Today we are watching…
1. AB InBev (#abinbev)
After keeping a safe distance for months, Anheuser-Busch (AB) finally dared to put its Asian business, Budweiser APAC, on the Hong Kong stock exchange last week. As the closing bell rung on its debut, we thought the story was over. We thought wrong! AB InBev is telling its new investors to buckle up for a surprise lunge on the Chinese drinks market. A can of Bud only has around 16% market share in China, whereas countless local specialties dominate the drinks cabinet with their sacred social meanings and imaginative values. It’s going to be a tough ask for AB to break further into the scene, but perhaps it can flex its Brazilian-Belgium muscles by buying up a few local breweries? China Resources Beer could be a target, selling the world’s most bought beverage by volume, ‘Snow Beer.’
2. Southwest Airlines (#swair)
Pilots know their planes, and some at Southwest are taking issue with how a Boeing plane that crashed twice could’ve been “airworthy,” as the company claimed. Investors in Southwest’s LUV stock have done well this year considering the grounding of its 737-heavy fleet in March. The pilots, however, haven’t fared so well. They want to sue Boeing for lost wages after a bunch of flights were dropped, and the 737 Max was branded as “essentially the same 737 they’d been flying for years.” Boeing needs to get its act together. “It takes years to build a reputation and seconds to destroy it.” Who said that? One particular investor who hates airlines, last name beginning with B, and ending with uffett!
