success of our cost savings, restructuring, and efficiency initiatives;
*•*reliance on wholesale distributors, major retailers, and government agencies;
*•*food safety and quality, including contamination and product degradation from diseases, pests, weather, and other conditions;
*•*communicable infection or disease outbreaks, pandemics, or other widespread public health crises impacting our consumers, Customers, employees, and/or suppliers;
*•*effects of employee labor activities that could increase our costs;
*•*our indebtedness and credit ratings, interest rate fluctuations, and credit market disruptions or volatility;
*•*our international operations, worldwide and regional economic trends and financial market conditions, geopolitical uncertainty, including as a result of the conflict in the Middle East, or other governmental rules and regulations;
*•*class action or other litigation we face or may face, including relating to alleged securities law violations, abuse or misuse of our products, product liability, marketing or sales practices, or other matters;
*•*potential impairments of our intangible assets, such as goodwill and trademarks;
*•*changes to tax laws, fluctuations in our effective tax rate, accounting for tax positions, resolution of tax disputes, changes to accounting standards, elections, assertions, or policies, and the potential impact of a global minimum tax rate;
*•*uncertainties related to future cash dividends and share repurchases, which may affect the price of our common stock;
*•*ownership of our Class A Stock by the Sands Family Stockholders and their Board of Director nomination rights; and
*•*the choice-of-forum provision in our Amended and Restated By-laws regarding certain stockholder litigation.
For additional information about risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in or implied by our forward-looking statements contained in this Form 10-K are those described in Item 1A. and elsewhere in this Form 10-K and in our other filings with the SEC.
| Constellation Brands, Inc. FY 2026 Form 10-K | #WORTHREACHINGFOR I ii |
DEFINED TERMS
Unless the context otherwise requires, the terms “Company,” “CBI,” “we,” “our,” or “us” refer to Constellation Brands, Inc. and its subsidiaries. We use terms in this Form 10-K and in our Notes that are specific to us or are abbreviations that may not be commonly known or used.
| TERM | MEANING | |||||||
| $ | U.S. dollars | |||||||
| 10b5-1 Trading Plan | a pre-arranged trading plan for our open market purchases of Class A Stock, intended to satisfy the affirmative defense conditions of Rule 10b5-1(c) of the Exchange Act | |||||||
| 2021 Authorization | authorization to repurchase up to $2.0 billion of our publicly traded common stock, approved by our Board of Directors in January 2021 and fully utilized during Fiscal 2025 | |||||||
| 2023 Authorization | authorization to repurchase up to $2.0 billion of our publicly traded common stock, approved by our Board of Directors in November 2023, replaced by the 2025 Authorization | |||||||
| 2025 Authorization | authorization to repurchase up to $4.0 billion of our publicly traded common stock, approved by our Board of Directors in April 2025 | |||||||
| 2025 Credit Agreement | eleventh amended and restated credit agreement, dated as of April 28, 2025, that provides for a $2.25 billion aggregate revolving credit facility | |||||||
| 2025 Restatement Agreement | restatement agreement, dated as of April 28, 2025, that amended and restated our tenth amended and restated credit agreement, dated as of April 14, 2022, which was our then-existing senior credit facility | |||||||
| 2025 Restructuring Initiative | an enterprise-wide cost savings and restructuring initiative designed to help optimize the performance of our business, including through enhanced organizational efficiency and optimized expenditures across our organization, with the majority of the work executed within Fiscal 2026 and net annualized cost savings expected to be fully realized by Fiscal 2028 | |||||||
| 2025 Term Credit Agreement | term loan credit agreement, dated as of May 9, 2025, that provided for a $500.0 million unsecured delayed draw term loan facility, now terminated | |||||||
| 2025 Wine Divestitures | sale and, in certain instances, exclusive license to use the trademarks of a portion of our wine and spirits business, primarily centered around our then-owned mainstream wine brands and associated inventory, wineries, vineyards, offices, and facilities on June 2, 2025 | |||||||
| 3-tier | U.S. distribution channel where products are sold to a distributor (wholesaler) who then sells to a retailer; the retailer sells the products to a consumer; however, in control states, the state government performs the role of wholesaler and retailer | |||||||
| 3-tier eCommerce | digital commerce experience for consumers to purchase beverage alcohol from retailers | |||||||
| 4.40% October 2018 Senior Notes | $500.0 million principal amount of 4.40% senior notes issued in October 2018, now repaid in full | |||||||
| 4.75% December 2015 Senior Notes | $400.0 million principal amount of 4.75% senior notes issued in December 2015, now fully redeemed | |||||||
| 4.80% May 2025 Senior Notes | $500.0 million aggregate principal amount of senior notes issued in May 2025 | |||||||
| 4.95% October 2025 Senior Notes | $500.0 million aggregate principal amount of senior notes issued in October 2025 | |||||||
| Constellation Brands, Inc. FY 2026 Form 10-K | #WORTHREACHINGFOR I iii |
| TERM | MEANING | |||||||
| 5.00% February 2023 Senior Notes | $500.0 million principal amount of 5.00% senior notes issued in February 2023, now fully redeemed | |||||||
| 5% Threshold | a number of shares of Class A Stock equal to 9,239,463.1, as may be adjusted by any stock dividend, stock distribution, stock split, stock combination or similar transaction | |||||||
| ABA | alternative beverage alcohol | |||||||
| ABV | alcohol by volume | |||||||
| Administrative Agent | Bank of America, N.A., as administrative agent for the senior credit facility and the 2025 Term Credit Agreement | |||||||
| AI | artificial intelligence | |||||||
| Amended and Restated By-Laws | our amended and restated by-laws | |||||||
| Amended and Restated Charter | our amended and restated certificate of incorporation | |||||||
| AOCI | accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) | |||||||
| Brewery Projects | modular capacity addition activities at the Nava Brewery, Obregón Brewery, and Veracruz Brewery | |||||||
| California | the state of California (U.S.) unless otherwise specified | |||||||
| Canopy | Canopy Growth Corporation, an Ontario, Canada-based public company in which we have an investment | |||||||
| Canopy Equity Method Investment | an investment in Canopy common shares, no longer applicable following conversion of Canopy common shares into Exchangeable Shares in April 2024 | |||||||
| CB International | CB International Finance S.à r.l., a wholly-owned subsidiary of ours | |||||||
| CIO | Chief Information Officer | |||||||
| Circana****TM | Industry market research publication used by consumer packaged goods companies | |||||||
| CISO | Chief Information Security Officer | |||||||
| Class 1 Stock | our Class 1 Convertible Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share | |||||||
| Class A Stock | our Class A Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share | |||||||
| CMP | crisis management plan | |||||||
| CODM | chief operating decision maker, our President and Chief Executive Officer | |||||||
| Comparable Adjustments | certain items affecting comparability that have been excluded because management uses this information in monitoring and evaluating the results and underlying business trends of the core operations of the Company and/or in internal goal setting | |||||||
| Conversion Time | such time as the domestic sale of marijuana could not reasonably be expected to violate the Controlled Substances Act, the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act (as it relates to violation of the Controlled Substances Act), and all related applicable anti-money laundering laws | |||||||
| CPG | consumer packaged goods | |||||||
| Craft Beer Divestitures | the Four Corners Divestiture and the Funky Buddha Divestiture, collectively | |||||||
| CSR | corporate social responsibility | |||||||
| Customers | wholesale distributors, retailers (generally outside of 3-tier), state alcohol beverage control agencies which sell to consumers, and DTC purchasers | |||||||
| Constellation Brands, Inc. FY 2026 Form 10-K | #WORTHREACHINGFOR I iv |
| TERM | MEANING | |||||||
| Depletions | represent U.S. distributor shipments of our respective branded products to retail customers, based on third-party data | |||||||
| DGCL | General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware | |||||||
| DTC | direct-to-consumer inclusive of (i) a digital commerce experience for consumers to purchase directly from brand websites with inventory coming straight from the supplier and (ii) consumer purchases at hospitality locations (tasting rooms and tap rooms) from the supplier | |||||||
| EHS | environmental, health, and safety | |||||||
| Employee Stock Purchase Plan | the Company’s 1989 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, under which 9,000,000 shares of Class A Stock may be issued | |||||||
| ERM | enterprise risk management | |||||||
| ESG | environmental, social, and governance | |||||||
| Exchangeable Shares | class of non-voting and non-participating exchangeable shares in Canopy which are convertible into common shares of Canopy on a one-for-one basis | |||||||
| Exchange Act | Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended | |||||||
| FASB | Financial Accounting Standards Board | |||||||
| Financial Statements | our consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included herein | |||||||
| Fiscal 2024 | the Company’s fiscal year ended February 29, 2024 | |||||||
| Fiscal 2025 | the Company’s fiscal year ended February 28, 2025 | |||||||
| Fiscal 2026 | the Company’s fiscal year ended February 28, 2026 | |||||||
| Fiscal 2027 | the Company’s fiscal year ending February 28, 2027 | |||||||
| Fiscal 2028 | the Company’s fiscal year ending February 29, 2028 | |||||||
| Fiscal 2029 | the Company’s fiscal year ending February 28, 2029 | |||||||
| Fiscal 2030 | the Company’s fiscal year ending February 28, 2030 | |||||||
| Fiscal 2031 | the Company’s fiscal year ending February 28, 2031 | |||||||
| Form 10-K | this Annual Report on Form 10-K for Fiscal 2026 unless otherwise specified | |||||||
| Four Corners Divestiture | sale of the Four Corners craft beer business | |||||||
| Funky Buddha Divestiture | sale of the Funky Buddha craft beer business | |||||||
| GHG | greenhouse gas | |||||||
| GILTI | global intangible low-taxed income | |||||||
| Glass Plant | glass production plant in Nava operated through an equally-owned joint venture with Owens-Illinois | |||||||
| IEEPA | International Emergency Economic Powers Act | |||||||
| Illinois | the state of Illinois (U.S.) unless otherwise specified | |||||||
| IRA | Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 | |||||||
| IRP | IT incident response plan | |||||||
| IT | information technology | |||||||
| Long-Term Stock Incentive Plan | a stockholder-approved omnibus incentive plan that provides the ability to grant various types of equity and cash awards to eligible plan participants | |||||||
| Constellation Brands, Inc. FY 2026 Form 10-K | #WORTHREACHINGFOR I v |
| TERM | MEANING | |||||||
| mainstream | wine that sells less than $11.00 per bottle at retail and sparkling wine and all other wine that sells less than $13.00 per bottle at retail, as defined by Circana™ | |||||||
| MD&A | Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations under Part II — Item 7. of this Form 10-K | |||||||
| Mexicali Brewery | canceled brewery construction project located in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico; sold the remaining assets classified as held for sale in July 2024 | |||||||
| M&T | Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company | |||||||
| NA | not applicable | |||||||
| Nava | Nava, Coahuila, Mexico | |||||||
| Nava Brewery | our brewery located in Nava | |||||||
| Net sales | gross sales less promotions, returns and allowances, and excise taxes | |||||||
| New York | the state of New York (U.S.) unless otherwise specified | |||||||
| NM | not meaningful | |||||||
| Non-GAAP | financial measures not calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP, for example, comparable operating income (loss) | |||||||
| Note(s) | notes to the consolidated financial statements under Item 8. of this Form 10-K | |||||||
| NPD | new product development | |||||||
| OB3 Act | One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into U.S. law on July 4, 2025 | |||||||
| Obregón | Obregón, Sonora, Mexico | |||||||
| Obregón Brewery | our brewery located in Obregón | |||||||
| OCI | other comprehensive income (loss) | |||||||
| OECD | Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development | |||||||
| Owens-Illinois | O-I Glass, Inc., the ultimate parent of the company with which we have an equally-owned joint venture to operate the Glass Plant | |||||||
| Pre-issuance hedge contracts | treasury lock and/or swap lock contracts designated as cash flow hedges entered into to hedge treasury rate volatility on future debt issuances | |||||||
| premium | wine that sells between $11.00 to $24.99 per bottle at retail and sparkling wine that sells between $13.00 to $34.99 per bottle at retail, as defined by Circana™ | |||||||
| Proxy Statement | Proxy Statement for Fiscal 2026 to be filed in connection with the 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders of our Company | |||||||
| Purple-team Tests | testing involving collaboration between offensive and defensive cybersecurity teams | |||||||
| Reclassification | the reclassification, exchange, and conversion of the Company’s common stock to eliminate the Class B Convertible Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share, pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Reclassification Agreement | |||||||
| Reclassification Agreement | reclassification agreement in support of the Reclassification, dated June 30, 2022, among the Company and the Sands Family Stockholders | |||||||
| retailers | on- and off-premise locations that sell products to consumers | |||||||
| Sands Family Stockholders | Richard Sands, Robert Sands, other members of the Sands family, and certain of their related entities | |||||||
| Constellation Brands, Inc. FY 2026 Form 10-K | #WORTHREACHINGFOR I vi |
| TERM | MEANING | |||||||
| SEC | Securities and Exchange Commission | |||||||
| Section 232 | tariffs imposed under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, notably on aluminum and aluminum derivative product imports | |||||||
| Securities Act | Securities Act of 1933, as amended | |||||||
| SOFR | secured overnight financing rate administered by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York | |||||||
| SVEDKA Divestiture | sale of the SVEDKA brand and related assets, primarily including inventory and equipment on January 6, 2025 | |||||||
| U.S. | United States of America | |||||||
| U.S. GAAP | generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S. | |||||||
| Veracruz | Heroica Veracruz, Veracruz, Mexico | |||||||
| Veracruz Brewery | our new brewery being constructed in Veracruz | |||||||
| WildStar | WildStar Partners LLC, an entity associated with the Sands family | |||||||
| Wine and Spirits Divestitures | the 2025 Wine Divestitures and the SVEDKA Divestiture, collectively |
| Constellation Brands, Inc. FY 2026 Form 10-K | #WORTHREACHINGFOR I vii |
| PART I | ITEM 1. BUSINESS | Table of Contents |
PART I
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