Investors will want to learn more about the expected impact of tariffs on the business and see evidence of ongoing organic sales improvement when spirits leader Diageo (DGE) serves up full-year results on 5 August.

Still nursing a post-pandemic hangover, the alcoholic drinks giant is now in the market for a new chief executive following the departure (16 July) of Debra Crew after a tough two years at the helm.

To her credit, Crew steered the Guinness-to-Johnnie Walker maker through a challenging post-Covid aftermath of slowing spirits sales, geopolitical and macroeconomic volatility and headwinds from tariffs following Donald Trump’s election as US President.

Younger people showing less interest in drinking alcohol and wealthier individuals cutting back on luxury goods - volumes of distilled spirits remain weak - also dented Diageo’s sales, while mismanaged inventory in Latin America and missed targets ultimately put paid to Crew’s hot seat tenure.

Diageo’s highly-regarded chief financial officer Nik Jhangiani looks a safe pair of hands to steady the ship as interim CEO while the board searches for a new leader, and is allegedly a candidate for the top job, but whoever is appointed will need to bring new energy to the Crown Royal-to-Captain Morgan maker.

Decisions will need to be made faster, asset sales are on the cards and the balance sheet needs strengthening.

Saying that, analysts at Jefferies don’t anticipate a significant deviation from the current strategy, since Diageo has already launched the first phase of its Accelerate programme to sustainably deliver roughly $3 billion in free cash flow from full-year 2026, ‘increasing as performance improves’, with its third-quarter results (19 May).

These showed organic sales bubbling up 5.9%, and Diageo insisted it was ‘on track to deliver on our guidance of sequential improvement in organic net sales performance’ in the second half of FY25 (ie the first half of calendar 2026). 

UK UPDATES OVER THE NEXT 7 DAYS

FULL-YEAR RESULTS

5 Aug: Diageo

INTERIMS

1 Aug: Intertek, IMI, International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG)

4 Aug: Kosmos Energy

5 Aug: Fresnillo, Travis Perkins, GlobalData, SIG, International Workplace Group, Serica Energy, Keller Group, Smith & Nephew, InterContinental Hotels Group

6 Aug: Tritax Big Box Reit, Georgia Capital, Legal & General, 3i Group, Quilter, Ibstock, Vesuvius, Glencore, 4Imprint

7 Aug: Serco, Harbour Energy, Spectris, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Morgan Advanced Materials, Mears Group, Burford Capital

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