Boasting Beer
Amidst its controversial boycott beginning almost a year ago, the largest beer company in the United States released its performance which may be a shock to some investors. In April 2023, the beer brand Bud Light conducted a sponsorship campaign as a new marketing effort to expand parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev’s customer base. During the promotion initiatives, the brand partnered with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney which in turn provoked a negative response by several of its customers on social media. The backlash from conservatives inevitably led to a social boycott, which caused major executive changes in its marketing division and a loss of its national sales title to Constellation Brands’ Modelo Especial. Since then, several have wondered how Anheuser-Busch InBev could recover, since the company remains the largest beer producer by volume in the world.
On Thursday, the brewing company was able to report that profits have continued to grow despite the social-media boycott. During the fourth quarter, sales were slightly ahead of estimates with a year-over-year growth of 6.2%. However, U.S. sales did fall over 17% by the year as its staple Bud Light continued to suffer weakened demand. For its 2023 annual figures, the firm did miss top and bottom-line expectations by a slight margin with $60.48 billion in sales and $20 billion in EBITDA. Aside from social stigma, the beer producer has endured higher input costs, establishing cautious guidance to shareholders headed into the new year.
