Jack Daniel’s parent surprises investors, showing increases in alcohol sales and profits

Shares of Brown-Forman were rallying in early Wednesday trading after the Jack Daniel’s parent company’s fiscal third-quarter results snapped a number of negative streaks.

There had been growing concern that people drinking less alcohol was not simply a cyclical trend but a secular change in behavior. The worries were heightened last week after Diageo, the parent company of Johnnie Walker and Guinness, cut its sales outlook and slashed its dividend.