New Diageo boss cuts dividend as Guinness maker’s sales slide

Dave Lewis, whose reputation for cost-cutting earned him the nickname Drastic Dave, is Diageo’s third chief executive in less than three years © BloombergNew Diageo boss cuts dividend as Guinness maker’s sales slide on x (opens in a new window)New Diageo boss cuts dividend as Guinness maker’s sales slide on facebook (opens in a new window)New Diageo boss cuts dividend as Guinness maker’s sales slide on linkedin (opens in a new window)New Diageo boss cuts dividend as Guinness maker’s sales slide on whatsapp (opens in a new window) Save New Diageo boss cuts dividend as Guinness maker’s sales slide on x (opens in a new window)New Diageo boss cuts dividend as Guinness maker’s sales slide on facebook (opens in a new window)New Diageo boss cuts dividend as Guinness maker’s sales slide on linkedin (opens in a new window)New Diageo boss cuts dividend as Guinness maker’s sales slide on whatsapp (opens in a new window) Save Madeleine SpeedPublishedFebruary 25 2026Jump to comments sectionPrint this pageUnlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Diageo has cut its dividend and new chief executive Sir Dave Lewis slammed the group’s “very poor” customer service as it reported sliding sales and profits. Lewis on Wednesday said the FTSE 100 company’s board had “taken the difficult decision to reduce the dividend to a more appropriate level”.Diageo cut its dividend from 103.5 cents a share for its 2025 financial year to a minimum of 50 cents a year going forward. The former Tesco boss said this was “not an easy decision” but would create “financial flexibility”, adding that the business needed investment to make it more competitive. He said he would sell brands “if appropriate” but would not do so cheaply. It came as the group reported a 4 per cent fall in net sales to $10.5bn for the final six months of 2025, amid weakness in the US and China. It said tariffs were partly responsible for a 1.2 per cent decline in operating profit, which fell to $3.1bn. Diageo shares fell 6 per cent in early trading on Wednesday. Lewis, whose reputation for cost-cutting earned him the nickname “Drastic Dave”, has taken over Diageo after a tumultuous period at the maker of Guinness, Johnnie Walker and Captain Morgan. When he started, Lewis became Diageo’s third chief executive in less than three years. Debra Crew departed last summer after the board failed to quash speculation that her chief financial officer, Nik Jhangiani, was angling for her job at the helm of the world’s biggest spirits maker.Investors have been eagerly anticipating Lewis’s assessment of the business, which has had a bruising few years of profit warnings, leadership turmoil and fears that weight-loss drugs and changing drinking behaviours would prove a long-term drag on the spirits category. Lewis said weight-loss drugs and changing “attitudes” towards spirits were affecting sales but that the biggest challenge was the squeeze on consumers’ disposable incomes, particularly in the US. The Yorkshire-born executive said that Diageo’s customer service for its distributors and retail customers was “frankly very poor”, and meant that the group was failing to capitalise on demand for popular brands such as Guinness. “The idea that we can’t service the demand that’s there is both a source of significant regret, but it’s also an opportunity for us,” he said. He set out to end shortages of Guinness, the company’s fastest-growing brand, which have prompted a backlash from pub groups. “If you’ve tried to buy a pint in London, you also know that we have some capacity constraints too,” he said, adding that this would be addressed quickly. Guinness sales rose 10.9 per cent on an organic basis in the final six months of 2025.Reuse this content (opens in new window) CommentsJump to comments section Follow the topics in this article Retail & Consumer industry Add to myFT UK companies Add to myFT Diageo PLC Add to myFT Dave Lewis Add to myFT Madeleine Speed Add to myFT CommentsDiageo has cut its dividend and new chief executive Sir Dave Lewis slammed the group’s “very poor” customer service as it reported sliding sales and profits. Lewis on Wednesday said the FTSE 100 company’s board had “taken the difficult decision to reduce the dividend to a more appropriate level”.Diageo cut its dividend from 103.5 cents a share for its 2025 financial year to a minimum of 50 cents a year going forward. The former Tesco boss said this was “not an easy decision” but would create “financial flexibility”, adding that the business needed investment to make it more competitive. He said he would sell brands “if appropriate” but would not do so cheaply. It came as the group reported a 4 per cent fall in net sales to $10.5bn for the final six months of 2025, amid weakness in the US and China. It said tariffs were partly responsible for a 1.2 per cent decline in operating profit, which fell to $3.1bn. Diageo shares fell 6 per cent in early trading on Wednesday. Lewis, whose reputation for cost-cutting earned him the nickname “Drastic Dave”, has taken over Diageo after a tumultuous period at the maker of Guinness, Johnnie Walker and Captain Morgan. When he started, Lewis became Diageo’s third chief executive in less than three years. Debra Crew departed last summer after the board failed to quash speculation that her chief financial officer, Nik Jhangiani, was angling for her job at the helm of the world’s biggest spirits maker.Investors have been eagerly anticipating Lewis’s assessment of the business, which has had a bruising few years of profit warnings, leadership turmoil and fears that weight-loss drugs and changing drinking behaviours would prove a long-term drag on the spirits category. Lewis said weight-loss drugs and changing “attitudes” towards spirits were affecting sales but that the biggest challenge was the squeeze on consumers’ disposable incomes, particularly in the US. The Yorkshire-born executive said that Diageo’s customer service for its distributors and retail customers was “frankly very poor”, and meant that the group was failing to capitalise on demand for popular brands such as Guinness. “The idea that we can’t service the demand that’s there is both a source of significant regret, but it’s also an opportunity for us,” he said. He set out to end shortages of Guinness, the company’s fastest-growing brand, which have prompted a backlash from pub groups. “If you’ve tried to buy a pint in London, you also know that we have some capacity constraints too,” he said, adding that this would be addressed quickly. Guinness sales rose 10.9 per cent on an organic basis in the final six months of 2025.