Tequila giant Becle sees weaker 2026 on US restructuring, drying demand

Mexican distiller Becle, the world's largest tequila maker, warned of a difficult 2026 as it restructures its distribution network in the United States amid shrinking demand for hard liquor and a turbulent trade ‌environment.

Becle, which sells Jose Cuervo family tequilas and other spirits largely across North America, ended its partnership in February with leading ‌U.S. distributor Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC), which left the country's most populous state, California, in a chaotic exit late last year.

Becle said it is prioritizing setting up its new ​partnerships right away and believes the changes should better position the company beyond 2026.

"This will be a transition year," CFO Rodrigo de la Maza told analysts. "Changes of this scale take time to fully stabilize and may create temporary disruptions, shipping volatility, inventory realignment and added complexity."

Effects from the restructuring should mainly be felt in the first half of 2026, he said. Executives predicted U.S. growth to begin to return in 2027.

For 2026, the company predicted ‌its net sales value will decline in the low ⁠single digits, when stripping out impacts of foreign-exchange rates, and that it would spend some $90 million-$110 million, down from the $130 million pegged for 2025.

Lower sales across Becle's top North American markets dragged its top line down 14% ⁠in the last three months of 2025, sinking net profit, which was also hit by a higher tax rate.

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