Who owns Guinness?
Guinness is owned by Diageo (the United Kingdom, LSE: DGE).[1]
Evidence: Diageo plc Annual Report on Form 20-F filed 2026-08-18, SEC EDGAR, 18 August 2026. Verified from filings; last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- Diageo plc verified
- Owner HQ
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom, London
- Origin
- 🇮🇪 Ireland, Dublin
- Founded
- 1759 by Arthur Guinness
- Category
- Beverages › Beer › Ale
- Parent ticker
- LSE: DGE NYSE: DEO
- Trademark registrant
- DIAGEO IRELAND UNLIMITED COMPANY (USPTO)
- Last verified
- · 2 sources
About Guinness
Guinness has been brewed at St James's Gate in Dublin since Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000-year lease in 1759. Its dry stout gets its colour from roasted barley and its texture from nitrogen, and the widget that reproduces draught texture in a can, introduced in 1988, was a significant packaging invention.
What Diageo's annual report says about Guinness
Sentences about Guinness from Diageo's latest annual filing[1], copied word for word.
However, we remain confident in the fundamentals of the business; in the long- term attractiveness of the spirits market and the role of our spirits portfolio, including RTDs; in the continued growth potential of Guinness; and in the strength of Diageo's market positions.
Going forward, our focus is on winning in total spirits, including RTDs, and on Guinness in premium beer.
Diageo will compete across a full price and format ladder in spirits, including RTDs, in premium beer through Guinness, and across the on-trade to ensure consistent global visibility.
How often Diageo names Guinness in its annual report
A plain count of the times the name appears in the text of each annual report, not counting the start of a sentence. A brand that an owner writes about more is usually one it treats as central. The brand is named less often than it was three years earlier.
Trademark record for Guinness
The USPTO record for the Guinness mark lists DIAGEO IRELAND UNLIMITED COMPANY as the owner of record (serial number 71354421). That name matches the owner named above.[2]
Ownership timeline of Guinness
Where Guinness sits in Diageo
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full Diageo ownership tree →
See the full Diageo brand portfolio (23) →
Other brands owned by Diageo
Diageo controls 23 brands on Brandtree, 23 of them in beverages.
Also in beverages
- Baileys (1974)
- Buchanan's (1884)
- Bulleit (1987)
- Captain Morgan (1944)
- Cardhu (1824)
- Casamigos (2013)
- Cîroc (2003)
- Crown Royal (1939)
- Don Julio (1942)
- Gordon's (1769)
- Guinness 0.0 (2020)
- Johnnie Walker (1820)
- Lagavulin (1816)
- Oban (1794)
- Pimm's (1823)
- Roe & Co (2017)
- Ron Zacapa (1976)
- Smirnoff (1864)
Other brands in ale, and who owns them
The 62 brands in ale on Brandtree belong to 32 owners. The largest is Duvel Moortgat, with 7; Diageo has 2.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Birrificio del Ducato | Duvel Moortgat | 🇧🇪 Belgium |
| Bishops Finger | Shepherd Neame | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
| Farsons Blue Label | Farsons | 🇲🇹 Malta |
| Lagunitas | Heineken | 🇳🇱 Netherlands |
| Franziskaner | AB InBev | 🇧🇪 Belgium |
| Avery Brewing Company | Mahou San Miguel | 🇪🇸 Spain |
| Fuller's London Pride | Asahi Group | 🇯🇵 Japan |
| Dogfish Head | Boston Beer | 🇺🇸 United States |
About the owner: Diageo
Diageo is a publicly listed company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, founded in 1997. Brandtree records 23 brands under its control, and it is listed as LSE: DGE and NYSE: DEO.
Diageo was formed in 1997 by the merger of Guinness and Grand Metropolitan. It is the largest spirits company in the world, with a portfolio spanning Scotch whisky, vodka, gin, rum, tequila and stout.
🇮🇪 Guinness and other Irish brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 33 brands that began in Ireland. 18 of them (55%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country, Guinness among them.
- Bulmers — C&C Group 🇮🇪
- Carolans Irish Cream — Heaven Hill 🇺🇸
- Jameson — Pernod Ricard 🇫🇷
- The Irishman — Amber Beverage Group 🇱🇺
- Tullamore D.E.W. — William Grant & Sons 🇬🇧
- Aer Lingus — IAG 🇬🇧
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of Guinness?
The parent company of Guinness is Diageo, a publicly listed company headquartered in the United Kingdom.
Is Guinness Irish or British?
Guinness originated in Ireland in 1759, but it is owned today by Diageo, which is headquartered in the United Kingdom. So Guinness is an Irish-origin brand under British ownership.
Is Guinness still owned by Diageo?
Yes. As of 9 October 2026, Guinness is still owned by Diageo. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (2) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] Diageo plc Annual Report on Form 20-F filed 2026-08-18 — SEC EDGAR, SEC Form 20-F, published 18 August 2026; retrieved 16 September 2026.
- [2] USPTO: GUINNESS, serial 71354421, registration 321014 — United States Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark registry; retrieved 27 September 2026.
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