
Corporate results announcements, particularly in difficult times, are awash with euphemism and circumlocution. This year’s buzzwords, from London to Paris to Kentucky, have included the likes of “Covid super-cycle”, “inventory stablisation” and “normalisation trends”. But there came a moment during the analyst call following Brown-Forman’s decidedly lacklustre Q3 results announcement earlier this month when company president and CEO Lawson Whiting appeared to tire of such flannel.