BBF.ABrown Forman Inc

The Class A shares of the same whiskey maker: they carry the vote, liquidity is markedly lower, the claim on profit is the same.

The company makes whiskey and other spirits; ageing means what is sold today was laid down years ago and inventories sit on the balance sheet for a long time. Control has rested with the founding family for a century and a half, which allows planning on a horizon no ordinary public manager could take.

The class distinction matters precisely here: the voting class is concentrated in family hands and trades rarely, so the spread is wider and the price can differ noticeably from the more liquid class despite an identical dividend. For an outside investor the vote usually has no practical value while liquidity does. The risks are the same: tariffs, currency rates and declining alcohol consumption.