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OLDER Analysis Report
Aug 24, 2026
44 days ago · 100% complete
This report is 44 days old — newer filings and price moves since then are not reflected.
No quarterly filings we can read
Annual-only filer (20-F/40-F, last annual 2025-08-14, FY end 2025-06-30) — no quarterly XBRL, so an inflection is invisible until the next annual report. Held out under the no-quarterly coverage policy (2026-08-25).
This page shows our last published analysis, from Aug 24, 2026. It is not being updated, and new reports can't be run for this company.
For AI assistants & researchers — machine-readable summary of this page

What this page is: Delvantic's full research page for Diageo plc (DEO) — AI-driven forensic equity research: mechanical valuation models (DCF, EPV, anchored-PE, scenario) plus three independent AI lenses (Quality / Value / Sentiment). Everything below is rendered server-side; you are not missing content that requires JavaScript. All scores are predictions and research opinions, not financial advice.

Our current read (analysis of 2026-08-25): Designation Watch · Gem Score +23 (−100…+100 Quality+Value blend) · Quality 13 · Value 31 · Sentiment -41 (timing only, not weighted) · Composite fair value $122.33 vs $94.62 at analysis

Page map (sections in order; each card carries a stable reference-name attribute you can cite):

  • profile-header / price-overview — company profile, live quote, market cap
  • extended-analysis — the core: three AI lens reads with findings, scores, and the analyst memo
  • future-predictions — our forward price-band predictions
  • market-narrative / ai-findings / gpt-critique — narrative context, cross-model findings, and an adversarial critique of our own analysis (near the end of the document)
  • Members-only sections (render as login gates for anonymous readers): price-history, income-trend, key-metrics, financials (statement tables), insider-trading. The analysis above is public; the raw data tables require a free account.

More for machine readers: site briefing at /llms.txt · any ticker resolves at delvantic.com/stock/TICKER · raw inputs are public-company filings and market data (via licensed data feeds); every model, score, lens read, and prediction on this page is Delvantic's own analysis.

Diageo plc

DEO NYSE
Consumer Defensive · Beverages - Wineries & Distilleries
London, W1F 7HS, United Kingdom diageo.com Updated Aug 24, 2:00am
Price
$94.62
Market Cap
$52.6B
Employees
27,972
Beta
0.32
Avg Volume
1,226,290
Last Dividend
$3.32
CEO
Mr. John O'Keeffe

Diageo plc Sponsored ADR represents shares in Diageo plc, a British multinational alcoholic beverage company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. The company produces and distributes a diverse portfolio of premium spirits, beers, and ready-to-drink products, including iconic brands such as Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, Buchanan’s and J&B whiskies; Smirnoff, Cîroc, and Ketel One vodkas; Captain Morgan rum; Baileys liqueur; Don Julio and Casamigos tequilas; Tanqueray gin; and Guinness stout. Diageo plc operates across key geographical segments: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Caribbean, and Africa, with sales in nearly 180 countries from over 130 sites worldwide. It maintains a strong position in high-growth categories like premiumisation, convenience through ready-to-drink options, and moderation with non-alcoholic variants. The company focuses on building world-class brands through innovation, supply chain efficiency, and consumer insights, serving a global footprint that spans spirits leadership and expanding beer segments.

Runs with full report Generated: Aug 24, 2026 4:33am
Price Overview
Price at report time
$94.62
as of Aug 22, 9:46am (46d ago)
Change · Aug 22
+0.77 (+0.82%)
Day Range
$93.00 – $94.63
52-Week Range
$72.45 – $116.41
50-Day MA
$85.89
200-Day MA
$85.83
Volume
1,049,700.00
Right now · live
Log in to get the live feed
Members see the real-time price and the move since this report (over 46d).
Share Structure
Outstanding 2,223,426,181.00
Float 10,000,468,642.00
Free Float 449.8%
High free float — 449.8% of shares trade freely, ~-349.8% held by insiders/institutions
Very liquid — most shares trade freely. Low insider ownership can mean less management alignment, but makes large position sizing straightforward.
Price History (1 Year)
Last updated: Aug 24, 2026 4:54am (44d ago)
Revenue & Net Income Trend
The directional story — useful even when net income is negative.
Last updated: Aug 24, 2026 2:00am (44d ago)
Why there are no quarterly figures for Diageo plc

Diageo plc is a foreign private issuer — it reports to the U.S. SEC once a year (on Form 20-F or 40-F) rather than filing the quarterly statements (10-Q) that U.S.-domiciled companies must submit. Our financial statements are read directly from SEC filings, so for this company only annual figures exist at the source.

This is a property of how the company files, not missing or broken data — its filing history shows 8 annual reports, the latest filed 2025-08-14, and no quarterly filings . The company may still publish quarterly results on its own investor-relations site.

Revenue
The top line — total sales before any costs or taxes are subtracted. A measure of how much business the company is doing.
Net Income
The bottom line — profit left after subtracting all expenses, interest, and taxes from revenue. Reflects accounting profitability, but includes non-cash items like depreciation, so it isn't the same as cash earned.
Operating Cash Flow
The real cash generated by the day-to-day business — selling products, paying suppliers, collecting from customers. Calculated from net income by adding back non-cash items and adjusting for timing (unpaid bills, unsold inventory). When OCF consistently lags net income, the reported profit may not be converting to real money.
Period Revenue Net Income Net Margin YoY/QoQ
Key Metrics
TD Twelve Data statement HEX SEC filing
Industry comparison last run: Aug 24, 2026 4:30am
P/E · trailing (TTM) (Price per dollar of earnings over the past year — not a run-rate or forward P/E)
HEX
Stock Price / EPS (Diluted)
65.64
Stock Price: $94.62
EPS (Diluted): 5.77
P/B Ratio (Price vs net asset value)
HEX
Stock Price / Book Value Per Share
—
Stock Price: $94.62
Total Equity: N/A
Shares: 557,000,000
Equity not available in balance sheet
EV/EBITDA (Total value vs operating profit)
HEX
Enterprise Value / EBITDA
—
Market Cap: $52.60B
Total Debt: $4.00B
Cash: $0.00
EBITDA: N/A
EBITDA not available
Enterprise Value (Takeover price (cap + debt - cash))
HEX
Market Cap + Total Debt - Cash
$56.6B
Market Cap: $52.60B
Total Debt: $4.00B
Cash: $0.00
Gross Margin (Revenue left after direct costs)
HEX
Gross Profit / Revenue
—
Gross Profit: N/A
Revenue: $38.15B
Missing from API: Gross Profit
Operating Margin (Revenue left after all operations)
HEX
Operating Income / Revenue
—
Operating Income: N/A
Revenue: $38.15B
Missing from API: Operating Income
Net Margin (Revenue left as actual profit)
HEX
Net Income / Revenue
8.4%
Net Income: $3.21B
Revenue: $38.15B
ROE (Profit from shareholder equity)
HEX
Net Income / Total Equity
—
Net Income: $3.21B
Total Equity: N/A
Equity not in balance sheet
ROIC (Profit from all invested capital)
HEX
NOPAT / Invested Capital
—
Operating Income: N/A
Tax Rate: N/A
Equity: N/A
Total Debt: $4.00B
Cash: $0.00
Missing from API: Operating Income, Tax Rate, Equity
Current Ratio (Can it pay short-term bills)
HEX
Current Assets / Current Liabilities
—
Current Assets: N/A
Current Liabilities: N/A
Missing from API: Current Assets, Current Liabilities
Debt/Equity (Leverage — debt vs equity)
HEX
Total Debt / Total Equity
—
Short-Term Debt: $4.00B
Long-Term Debt: $0.00
Total Debt: $4.00B
Total Equity: N/A
Missing from API: Total Equity
Rev/Share (Top-line per share)
HEX
Revenue / Shares Outstanding
$17.13
Revenue: $38.15B
Shares: 557,000,000
Book Value/Share (Net assets per share)
HEX
(Total Assets - Total Liabilities) / Shares
—
Total Equity: N/A
Shares: 557,000,000
Missing from API: Total Equity
FCF/Share (Real cash generated per share)
HEX
(Operating Cash Flow + CapEx) / Shares
$7.41
Operating CF: $4.13B
CapEx: $0.00
Shares: 557,000,000
Div Yield (Annual income from holding)
TD
Last Annual Dividend / Stock Price
3.5%
Last Dividend: $3.32
Stock Price: $94.62
Payout Ratio (Earnings paid out as dividends)
HEX
Dividends Paid / Net Income
79.0%
Dividends Paid: -$2.54B
Net Income: $3.21B
Industry Benchmarks
Last run: Aug 24, 2026 4:30am
Compares DEO against LLM-researched typical ranges for its industry. One research call per industry, cached indefinitely — every stock in the same industry reuses the same baseline.
Income Statement (Annual)
Last updated: Aug 24, 2026 2:00am (44d ago)
Metric 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Revenue — $40.6B $38.6B $38.1B $38.2B
Cost of Revenue $6.9B $27.7B $24.6B — —
Gross Profit $10.5B $12.9B $13.9B — —
Operating Expenses $5.4B $6.9B $7.6B — —
Operating Income $5.1B $6.0B $6.3B — —
Net Income — $5.8B $6.1B $5.3B $3.2B
EBITDA $5.7B $7.1B $7.8B — —
EPS $6.21 $10.08 $10.72 $9.45 $5.78
EPS (Diluted) $6.19 $10.05 $10.68 $9.43 $5.77
Balance Sheet (Annual)
Last updated: Aug 24, 2026 2:00am (44d ago)
Metric 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Cash & Equivalents $3.8B $3.1B $2.0B — —
Total Current Assets $15.6B $17.6B $16.9B — —
Total Assets $43.6B $49.8B $48.6B — —
Current Liabilities $9.7B $11.5B $10.4B — —
Long-Term Debt $17.6B $19.8B $20.2B — —
Total Liabilities $32.1B $36.8B $35.9B — —
Total Equity $11.5B $13.0B $12.7B — —
Retained Earnings $4.3B $4.8B $5.3B — —
Cash Flow (Annual)
Last updated: Aug 24, 2026 2:00am (44d ago)
Metric 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Operating Cash Flow $4.4B $3.2B $5.0B $5.4B $4.1B
Capital Expenditure -$915.5M -$955.1M -$854.1M — —
Free Cash Flow $3.5B $2.2B $4.1B — —
Acquisitions (net) -$76.4M -$177.4M -$665.8M -$369.8M -$466.6M
Net Debt Issued / (Repaid) — — — — —
Dividends Paid -$2.4B -$2.4B -$2.3B -$2.4B -$2.5B
Stock Buybacks — — — — —
Net Change in Cash $73.7M $3.5B -$315.2M -$907.3M -$792.7M
Growth Trends (YoY %)
Last updated: Aug 24, 2026 2:00am (44d ago)
Metric 2022 2023 2024 2025
Revenue Growth — -5.0% -1.3% +0.3%
Gross Profit Growth +23.2% +7.8% — —
Operating Income Growth +18.2% +5.1% — —
Net Income Growth — +3.9% -12.9% -39.2%
EBITDA Growth +25.3% +8.8% — —
Dividend History (Last 20)
Last updated: Aug 22, 2026 9:46am (46d ago)
Date Dividend Declaration Record Payment
2026-04-17 $0.80 — — —
2025-10-17 $2.52 — — —
2025-02-28 $1.62 — — —
2024-08-30 $2.52 — — —
2024-02-29 $1.62 — — —
2023-08-24 $2.51 — — —
2023-03-02 $1.53 — — —
2022-08-25 $2.28 — — —
2022-02-24 $1.53 — — —
2021-08-26 $2.43 — — —
2021-02-25 $1.53 — — —
2020-08-13 $2.19 — — —
2020-02-27 $1.36 — — —
2019-08-08 $2.09 — — —
2019-02-28 $1.36 — — —
2018-08-09 $2.09 — — —
2018-02-22 $1.40 — — —
2017-08-09 $2.02 — — —
2017-02-22 $1.17 — — —
2016-08-10 $1.85 — — —
0Company Classification 1Industry Landscape 2Company Momentum 3Forward Projection 4aDCF Valuation 4bEarnings Power Value 4cAnchored PE 4dReverse DCF 4eRevenue-Based DCF 4fAnchored P/S 4gScenario Analysis 4hDividend Discount Model 4iBook Value Analysis 4jInsider Activity 4fCash Flow Quality 4gDebt Maturity Risk 4hMacro Environment 4iSector Intelligence 4jRevenue Confidence 4kSensitivity Analysis 4lSector Demand Cycle 5AI Investigation 5bThesis Evaluation 6Valuation Synthesis
computed not applicable not yet run 16 computed · 6 not applicable · 2 not yet run
Risk : Reward — upside vs downside from this company's own quarters
Computed 2026-08-25 02:14
Why there is no ratio: No measured quarterly trajectory: this filer has no quarterly statements we can read (annual-only or foreign filer), so there is nothing honest to stress.
Narrative Economics
The story the market is telling about this stock — the intangible X-factor (founder mythology, cult dynamics, TAM-of-imagination) that moves price beyond what cash flows alone explain. After Shiller, Narrative Economics.
No narrative profile yet for DEO — it's generated by the pipeline (market-narrative step).
Growth Outlook
Analyzed 2026-08-24 05:03

The question every valuation on this page silently assumes: is this company likely to grow? Judged forward — the business, its category, the world — against what's already printed.

Stalling Revenue is essentially flat (+0.3% YoY) in a category contracting ~3-5%, so Diageo is quietly gaining share — but earnings power is decaying hard (recent EPS-level -39% YoY, -27% multi-year CAGR) and the structural demand backdrop for Western spirits offers no visible re-acceleration mechanism. conf 6/10
Share gain Category shrinking · Company revenue +0.3% YoY versus industry -5.1% and category median -3.1% — Diageo is roughly flat while the category falls, a +5.3pp relative gap. Its position inside the category is intact and improving; the problem is the category itself, plus margin compression that is industry-wide (-2.0pp operating, -6.3pp net).
Next 2 quarters
Holding
Cost programme delivery, easier comparisons after destocking, Guinness momentum and pricing should keep organic revenue near flat and let earnings beat a conservatively reset bar, as in the last three prints. No volume re-acceleration mechanism is visible, so 'Holding' not 'Growing'.
≈ inline with expectations
Year 1
Stalling
Full-year shape is flat-to-low-single-digit organic revenue with margin still under pressure from tariffs, FX and reinvestment needed to defend share. Guidance has been reset low and self-help supports EPS, but the direction of change in growth remains downward.
≈ inline with expectations
Years 2–3
Holding
Structurally, Diageo's earnings power more likely flattens than compounds down: it takes share in a shrinking category, mix shifts toward India/Africa/Guinness, and cost-out plus pricing largely offsets Western volume attrition. It is not a growth story, but it is also not a melting ice cube — the brands and distribution moat still price and travel.
↑ above expectations
The creme: each rung's call measured against what's already printed (vs analyst estimates · vs guidance / FY consensus · vs price-implied growth) — expectations in print are already in the price, so only the variant margin can pay. Hover a rung's chip for the margin read.
Growth drivers
55 Share gain inside a shrinking category — Company recent revenue YoY +0.3% vs industry -5.1% — a +5.3pp gap. Scale distribution, Johnnie Walker/Guinness/Don Julio shelf power and route-to-market let Diageo hold volume where sub-scale peers lose it. This is what makes the shape 'cyclical + intact position' rather than 'structurally broken'.
36 Guinness and beer offsetting spirits softness — Beer (Guinness) is the one franchise with genuine volume momentum and demographic pull, including among younger and lower-alcohol-inclined drinkers. It partially neutralises the mix hit from stalled US/LatAm spirits and supports flat top line.
38 Self-help cost and cash programme under new leadership — A large multi-year cost/productivity programme plus new CEO reset is the mechanism behind the recent EPS beats (+6%, +10% vs estimates). Cost-out can stabilise reported earnings for several quarters even with flat volume — it defends the floor, it does not create growth.
27 Emerging-market premiumisation (India, Africa, parts of Asia) — India scotch/IMFL premiumisation and African beer growth are the only segments with structural volume expansion; they are a modest but growing share of mix and slowly rebalance the group away from a saturated US.
Growth risks
70 Category in outright contraction — Sector demand phase 'contraction', demand score -2, category median growth -3.1%, industry earnings CAGR -8.8%, operating margins -2.0pp and net margins -6.3pp over three years. A rising tide is absent; every point of growth must be taken from someone.
62 Structural moderation in developed markets — Younger cohorts drinking less, GLP-1 appetite suppression, cannabis substitution and health messaging hit exactly Diageo's high-margin Western spirits core. This is preference change, not destocking — it does not mean-revert on a two-year clock.
61 Severe earnings-power erosion — Earnings CAGR -27% and recent -39% YoY against roughly flat revenue means margin, mix and interest/FX are all working against operating leverage. Flat revenue with collapsing profit is a worse business shape than modest revenue decline with held margin.
40 Tariffs, FX and leverage constrain the bridge — US import tariffs on Scotch and tequila, plus adverse EM currency and a balance sheet carrying elevated leverage at 4.69% 10y rates, squeeze both margin and reinvestment/marketing firepower just when share defence costs more.
32 Agave/tequila and China/LatAm normalisation — The premium tequila and Chinese/LatAm channels that drove the last cycle have flipped from tailwind to drag; inventory normalisation is largely done but demand has not re-accelerated behind it.
The world is shifting against volume in Western alcohol: generational moderation, GLP-1 adoption, cannabis substitution and post-COVID normalisation of premium spirits are all pressing the same core. Layered on top are trade frictions (US tariffs on Scotch/tequila), a 4.69% long rate that raises the cost of a leveraged consumer-staples balance sheet, and soft EM currencies. The offsets are real but smaller: India/Africa premiumisation, Guinness's demographic pull, and consolidation of shelf space toward the largest owner as smaller distillers retrench. Net: a flat-to-slightly-down top line for a scale winner, with earnings power dependent on cost-out rather than demand.
Growth position composite -40
ShrinkingStallingHoldingGrowingAccelerating
50Next 2 quarters · Holding
30Year 1 · Stalling
50Years 2–3 · Holding
-40Composite (−100…+100)
A research prediction, not advice. Forward-graded: each rung is scored against the prints that follow it. Not an input to the GEM designation — track record first.
Claude Reading
Independent analyst synthesis · claude-opus-4-7 · generated 2026-08-24 04:53:19
Verdict Fairly valued at trough earnings — $94 already reflects margin compression; upside to $120 requires margin recovery that isn't yet visible. Wait for FY26 H1 print or a pullback to $80 before adding.

The raw numbers tell a harsher story than the synthesis wants to admit. Revenue has actually contracted from $40.59B in FY22 to $38.15B in FY25 — that's -2% per year on the top line, not a "temporary trough." More damaging: net income collapsed from $6.06B (FY23) to $5.28B (FY24) to $3.21B (FY25) — a 47% decline in two years on flat revenue, which means this is a margin story, not a demand pause. Net margin at 8.4% is roughly half of Diageo's historical mid-to-high teens. That's what drives the 65x P/E — you're paying a trough-earnings multiple that only looks reasonable if you believe FY25 EPS is the bottom and mean-reversion is imminent.

The synthesis verdict of $119.58 fair value (+26.4% upside) is doing heavy lifting on assumptions I'd interrogate. If the DCF is anchored to normalized FCF using pre-2024 margins, it's essentially saying "assume the last two years didn't happen." That's defensible for a durable-brand thesis (Johnnie Walker, Don Julio, Guinness aren't going anywhere) but it ignores that the LATAM inventory destocking, GLP-1 headwinds on alcohol consumption, and Gen Z drinking less are all showing up simultaneously. The pre-flight thesis acknowledges option (2) — structural multiple compression already priced in — but the synthesis picks option (1) without justifying why. On $38.15B revenue at a recovered ~14% net margin, you'd get ~$5.3B NI, ~$9.50 EPS, and at 18-20x that's $170-190 — which is why bulls salivate. On persistent 8-9% margins, you get $3.2-3.4B NI, ~$5.80 EPS, and 16x = $93. The current price IS the bear case fair value.

A contrarian would push harder on three points the models glide past. First, the balance sheet disclosure is thin — $4.0B total debt looks light for Diageo, which historically carries ~$20B+ in net debt; either the data is stale/incomplete or something material changed, and neither the synthesis nor market-forces (which failed entirely) caught this. Second, the market-narrative layer calls this "durable, anchored, low cult" — I agree, but that cuts against the upside case: steady-compounders that stop compounding get re-rated to utility multiples (12-15x), not re-rated back up. Third, the 3.5% dividend yield is being framed as support, but if margins don't recover, the payout ratio on FY25 earnings is already stretched — a dividend trim would break the last narrative pillar holding the stock.

I partially dissent from the fair_value/undervalued lean. The synthesis math isn't wrong conditional on margin normalization, but it treats normalization as a base case when the two-year trajectory says it's a bull case. At $94.62, you're not getting a bargain — you're getting a fair price for trough earnings with a free option on mean reversion, offset by real downside if FY26 margins stay compressed or deteriorate further. The stock is a hold for existing dividend holders and a "wait for the Q1/Q2 FY26 print" for new capital. I'd want to see either (a) sequential margin stabilization confirming FY25 was the trough, or (b) a price closer to $80 where the trough-earnings multiple compresses to 14x and you're paid to wait. The 26% "upside" in the synthesis is really a coin-flip on margin recovery timing, not a discount to intrinsic value.

GPT Reading
Independent reading · gpt-5.4 · generated 2026-08-24 04:53:37
Verdict Fairly valued to modestly overvalued at $94.62 — without a visible earnings rebound, fair value looks closer to $80-$90 than the $120 bull case.

At $94.62, Diageo is not screening like a classic cheap defensive; it is screening like a stock whose earnings base has become unreliable while the market still pays up for brand quality. The raw numbers are the issue. Revenue has gone nowhere for three years: $40.59B in 2022, $38.57B in 2023, $38.06B in 2024, and $38.15B in 2025. That is effectively flat to down over the period, a -0.5% revenue CAGR, and it is happening after a period when premium spirits were supposed to be a structural grower. Worse, the profit line has cracked much more than sales. Net income fell from $6.06B in 2023 to $5.28B in 2024 and then to $3.21B in 2025, a 47% drop in two years. Net margin is now just 8.4%, far below the roughly 15%-16% level implied by 2022-2024 results. When a mature consumer staples company shows flat sales and a near-halving of earnings, I do not give it the benefit of the doubt just because the brands are excellent.

The valuation metrics provided also look internally inconsistent in a way that makes me distrust the bullish synthesis more than embrace it. A P/E of 65.6x on a beverage incumbent is not remotely a normal trough multiple unless earnings are temporarily depressed by clearly identifiable one-offs. But the briefing gives no evidence of a clean one-time charge large enough to explain why net income went from $5.28B to $3.21B on basically unchanged revenue. The DCF-style fair value output of about $120 appears to be extrapolating a normalized earnings power that the recent data simply does not confirm. If the current market cap is $52.6B and 2025 net income is $3.21B, investors are paying about 16x market-cap-to-net-income before even reconciling the reported P/E discrepancy; either way, this is not an obvious bargain for a business with zero top-line momentum and sharply negative earnings momentum. On sales, 5.5x is also rich for a no-growth global staples name unless margins are pristine and durable, which currently they are not.

What stands out positively is that the business has not become financially stretched. Reported debt of $4.00B against a $52.6B market cap is modest, and a 3.5% dividend yield gives some carry while waiting. Operating cash flow of $4.13B in 2023 suggests the franchise does still convert a lot of revenue into cash, and the gross profit line improved from $12.93B in 2022 to $13.94B in 2023, showing there is still real brand power in the system. If 2025 earnings were depressed by non-cash or unusual items, then today’s headline P/E is overstating the true multiple, and the market may indeed be valuing Diageo on normalized cash earnings rather than trough EPS. That is the best argument for the stock: a world-class spirits portfolio, modest leverage, and a temporary earnings air pocket can absolutely justify buying a boring compounder when sentiment is sour.

But I weigh that argument less heavily because the burden of proof is now on recovery, not on quality. A smart bull will say this is a mature earner temporarily hurt by macro headwinds, inventory corrections, and consumer downtrading, and that paying around $95 for irreplaceable brands with a dividend is reasonable if earnings rebound even halfway toward the $5.5B-$6.0B range. I agree those are the right bull facts. I just think the market is already granting substantial normalization. For a business with recent earnings down 39% year over year and essentially no sales growth, “cheap because premium brands” is not enough. If normalized earning power is really closer to the 2023-2024 range, the stock is fair; if 2025 is nearer the new run-rate, it is expensive. Given only the data here, I lean toward the latter interpretation because there is no hard evidence yet of a revenue reacceleration or margin snapback.

What would change my mind is straightforward: I would need to see either revenue growth return meaningfully above inflation, say 3%-5% organic/top-line growth on the next annual print, or net income recover decisively back above $4.5B with operating cash flow holding at or above the $4B level. If Diageo can show 2025 was an aberration and restore margins toward the mid-teens on a stable $38B-$40B revenue base, then $95 will look attractive and the DCF-style upside case becomes more credible. If instead revenue stays pinned around $38B and earnings remain near $3B-$3.5B, the stock should trade on a lower staples multiple and belongs closer to the low $80s than to triple digits.

Grok Reading
Independent reading · grok-4.5 · generated 2026-08-24 04:54:27
Verdict Fairly valued near $95 on trough earnings; ~$120 upside only if NI recovers toward $5B+—not yet proven

Diageo’s numbers describe a mature spirits franchise whose top line has stalled and whose earnings power has cracked. Revenue sat at $38.15B in FY2025 after $38.06B in 2024 and $38.57B in 2023, a -0.5% CAGR that follows a $40.59B peak in 2022; recent revenue growth is a negligible +0.3%. Net income, by contrast, has collapsed: $6.06B in 2023, $5.28B in 2024, then $3.21B in 2025, a -39.2% year-over-year drop and a -27.2% earnings CAGR. Net margin is now 8.4%, roughly half the mid-teens levels implied by the earlier years. Operating cash flow of $4.13B (FY2023) still covers the franchise, and a 3.51% dividend yield supplies a cash return floor, but the income statement is no longer that of a steady compounder—it is a trough story. The reported 65.6x P/E is an artifact of that trough; the more relevant signal is that the market is capitalizing roughly $53B of equity against a business that has just lost nearly half its reported profit in two years while selling almost nothing more.

What stands out against the prior models is the gap between a “below no-growth floor / +26% undervalued to ~$120” synthesis and the actual trajectory. A no-growth floor assumes durable mid-cycle earnings; here earnings are not mid-cycle, they are falling hard, and free-cash-flow CAGR is essentially zero. EV/revenue at 1.48 sits awkwardly beside a 5.5x P/S, balance-sheet fields are mostly blank (only $4.0B of debt is shown), and the cash-flow cut is stale—so the composite fair-value arithmetic is resting on thinner ice than the +26% headline implies. Sector signals (below benchmarks, macro headwinds) and the momentum tape line up with a market that has already marked down growth assumptions rather than with a pure mispricing. The narrative layer correctly flags low cult intensity and an anchored, durable dividend-plus-premiumization story; that story is intact as brand equity, but it is not currently converting into volume or margin expansion.

The strongest opposing case is straightforward mean-reversion: if FY2025’s $3.21B net income is a one-off inventory, mix, and emerging-market air pocket, and profits snap back toward the $5.3–6.1B band of 2023–24, then today’s $94.62 price and mid-teens earnings multiple on normalized profits look cheap, the 3.5% yield is paid to wait, and the models’ ~$120 target becomes the base case rather than the bull case. Premium brands (Johnnie Walker, Don Julio, Crown Royal) and decades of dividend compounding give that recovery a real fundamental path; skeptics who treat $3.21B as the new run-rate may be over-extrapolating a cycle trough. I weigh that less heavily because revenue has already been flat for three years—there is no volume rebound visible yet—and because guidance and category trends in developed markets have already tempered the premiumization narrative. Until the P&L turns, “cheap on normalized” is a hypothesis, not a fact.

I would flip to a clear undervalued call on two consecutive quarters of positive organic sales growth above ~3% with operating margin rebuilding toward prior-cycle levels, or a full-year net income print back above ~$5B. I would flip bearish if revenue rolls over again and net income stays sub-$3B, or if the dividend is cut, confirming that cash generation no longer supports the mature-earner frame.

Qwen Reading local experiment · off-panel
Independent reading · qwen3.8:27b on the local GPU · generated 2026-08-28 17:26:19 · 57.5s (82.6 tok/s) · replay of 2026-08-24 panel
Undervalued · conviction 3/5 · bull 6/10
followed the VERDICT/STANCE contract
Verdict Modestly undervalued at $94.62 — 10.5–11x normalised earnings on a flat-revenue, 3.5%-yield global spirits franchise is at the bottom of its historical 15–25x range, but the verdict is capped by genuine revenue stagnation and the unresolved question of whether the 2025 earnings collapse is one-time or structural; fair value $105–115, with next-quarter operating margin as the tripwire.

The number that decides this case is the net-income trajectory: $6.06B (FY2023) → $5.28B (FY2024) → $3.21B (FY2025), a 47% collapse over two fiscal years on essentially flat revenue ($38.6B → $38.1B). The briefing does not tell us whether the 2025 print embeds a one-time restructuring charge, an impairment, or a tax item, and without that distinction the entire valuation hinges on which earnings figure is the run-rate. The stated P/E of 65.6x is a base-year artifact of that depressed year and should be discarded; the P/S of 5.53x is arithmetically inconsistent with the $52.6B market cap and $38.15B revenue (the correct figure is ~1.38x) and is a data error, not a finding. The EV/Revenue of 1.48x, by contrast, checks out: ($52.6B + $4.0B debt) / $38.15B ≈ 1.48x, and the $4.0B debt line is plausible for a company of this scale. Cash and equity lines are blank, so I cannot refine the EV below the ~$56.6B ceiling, but for a business generating $4B+ in operating cash flow (the 2023 figure, which is the only one provided and is two years stale), a $2–4B cash balance is the reasonable assumption, putting true EV closer to $53–55B.

On a normalised earnings basis, the median of the last three fiscal years is $5.28B, and the 2023 operating margin of 16.4% ($6.32B op income on $38.57B revenue) is the cleanest pre-decline reference point. Using $5.0B as a conservative normalised net income (splitting the difference between the 2024 print and acknowledging that some margin pressure may be persistent), the P/E is roughly 10.5x and EV/earnings is roughly 11x. For a global premium-spirits franchise with a 3.5% dividend yield and a portfolio that includes Johnnie Walker, Don Julio, and Crown Royal, that sits at the very bottom of the 15–25x range the company has historically commanded. The prior models' composite fair value of $119.58 implies roughly 12.5–13x on that $5.0B base, which is a re-rating to the low end of historical norms rather than an aggressive multiple. I find that defensible, though I would not go higher without evidence that the 2025 earnings collapse is genuinely one-time.

The strongest case against the undervalued read is the revenue line itself. Three consecutive years of flat-to-declining top-line ($40.6B → $38.6B → $38.1B) with a 5-year revenue CAGR of −0.5% is not the profile of a company in the middle of a cyclical trough; it is the profile of a mature business that has lost its growth engine. The "Below Sector Benchmarks" tag and the bear narrative's emphasis on developed-market saturation and competitive pressure in emerging markets are consistent with that reading. If the 2025 earnings decline is structural margin compression rather than a one-time charge, the true run-rate is closer to $3.5–4.0B, the P/E is 13–15x, and the stock is fairly valued rather than cheap. The absence of quarterly data in the briefing means I cannot confirm whether the most recent quarters show stabilisation or continued deterioration, and the cash-flow section being two years old means I cannot verify that free cash flow is tracking the income statement. A smart opponent would also note that the 3.5% dividend yield, while respectable, is not the 5–6% that would make this a true income-floor play, and that the "steady-compounder" narrative has lost its compounding leg.

What would change my mind in either direction: a next-quarter print that isolates the 2025 charge as a discrete item (restructuring, brand impairment, one-time tax) and shows operating margin back in the 14–16% range would confirm the $5B+ run-rate and push fair value toward $115–125, strengthening the undervalued call. Conversely, if the next two quarters show operating margin below 12% with no identifiable one-time driver, the normalised earnings base drops to $3.5–4.0B, the P/E normalises to 13–15x, and the stock is fairly valued at $95 with the dividend as the only support. The specific number to watch is operating margin in the next reported quarter relative to the 16.4% FY2023 benchmark.

Experiment only: this reading is not a panel seat and feeds nothing — compare it against the Claude, GPT and Grok readings above.
Big-3 Panel — where each AI stands
Each AI above independently stated a direction (undervalued, fairly valued, or overvalued) and how strongly it believes it (conviction, 0–5). We combine those into a Bull-Bear Index on a 0–10 scale: 5 is neutral, 10 is maximum bullish (undervalued at full conviction), 0 is maximum bearish. We compute the score ourselves with the same arithmetic for every seat — the models never grade their own bullishness — so the three are directly comparable. Δ shows how far each seat sits from the panel average of 4.0; a large Δ marks the dissenting voice, usually the one worth reading.
Claude claude-opus-4-7 5.0
fairly valued · conviction 3/5 · Δ +1.0 vs panel · self: 4.0
GPT gpt-5.4 2.0
overvalued · conviction 3/5 · Δ -2.0 vs panel · self: 4.0
Grok grok-4.5 5.0
fairly valued · conviction 3/5 · Δ +1.0 vs panel · self: 5.0
Advanced Analysis Forensic deep-dive · separate lenses
Separate reads — Company Quality (is it a great business?), Valuation (is it mispriced?), and General Sentiment (how macro + narrative are pushing it), kept deliberately apart · 2026-08-24 05:05:11
Delvantic - Cairn AI
Quality on sale — starter position, save ammo for sub-$85 6/10
Solid global spirits franchise trading ~20% below EPV during a real earnings slump, but a fading narrative and a soft balance sheet argue for patience, not a full push.
The cruxWhether the net income slide from $6.1B to $3.2B is cyclical (buy the dip) or structural (fair value drifts to price) — that single question decides everything.
Forensic checks Derived mechanically from DEO's filed financials — not from the AI lenses
Liquidity & RunwaySelf-Funding
DilutionShare Count Shrinking
Earnings QualityAdequate / Mixed
The four lensesswitch a tab for its full read — score + evidence
Company Quality
+13
Solid
edge √Σ 100 · risk √Σ 87 · conf 7/10

Diageo runs at roughly $38B revenue with steady $4B+ FCF generation ($4.13B in 2023, $5.37B in 2024, $4.13B in 2025) and is a net buyer of its own stock, with diluted shares down from 586M to 557M (-1.3% CAGR). Historical gross margins in the mid-30s and operating margins around 15-16% (2022-2023) reflect the branded-spirits moat one expects from a portfolio anchored by Johnnie Walker, Guinness, Tanqueray, and Don Julio. Earnings quality checks are clean: OCF/NI of 0.92x and accruals at 3.8% of assets show reported profits are broadly backed by cash.

Strengths 3
m70
Durable FCF engine
Free cash flow of $3.5B-$5.4B across 2021-2025 with no year below $2.2B; a mature branded-spirits business converting reliably to cash.
m55
Per-share discipline
Diluted share count fell from 586.3M (2021) to 557.0M (2025), a -1.3% CAGR — management is concentrating, not diluting, per-share value.
m45
Clean earnings quality
OCF/NI 0.92x and 3.8% accruals-to-assets with no mechanical red flags; reported profits are cash-backed.
Concerns 3
m60
Net debt with near-term refi exposure
Net debt of roughly $4.0B and short-term debt of $4.0B against zero reported liquid cash — the balance sheet is a constraint, and refinancing risk is live.
m55
Earnings trajectory softening
Net income slid from $6.06B (2023) to $5.28B (2024) to $3.21B (2025) even as revenue flatlined near $38B — margin compression, not just a one-off.
m30
Revenue stagnation
Top line went $40.6B -> $38.6B -> $38.1B -> $38.2B; the global spirits slowdown / post-COVID normalization is visible and unresolved.
This is a genuinely high-quality consumer staples franchise going through a real operating slump — the brand moat and cash conversion are intact, but net income nearly halving over two years while revenue stagnates isn't noise, it's a cycle-and-execution problem. Leverage is manageable for a business throwing off $4B+ of FCF, but the zero-cash / $4B ST debt combo means the balance sheet isn't a cushion. Solid, not fortress; the trajectory has to stabilize before I'd upgrade the read.
Verify before trusting this (6)
  • Actual cash and equivalents on the 2025 balance sheet (module shows $0 which likely reflects data feed, not reality)
  • Composition and maturity ladder of the $4B short-term debt and refinancing plans
  • Why 2024 and 2025 GM% and OpM% are reported as 0 — data artifact vs. true margin structure; confirm from filed P&L
  • Drivers of the 2025 net income drop to $3.21B (impairments, restructuring, LatAm inventory issues, tariff impacts)
  • Organic volume vs. price/mix trends by region, especially US spirits and LatAm
  • Any goodwill/intangible impairment charges tied to recent M&A (Casamigos, Aviation, Don Julio economics)
Valuation / Mispricing
+31
Modestly Cheap
edge √Σ 79 · risk √Σ 47 · conf 6/10
Price $94.62 vs deserved ~$115-120 (EPV floor $113, signal-adj FV $120) — roughly 20% margin, meaningful but not extreme. attractive below $85.00

The composite fair value is $122.54 and the signal-adjusted FV is $119.58, with the EPV floor at $113.09 and DCF at $127.26. Against a $94.62 price that's roughly 21-26% upside, and importantly the EPV floor alone sits ~20% above spot — meaning even a no-growth capitalization of current earnings power justifies more than today's quote. That's a genuine margin of safety, not a rounding error, on a business the quality lens grades as Solid.

Cheap signals 3
m55
Trades below EPV floor
Price $94.62 sits ~16% below the $113.09 EPV floor, meaning even a zero-growth capitalization of current earnings power implies upside. That's the cleanest cheap signal here.
m45
20%+ discount to signal-adjusted FV
Signal-adjusted FV of $119.58 implies ~26% upside from spot; composite $122.54 corroborates. Not heroic assumptions — DCF and EPV agree directionally.
m35
Quality franchise on sale during slump
Solid-quality global spirits moat with $4B+ FCF is rarely available at a 20% discount; the market is extrapolating the current earnings dip.
Rich / priced-in 2
m40
Earnings deterioration not fully in FV
Net income nearly halved over two years while revenue stagnates — if this is structural rather than cyclical, the deserved value drifts down toward price rather than price up toward FV.
m25
Balance sheet offers no cushion
Near-zero cash against ~$4B short-term debt means there's no net-cash tailwind to the deserved value; leverage constrains multiple re-rating.
I think DEO is modestly cheap, not deeply so. The 20% gap to EPV and ~25% to signal-adjusted FV on a genuinely durable spirits franchise is worth something, and I'd nibble here. But the earnings line is going the wrong way and the balance sheet isn't a fortress, so I'm not paying up. I'd get materially more interested below $85 where the EPV discount widens to ~25% and the margin of safety survives another leg of earnings pressure.
Verify before trusting this (4)
  • Whether the FY guidance implies stabilization or further declines in organic operating profit
  • Latin America and US spirits volume trajectory in the next print
  • Any dividend policy signal given leverage and softening earnings
  • Refinancing terms/cost on the $4B ST debt stack
General Sentiment
-41
Headwind
tail √Σ 43 · head √Σ 87 · conf 6/10

The macro tape is mildly risk-on with VIX at 15 and the S&P near highs, but DEO's 0.32 beta means it barely participates in that lift. What actually presses on this name is stock-specific: the spirits narrative has quietly broken. The archetype is 'steady-compounder' but intensity is minimal and momentum is neutral-to-negative (-0.5% CAGR, -7.3pp over 3 years), meaning the market has lost interest in defending the story. The just-out headline of a ~2,000-person workforce cut and a $1.2B reshaping effort in its biggest market reads as defensive, not offensive, and reinforces the bear framing of a mature cash cow fighting category saturation. The peer read-through is also bad (Boston Beer down 17% in six months on volume declines and cost pressure), tarring the entire drinks cohort. Analyst/CEO tone has some offsets: the August rally on Dave Lewis's $1B cost plan and Guinness refocus shows the market will reward a credible turnaround narrative, but that pop has faded and the follow-up news is layoffs rather than growth. Net: a persistent, ordinary headwind, not a decisive one - the low beta and defensive sector cushion the downside, but there is no active tailwind story pulling the stock up.

Tailwinds 2
m35
CEO cost-savings plan has credibility
The August spike on Dave Lewis's $1B three-year cost plan and Guinness refocus shows there is a latent turnaround bid; a credible execution beat could flip tone quickly.
m25
Low beta mutes broad tape risk
At 0.32 beta in a defensive sector, DEO absorbs less damage if the risk-on regime cracks - the stock is not the market's whipping boy.
Headwinds 4
m55
Layoff/restructuring headline reinforces bear story
A ~2,000-person workforce cut and $1.2B reshape in its biggest market lands as defensive - it confirms the 'mature, decelerating, category-saturated' framing rather than reigniting growth optimism.
m45
Spirits/beer cohort out of favor
Boston Beer -17% in six months on volume declines is emblematic of a drinks category the market is fading. DEO gets tarred by association even though its portfolio is stronger.
m40
Narrative is minimal-intensity and fading
The steady-compounder story has low cult and minimal intensity, and 3-year momentum is -7.3pp. Nobody is defending the stock into weakness; there is no marginal buyer with conviction.
m30
Rates/mkt-PE backdrop unfriendly to bond-proxy defensives
10y at 4.69% and market PE 25.8 keep pressure on low-growth defensive compounders whose appeal is duration-like cash flows.
Net headwind, but an ordinary one, not a crushing one. The narrative around DEO has quietly rolled over - steady-compounder with minimal intensity, three years of drifting momentum, and now a layoff/restructuring headline that the tape will read as defensive. The broader spirits cohort is being faded and there is no cult holding the line. That said, the 0.32 beta and defensive sector keep the pressure from being severe, and the market did reward the CEO's cost plan in early August, so a credible execution narrative could flip tone. For now: persistent drip lower, not a rout.
Verify before trusting this (4)
  • Whether the $1.2B restructuring is received as strategic or panic in the next 2-3 weeks of analyst notes
  • Any sign of stabilizing US spirits volumes in scanner data or peer prints
  • Target-price revisions following the layoff news - direction and dispersion
  • Emerging-market (Asia-Pacific) commentary in upcoming conference appearances
The market-wide tape + this name's exposure to it (beta / sector / narrative durability). Context on the non-fundamental pressure — not a call on the business or the price. processId: detail-general-sentiment
Growth Outlook
-40
Stalling
edge √Σ 81 · risk √Σ 123 · conf 6/10

The world is shifting against volume in Western alcohol: generational moderation, GLP-1 adoption, cannabis substitution and post-COVID normalisation of premium spirits are all pressing the same core. Layered on top are trade frictions (US tariffs on Scotch/tequila), a 4.69% long rate that raises the cost of a leveraged consumer-staples balance sheet, and soft EM currencies. The offsets are real but smaller: India/Africa premiumisation, Guinness's demographic pull, and consolidation of shelf space toward the largest owner as smaller distillers retrench. Net: a flat-to-slightly-down top line for a scale winner, with earnings power dependent on cost-out rather than demand.

Growth drivers 4
m55
Share gain inside a shrinking category
Company recent revenue YoY +0.3% vs industry -5.1% — a +5.3pp gap. Scale distribution, Johnnie Walker/Guinness/Don Julio shelf power and route-to-market let Diageo hold volume where sub-scale peers lose it. This is what makes the shape 'cyclical + intact position' rather than 'structurally broken'.
m36
Guinness and beer offsetting spirits softness
Beer (Guinness) is the one franchise with genuine volume momentum and demographic pull, including among younger and lower-alcohol-inclined drinkers. It partially neutralises the mix hit from stalled US/LatAm spirits and supports flat top line.
m38
Self-help cost and cash programme under new leadership
A large multi-year cost/productivity programme plus new CEO reset is the mechanism behind the recent EPS beats (+6%, +10% vs estimates). Cost-out can stabilise reported earnings for several quarters even with flat volume — it defends the floor, it does not create growth.
m27
Emerging-market premiumisation (India, Africa, parts of Asia)
India scotch/IMFL premiumisation and African beer growth are the only segments with structural volume expansion; they are a modest but growing share of mix and slowly rebalance the group away from a saturated US.
Growth risks 5
m70
Category in outright contraction
Sector demand phase 'contraction', demand score -2, category median growth -3.1%, industry earnings CAGR -8.8%, operating margins -2.0pp and net margins -6.3pp over three years. A rising tide is absent; every point of growth must be taken from someone.
m62
Structural moderation in developed markets
Younger cohorts drinking less, GLP-1 appetite suppression, cannabis substitution and health messaging hit exactly Diageo's high-margin Western spirits core. This is preference change, not destocking — it does not mean-revert on a two-year clock.
m61
Severe earnings-power erosion
Earnings CAGR -27% and recent -39% YoY against roughly flat revenue means margin, mix and interest/FX are all working against operating leverage. Flat revenue with collapsing profit is a worse business shape than modest revenue decline with held margin.
m40
Tariffs, FX and leverage constrain the bridge
US import tariffs on Scotch and tequila, plus adverse EM currency and a balance sheet carrying elevated leverage at 4.69% 10y rates, squeeze both margin and reinvestment/marketing firepower just when share defence costs more.
m32
Agave/tequila and China/LatAm normalisation
The premium tequila and Chinese/LatAm channels that drove the last cycle have flipped from tailwind to drag; inventory normalisation is largely done but demand has not re-accelerated behind it.
vs expectations: ~6m inline · 1y inline · 2-3y above
The forward growth verdict — is the business itself likely to grow (next 2 quarters / year 1 / years 2–3), judged against its category and against printed expectations. The full horizon ladder + creme renders on the Growth Outlook card above. Not a call on the price (Valuation owns that) or the tape (Sentiment owns that).
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Lenses kept deliberately separate — Company Quality (price-agnostic), Valuation (price-conditional), General Sentiment (non-fundamental macro/narrative pressure), and Growth Outlook (the forward growth verdict). The scores are not blended. Filing-level items (convertibles, lock-ups, customer concentration) are v2 — see each lens's "verify."
Price Prediction
Higher +10.9% v0.6.0 View full prediction →

When we made this prediction on Aug 24, 2026, DEO was $96.29. We expect it to be $106.80 by Feb 2027, and we consider it great value under $85.00. This is an early model (v0.6.0) — the direction is more reliable than the exact price. Made Aug 24, 2026.

Price when predicted$96.29
Our estimate for Feb 2027$106.80+10.9%
Great value below$85.00
Price history shown (6 Months)

Blue is our prediction, starting the day we made it. Grey is a slower route to the same place — the same destination, taking longer. Black is the actual price, so you can see how we are doing.

Post-Report Due Diligence NOTES
The report is written. This is what its valuation stands on.
Analyzed Aug 25, 2026 · 02:14 43d ago
Read epv-floor ext-gem-composite anchored-pe · FY income statement, balance sheet
1 finding · $0, re-derived on each view

Evidence for a closer look, not a verdict — no score or designation on this page has been changed by it. Items marked material are ones where a conclusion above moves to the other side of the price.

epv-floor — the "fair value above price" reading turns on 3 inputs NOTE found by sensitivity, not by rule
Published $112.92 vs price $94.62. Nudging `adjusted_earnings` (down 25%), `cost_of_capital` (up 25%), `shares` (up 25%) moves the fair value to the other side of the price. This does not say those inputs are wrong — it says they are where to look first.
adjusted_earnings flips down 25% cost_of_capital flips up 25% shares flips up 25%
Price at analysis $94.62. This is where an investigation should start — it is not where one ends. Nothing here was checked against the filings, the tape, or the news; that is the investigator's job.
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My Notes personal — only you see this
v1.1.760 · f4b58a28 · 2026-10-07 20:07:48